Question 1

What are you asking community leaders to do?

Accepted Answer

To begin the process this summer, Community Leaders are responsible for the following four things:
1. Undergo pre-paid 3 hours of Just Communities Training in equitable and regenerative community development within a two weeks period. 
2. Attend a 4-hour Care-shop to map existing community planning knowledge and become familiar with our Care-shop process.
3. Organize at least one 3-hours Care-shop of 25 community members (onsite in the Dena’s, onsite somewhere else, or online).
4. Steward the implementation of the Big Plan for a minimum of 1 with the opportunity of extending up to 5 years.

As part of this engagement, you will receive $1,500 per month stipend to support 10 hours of the community care activities that you are already doing into which these activities fit.

Question 2

Are you a for-profit or non-profit?

Accepted Answer

For the Dena’s, we’ve engaged in the process of Dena’s Just Futures becoming at California Benefit Corporation. We are awaiting finalization to know which two leaders in Just Futures community leaders’ group to invite to join the board. As a CBC, Dena’s Just Futures will handle the leadership training, care-shops, the stewarding of the BIG Plan, and the long-term community programming as it relates to the implementation of the BIG Plan.

We have started forming the B-corporation, Hapii Co, to build the technology for the digital community bond for the Dena’s, and eventually other communities who need this third form of financing for their restoration and reconstruction.  We believe that the benefit corporate structure does a good job at holding companies accountable for their positive social, cultural, and environmental impact, without limiting the range of activities the company can undertake to have the resources to pay people equitably and directly support community.

Question 3

What are you all getting out of working with the Dena’s?

Accepted Answer

In the longer draft of the MOUs, we made it clear that we are paying ourselves at the same rate of community leaders at $150 per hour. We understand the ethos of volunteerism in an emergency, but as you move into restoration, the work of community care has value. As a team of Black folks, we have bills that need to be paid because racism has prevented the transfer of intergenerational wealth to enable us to offer our work on this community good without compensation.

The formation of Hapii (which is the name of NE African God of Abundance) will provide the opportunity for us to personally gain wealth in maybe 4 years. Yet, we are structuring Hapii so that community leaders, members, and their families in the Dena’s and elsewhere will participate in the benefits of this wealth.

Question 4

Where is the money coming from to pay for everything?

Accepted Answer

The money to pay stipends and community members honorariums and the team for the first year is coming from the seed funding for Hapii, which we are raising from values-aligned people in our social network. The money to pay community leader stipends for the second through fifth year will be funded as a small portion of the digital community bond's programming.

Question 5

Why the detailed MOU?

Accepted Answer

Concerns have been raised about the length and the complexity the MOU. We apologize for the overwhelm of information. Our goal is to achieve informed consent. Jaime Rodriguez gave us feedback on making it shorter, which we did. The current version details our goals and objectives, shared responsibilities, community leader responsibilities, and legal boilerplate around what to do when disagreements happen, etc.

With that in mind, we’ve decided not to require the MOU until you’ve had the chance to experience working with us. We’re committed to strengthening our relationships and building trust together. We also recognize that sharing space—like breaking bread—is an important part of deepening our collective commitment, especially as this plan will call on your time, attention, and participation throughout the summer.

Question 6

Why should we add Dena’s Just Futures to all our other activities NOW?

Accepted Answer

The Dena’s will have a hard time moving forward together without a Big Plan. Multiple parties such as Zaire Calvin and Altadena Rising have communicated that they have a plan. The Town Council might be moving to create a plan. We are offering to do the community outreach to support those plans to make sure at least 500 of the 42,000 Dena residents are participating in ways beyond a survey or a list of wants. Our approach requires community members to discuss and negotiate with each other their priorities on a tangible map of the town itself. This ensures that real discussions of the future can happen grounded in neighborly concerns.

Why now? Last week at the EFC, we were discussing that there is only about 12-18 more months before people completely give up on rebuilding. According to the Initiative’s current schedule, we would deliver the Big Plan by November 15, 2025. After Nov. 15th, everyone goes into Holidays mode until January 15th. If there are any State legislative items for approval, especially on the Digital Community Bond, it would have to be submitted by the third week of January. Our schedule takes into account these external factors and the scope of the engagement.

We offer again to meet one-on-one to discuss any questions with you. We ask that if your specific answer is "no" to let us know sooner as opposed to later so that we meet others and continue to build a relationship with for future engagements.

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