Membership Form

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Guiding Principles

1. This is not a charity, service organization, or social club. Mutual aid is when neighbors come together to meet or uplift each others needs because those who are in power aren't doing it. Mutual aid is a form of political resistance. We look out for each other because we don't have effective local support or city infrastructure to meet our community's needs.

2. We acknowledge how capitalism and other oppressions (ie: racism, classism, sexism, homophobia/transphobia, environmental injustice) rob us from being in right relationship with one another and the land. The issues we face are all interconnected. Our system wants us to compete against one another, fight for jobs, resources, and opportunities, rather than coordinate and work together. We reject individualism. We are working to transform the way we share our time, resources and skills for our collective benefit.

3. We acknowledge the ways in which our system makes it harder to nurture our minds, bodies, and spirits. We see this through the extraction of our labor, lack of gun control, the polluting of our waterways, our soil, and other sources of life, gentrification, reproductive control, among other oppressions. We are devoted to intergenerational, place-based healing. We work to transform the collective trauma we've experiened through this violent system, in order to sustain our ourselves and the wellbeing of our communities.

4. We strive to have our organizing work led by and for those that are disproportionately impacted by the issues we face as Kentuckians, which include BIPOC, women + femmes, LGBTQ+, low-income, the unhoused, the undocumented, those who are disabled/neurodivergent, those who were formerly incarcerated, and other marginalized groups.

5. We seek to build relationships in our community and with the land that are based on accountability, respect, compassion, solidarity, and kinship. The act of mutual aid alone will not save us.

6. We understand that mutual aid is an indigenous strategy that has long been used by BIPOC peoples throughout human history, and how it has been co-opted by the system to weaken community power and crimininalize communities who are anti-capitalistic.

7. The land that we are standing on was STOLEN from the Shawnee, Cherokee, and Yuchi tribes.
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Do you agree with our Guiding Principles?* This field is required.
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What are some thoughts, feelings, or reactions that came up for you when you read our Guiding Principles?* This field is required.
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Name* This field is required.
First Name
Last Name
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Email
example@example.com
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Phone Number
Please enter a valid phone number.
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Are you a Bowling Green local?* This field is required.Note: Membership is open to anyone, regardless of location. However, we can build more power in Bowling Green if that is where the majority of our membership is coming from.
YESNO
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If you answered "no" in the previous question, where do you live?
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What brought you here?* This field is required.Why are you interested in joining a mutual aid organization?
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Based on where you live, what issues are you most concerned about? * This field is required.
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What does "accountability" mean to you?* This field is required.
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Do you have any skills or special expertise that you'd like to contribute to this space?* This field is required.
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Do you have any needs or concerns that Rise and Shine can uplift for you at this time? Is there any way we can support you?For example: Are you having issues with your landlord? Are you low on groceries? Is there an issue that you're concerned about in your neighborhood?
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How can we make this space more accessible for you?* This field is required.For example: You'd like to attend in-person meetings, but you don't have a car. You may be disabled/neurodivergent and have a different idea of how you'd like to show up in this space.
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Once again, we want to thank you for your interest in becoming a Rise and Shine member! We are really pushing for a diverse, integenerational membership base that truly represents our community, and could give voice + perspective to the issues we face as Bowling Green locals.

Here is what you could expect as a Rise and Shine member:

1. Community potlucks, dinners + gatherings: Here at Rise and Shine, if there's one thing about us, we gon' have a good time! We celebrate each other through food, music, art, and so much more - this is how we build trust and develop lasting relationships.

2. Popular/political education opportunities: As Karl Marx once said, "Knowledge is power." We try our hardest to make sure that our members are socially and politically aware of what's going on around them, and that people have the skills +knowledge to create change in their own communities. Here at Rise and Shine, we offer space to build organizing skills through our own programs and partnerships with other grassroots organizations in our network.

3. Taking part in and helping organize direct actions: We don't like standing on the sidelines waiting for change to happen! We believe that direct action is one of the most effective ways to spread the word about a particular issue and get immediate results. As a part of our solidarity building, we organize peaceful, non-violent direct actions that take the shape of protests/strikes, rallies, food distribution, canvassing/door-knocking, grocery runs, etc. This is our ultimate way of combating housing injustice/homelessness, poverty, and disenfranchisement.

4. Leadership development: There will always be opportunities for you as a member to step up and have a hand at leading direct actions, programs, etc,and we're always going to be linking you up with opportunities outside of the organization as well.
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Do you have any questions or concerns about what you could expect as a Rise and Shine member?
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Would you be interested in becoming an organizer with Rise and Shine?Note: Training will be provided!
Yes, absolutely!
This sounds interesting, but I would like to learn more before making a decision.
No, not at this time.
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Community Agreements

Mutual aid organizing can be exhaustive if there aren't enough people in the community willing to hold and support this work. We are switching from a volunteer to membership base because we need people who aren't going to pop in and out of the organization. Mutual aid requires that we invest in our neighbors + relationships, and we can't do that if you're never around. This is SOLIDARITY, not CHARITY. We are asking Rise and Shine members to committ to the following:

DON'T OVERCOMMITT: As a Rise and Shine member, we want you to have an active role in the organization. This organization is ran by the people, for the people. However, like many Rise and Shine organizers + members, we do live under capitalism, which means we've all got jobs, and other responsibilties! We ask to please understand your personal capacity, and not agree to taking on a project, role, action, etc. if you can't fill that committment, or if it's at the expense of your personal wellbeing.

Attend at least four membership meetings throughout the year: Rise and Shine plans to begin hosting hybrid monthly meetings once we have a large enough membership base, and we want you there! Meetings aren't the most important thing in the world, but this is where we'll share updates on what's going on in the community, leadership opportunities, trainings, space for grief + venting, and group reading sessions.

Keep in touch with us: Stuff happens! If something comes up and you're unable to fulfuill a committment, the sky isn't going to fall. But it is important to stay in communication with the group in some way, and in a timely manner.

Be accountable: Please take responsibility for your actions. This means that you actually follow through on what you said you were going to do. In Rise and Shine, our relationships are built on transparency + trust, and we need to be able to count on one another to get work done.
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Do you have any questions or concerns about our Community Agreements?
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Transparency Statement + Paying Your Dues

To keep our mutual aid organizing sustainable, we've decided to take up a fundraising model inspired by some comrades doing similar work at Los Angeles Tenants Union in Caifornia and Bozeman United in Montana. As a community-powered, movement-backed organization, we would like to keep our funding circle tight-knit, meaning that we don't want to rely on self-absorbed foundations or corporations keeping our community care afloat.

To become a member of this organization, we are asking you to literally invest in community care. We are offering a sliding scale of $1 - 100. Members have the choice of making a one-time donation or a monthly donation, depending on their financial situation.

No one will be turned away because of lack of funds.

We also encourage you to contribute towards our Solidarity Fund and our Operations Budget.

* Solidarity Fund - This is a pool of cash specifically for the community in case a neighbor is struggling to make ends meet. This short-term support can be used for:

Gas money/assistance

Groceries

Hygenie products

* Operational Budget - This budget ensures that Rise and Shine can do basic things like print brochures + flyers, operate a website, and create merchandise (ie: t-shirts, stickers, etc).

To pay your dues, click here.

If you prefer to send a check, please contact Daisy Carter at deinaraccc@gmail.com

Note: Rise and Shine is a fiscally sponsored organization. All contributions are tax-deductible.
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By signing this, you have read the membership form entirely. You understand what you can expect as being a part of Rise and Shine, your own personal commitments to the organization, and have paid your membership dues. * This field is required.
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