At the intersection of purpose, talent and economic compensation.
In previous articles we talked about how funding individual mobilizers will accelerate climate action. But, why do mobilizers need to get paid in the first place? Isn’t climate action something you do out of a sense of responsibility for people and the planet? Why should you take money out of your own pocket to pay someone to organize, raise awareness and shift public policies?
Yes, climate action is taken out of a sense of responsibility for people and the planet. In the words of novelist, poet and mobilizer Alice Walker, social and climate action is the rent we pay for living on this planet. However, despite the efforts of so many brave mobilizers who have changed the course of history for good, there is still a lot of work ahead of us and we are running out of time. We have seen progress, yet it’s not enough. The challenges and threats we are facing are growing at a speed higher than the actions world leaders are taking, making climate action more important than ever. Without it, we will loose the last chance we have to make things right, putting our existence at risk.
Unfortunately, altruism doesn’t pay the bills and we need as many mobilizers as possible doing one of the most important jobs of our time: fighting for our present and future, like our existence depends on it, because it literally does. But we cannot expect this to be done for free, not when so many mobilizers are going all in with their time, efforts, talents and knowledge. We cannot afford loosing mobilizers in the long run, when we actually need more to join. We need to make this fight financially sustainable over time and the only way to do it is to invest our money in it. Yes, money is not going to solve everything but at least is going to give mobilizers the necessary resources to afford the fight, specially and most importantly, activists that are on the frontlines of this crisis.
Why have we normalized paying people in other industries for their time and talents, but when it comes to using those talents for the common good it should be done out of a “sense of purpose and responsibility”. It just doesn’t add up. Getting paid for your job in any other industry makes you successful but asking for the same compensation when climate action is your job doesn’t “look good”. Are mobilizers supposed to feel guilty for taking money when they spend their time and talent working for the common good?
Some mobilizers may not need the money and can afford taking climate action in their spare time and that’s ok, but still , as a collective, the standard should be that time and talent should be compensated because it will affect other mobilizers that need it. Some mobilizers cannot afford building an online presence and growing communities with lots of followers on social media, reducing their chances of connecting with potential supporters and brands. We need to create a compensation system as a movement that allows mobilizers to finance their work and redistribute the wealth to those less privileged. A new economy for the common good. Easier said than done, right? Well, if we don’t start having this conversations nobody will. We are so focused on the cause and the end goal that we might loose sight of the fact the we need to make this fight financially sustainable for everyone over time.
It is HERO’s mission to build an ecosystem and technology that closes the gap between mobilizers and supporters to make this fight sustainable in the long run. We are making progress towards building it, because we believe that if we want to accelerate climate action we need to move the right amount of resources to mobilizers everywhere. We must think outside the box and use technology in our favor to shift the future of climate action so economic compensation is met at the intersection of purpose and talent.
