Why CMMP?
A lot of charity and social services make recipients jump through hoops to get aid
CMMP instead believes that everyone deserves steady support, without strings attached. Instead of spending their time proving their worth, CMMP recipients can focus on knowing that they will get a predictable, set amount of money every week for a 3-month season, money that they can use according to their needs.
Different people have different levels of time and money to share
CMMP participants lean in or step back as available. Do you have $5 a week to give? Can you spend 15 minutes a week requesting money from contributors or reaching out to recipients? If your time availability comes and goes, can you help with a single event? Maybe you have no time but you can give $50 a week and spread the word?
How does CMMP work?
- CMMP asks contributors to make a pledge for weekly payments over a 3-month season (Fall: Sept–Nov; Winter: Dec–Feb; Spring: March–May; Summer: June–Aug).
- Each contributor pledges what is right for their budget: some pledges are for less than $5 a week, others are more than $60.
- Each week of the season, volunteer requesters send out Venmo or CashApp requests for the pledged amounts. All contributors have to do is pay the request!
- Those weekly pledges are pooled and divided up among CMMP recipients. Volunteers acting as points of connection between contributors and recipients then pass on the money to recipients on Monday mornings.
- At the end of 3 months, it all begins again with a new season! Current contributors are rolled over automatically into they new season, but if they’d like to change their amount or step back entirely, they’ll be able to do so a couple weeks before the season starts.
- You can read more details about project logistics on our CMMP Basics doc.
CMMP: the numbers
In our current fifteenth season, we receive weekly pledges from over 200 people for $3,085 a week. We pay out money to 18 recipients in weekly amounts between $155 and $175 (depending on household size) and to 1 additional recipient receiving $100 a week. At the end of this season, we will have redistributed over $40,000 in weekly amounts, along with a mid-season bump to each recipient of $45.
CMMP: the people
CMMP began in late 2020 when Gen, who had been helping a neighbor find work and meet expenses, began to wonder if a program that provided regular amounts of money could help steady the precariousness that this neighbor and others experience. With that thought, Gen called on friends to try giving small amounts of a 3-month period that could be pooled and divided up among some of the folks in need in our community. From the 30 people contributing in that first cycle, we’ve grown in all ways—from the numbers of people volunteering, contributing, and receiving funds through the project. From friends of Gen to friends of friends of Gen to where we are now—all CMMP colleagues helping to redistribute wealth to those most in need!
We are deeply grateful for current and past organizers—requesters, point people, social media drivers, strategists—for helping grow and sustain this project. We couldn’t do any of this without their hard work! Hands up for Anna, Emma, Gen, Hallie, Jordan, Julia, Kathy, Mads, Mary, Naomi, Natalie, Ngoc, Owen, Radia, Reese, Robin, Rose, Sarah, Sasha, Shannon, and Sienna!!!
