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About sliding scale

I offer my services on a sliding scale. What does that mean?

(Hint: it is NOT about offering my labor at a discount or for-sale price!)

Self-reflection

Sliding scale gives us the chance to reflect on our resources and access to safety and security in our personal contexts.

Resources and access can mean a lot of things — not only our finances, but also our access to work, housing, emotional stability, social networks, institutional support, community support, and many other things we can call on to take care of ourselves and those around us.

Within the racial and imperial-colonial capitalist system, our access to security is often greatly impacted by other aspects of our intersecting identities — for example, the ways we are racialized, our ethnicities or cultures of origin, our genders, class, dis/abilities, migration status, and so many other factors.

As you consider these factors, I trust you to make a choice for the pricing that best reflects your own access to security, safety and stability in the place(s) you currently live.

In exchange for that trust, I hope you can find it in your heart to offer reciprocity for my labor by paying at the highest rate you can at this time.

As an independent facilitator, the costs of my offerings go directly into covering my personal costs of living (rent, food, medicines, insurances, etc.), so that hopefully I can continue to offer these forms of care directly to my communities in a sustainable way.

Why I do it

"From each according to [their] ability; to each according to [their] needs.” - Grandpa Marx

Sliding scale is one way that I am trying to make a living as an independent practitioner while practicing anti-capitalist values. It’s part of my commitment to social equity. It’s not perfect, and I do hope to one day offer fully pay-what-you-can offerings, but right now this is the closest I can get. I’ll keep working on it and I am also open to your feedback!

Guide

Here are some suggested guardrails to think about when you are booking or applying for one of my paid offers. These are just examples and suggestions. We can talk more about your pricing if you feel unsure what to go for.

Need to negotiate a payment plan to be able to book one of my courses? Feel free to get in touch with me and we can talk about it!

For Individuals

‣
Free / Scholarship Spots

For folks who are struggling to pay to cover their basic material needs and non-negotiable expenses, especially due to structural and systemic discrimination. So if for example you can’t pay your rent or for food because you are multiply marginalized, these free spots are for you.

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Low end of the sliding scale

For folks who can usually able cover their regular non-negotiable expenses, but who do not have expendable income; these folks ma be struggling with a large amount of debt, etc. (For example, maybe you don’t regularly dine out or order food, you can’t afford a lot of new things on a regular basis, you don’t pay for subscription services for music or movies, etc. — obviously these examples depend on your personal dis/abilities and many other factors!)

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Middle of the sliding scale

For folks who can easily and reliably cover your regular costs, and has expendable income for things like eating out at or ordering in from restaurants, recreational travel, if you have money for a savings account after you pay your bills, that sort of thing. (Obviously these examples depend on your personal dis/abilities and many other factors, to determine what is “extra” and what is necessity for survival.)

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High end of the scale

For folks who have more than enough income to live comfortably, have healthy savings, and especially anyone with access to inherited wealth or wealth that is generated when one class of people gets better treatment than others within an organization. (For example, a job at a food delivery company in which those doing the delivery are not offered the same benefits/financial security as those developing the apps that people use to book the deliveries.)

For Collectives/Organizations

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Free / Pro Bono

Only for groups who are 100% unfunded, run/organized by multiply-marginalized people, and doing frontline organizing (direct action, mutual aid) that impacts multiply-marginalized people in their contexts.

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Low end of the sliding scale (<5k yearly budget)

For grassroots with little or no access to funding, and groups whose members are themselves low-income, working class or otherwise multiply-marginalized without access to stable finances. Typically this is for groups with access to less than 5k EUR (or local equivalent) in fundings/income for the current year.

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Middle of the sliding scale (5-15k yearly budget)

For groups who have already worked together for a while and have some access to funding/income, either as a legal entity that accepts donations/makes sales, or as a grassroots group made of members who have access to stable income/ generational wealth or systemic support. Typically this is for groups with access to between 5k-15k EUR (or local equivalent) in fundings for this year.

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High end of the scale (>15k yearly budget)

For established organizations and for-profit companies. If you have more than two salaried employees in your organization, I will expect you to redistribute some of the wealth by paying at the higher end of the scale. Specifically, if your organization deals in fundings or revenues of more than 15k EUR (or local equivalent) this year.

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Corporate (>300k yearly budget)

For businesses or non-profit organizations with a yearly turnover of more than 300,000 EUR or equivalent per year.