Reports and Financials

FedUp seeks to align our fundraising strategies with our core values. 

We fundraise almost exclusively for a general fund as a proud part of our people-centered values.  Restricted funding, as the field of philanthropy is coming to understand, is a form of capitalist and white supremacy control.  As in all our work, we seek to uproot systems that perpetuate injustice.

In focusing on unrestricted funding, we are asking you, the donor, to come alongside us, partnering with our work and our organization, and not exert outside control by restricting the ways that we support our work. Through our annual report we will be transparent about the ways your dollars were used to support our work.

This shows up particularly in how we pay our employees, contractors and consultants.  In traditional philanthropy there is an unhelpful tradition that donor money is “purest” when it goes only to the recipients.  In the USA, employees of nonprofits are predominantly BIPOC and women, and are drastically underpaid as a whole.  We not only seek to pay our employees a living wage, but a thriveable one.  This is good for our community, our ecosystem and our bottom line as a business that seeks to retain and support dedicated employees.

We also use unrestricted monies to quickly and easily respond to the ever-changing landscape of our work.  Unrestricted funding lets us ensure that we are not withholding care from any aspect of our work, but treat it as an ecosystem that, when healthy, supports all of our efforts.

FedUp fosters a culture of belonging and inclusivity through our presence in the community. Your support is not charity, but an investment in the communities we serve. Many of our donors also participate in and benefit from the investment in this positive environment. We approach our fundraising from the same perspective. We follow a permission-based practice, obtaining consent from you before we begin a conversation about fundraising. We may dream big, but we will always strive to be realistic about our fundraising ask.

We value quality over quantity. We build quality relationships with our donors so that you are as familiar with our work and mission as we are. You are not just a paycheck or a means to an end, and never will be. You are a part of our greater organizational structure and we respect, appreciate, recognize, and value the relationships we build with you. Part of our commitment to quality includes only accepting general fund donations, as we value your trust in us to make just and anti-racist choices in our spending practices. 

FedUp is a unique organization that does not ask for money to do what our sibling nonprofits do really well!. We follow the lead of those whom we serve, and fill gaps in other service areas. Our ideal donor and partner in this work values the perspective of the communities we serve above all else. In order to best serve our guests, FedUp accepts unrestricted donor dollars. Core mission support, including things commonly thought of as ‘overhead’ or ‘indirect’ expenses are all a part of our overall success in reaching and achieving our mission.