This month we’re highlighting New York’s Festival of the Solidarity Economy in NYC, Black farmers across the South stepping in to feed communities amid SNAP cuts, neighbors defending against ICE raids from Charlotte to Los Angeles, Ecuadorians standing up to neoliberalism and foreign military bases, and grassroots climate justice movements mobilizing at COP30 in Belém. We’re also urging our community to speak up for Sudan. From community-led food security to international climate solidarity, these stories show how ordinary people are organizing, resisting, and building alternatives to corporate power and state violence.
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STORIES FROM THE FIELD
A Dance Troupe group (“Danzantes”) with signs promoting the Solidarity Economy after their performance at NYC’s Festival of Solidarity Economy. Photo: CEANYC, IG @wawakuna
Cooperation releases abundance in NYC! Last week, NEC members CEANYC and NYC NOWC, with Artists for Mutual Aid , hosted the Solidarity Economy Festival, a joyful gathering where worker co-ops, credit unions, artists, mutual aid groups, and neighbors danced, learned, and strengthened relationships. The festival embodied Solidarity Economy principles: cooperation among co-ops, shared resources, and collective learning. Across NYC, communities are organizing for an economy rooted in care and cooperation—not billionaire interests. Read this article on the work ahead: real transformation means shifting decision-making power to communities and materially supporting the Solidarity Economy. In other NYC solidarity economy news, NEC member New Economy Project’s Executive Director Deyanira Del Rio has been appointed to Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani’s Transition Committee on Economic Development & Workforce Development.
Black Farming & Food Security. Recent SNAP cuts and delays are impacting nearly 50 million people across the United States— affecting disproportionately Black communities and disabled people—leaving families without reliable food support. In the South, Black-owned farms from North Carolina to Mississippi are stepping in where the government is failing. Drawing on their own resources, they are running community markets, delivering fresh produce, and stocking local food banks, ensuring that neighbors and families do not go hungry. Find food resources in the South.
Radical Solidarity Against ICE! All over the country, communities are taking the fight against ICE into their own hands. In Charlotte, North Carolina, neighbors have chased off ICE agents, and 30,000 students have walked out to protest ICE. Neighborhood networks, mutual aid groups, and bystander collectives are forming rapid-response systems to protect residents from deportation, shield workers in industries from farm labor to restaurants, and provide emergency legal and housing support. In LA the Community Coalition (CoCo) is training block captains to coordinate food drop-offs, and building multiracial solidarity against ICE: “Seeing families torn apart is so reminiscent of the white supremacist playbook that we’ve seen historically in communities of color, and that starts with our Indigenous siblings to slavery and through these latest ICE raids.” Get prepared: join ICE defense training in your area, know your rights & learn about rapid response hotlines.
STORIES FROM ABROAD
Community members in Santa Elena, Ecuador, painting a banner reading “Defend nature, VOTE NO”. Photo/caption via People’s Dispatch.
Ecuador de pie! Ecuador says NO to neoliberalism. In a powerful victory, Ecuadorians voted “NO” to foreign military (including U.S.) bases, rejecting neoliberal policies centered on regional militarization and outside control. Despite limited funding and a massive government-led propaganda campaign, grassroots organizers—social movements, Indigenous groups, and everyday people—pushed back, denouncing police violence and threats to people’s sovereignty. For many, this vote represents a clear rejection of neoliberal economic models and a reassertion of people power.
Grassroots Resistance vs. Corporate Power: COP30 in Belém, Brazil, brought together Indigenous leaders, farmers, and grassroots organizers demanding real climate justice, while corporate lobbyists and wealthy nations dodged responsibility, robbing the Global South of climate funding and driving the climate crisis. In a summit dominated by fossil fuel interests, land defenders and community protectors mobilized, culminating in a protest march of over 50,000 people under the banner: “Make Polluters, Pay.” To see the real demands in action: read the Via Campesina declaration, watch a video about how to build international solidarity, meet Indigenous climate justice leaders, and witness the moment when Indigenous leaders stormed the COP30 summit, challenging agribusiness, oil exploration, illegal mining, and deforestation.
Speak up for Sudan: Sudan is facing one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises, with civilians killed, starved, and displaced while gold and agricultural resources are violently extracted, and the international community looks the other way. Foreign powers, including the UAE, back militias fueling the violence, and Western governments maintain close ties with coup leaders who threw the country into chaos. Across Africa and the world, progressive and popular organizations are raising their voices in solidarity with the people of Sudan. Dig deeper into what’s happening and support urgent relief efforts for food, medical aid, and shelter.
MOVEMENT NEWS
Will Mamdani’s Victory Advance a Solidarity Economy in New York City?
Community Land Trusts Are Standing Up to New York City’s Worst Landlords
First They Came for DC
Santa Fe Votes to Tie its Minimum Wage to the Cost of Rent
How the World Enriches From the Blood of Palestinians
Lessons from Helene: An Organized Community Is a Safe Community
There’s a New Generation of Folk Protest Singers on TikTok
Ireland Makes a Program Offering Basic Income for Artists Permanent
Starbucks Workers Are United — Red Cup Rebellion Strike” (In These Times)
Co-ops Looking to Change the World, Town by Town
Palestinians Reel Under Winter Rains as Israel Blocks Gaza Shelter Supplies
RESOURCE LIBRARY
“A Collective Future,” a documentary following Boston organizers fighting for community ownership.
PODCASTS & VIDEO
A Collective Future (trailer) | Center for Economic Democracy, City Life Vida Urbana and Asian American Resource Workshop.
Electric Cooperative Organizing Toolkit Launch Event | Shareable & Rural Power Coalition
Building Power Through Collective Ownership in Philly | Next City
How International Solidarity Can Help Stop Sudan’s Genocide | Waging Nonviolence
Great Movies for Organizers | Social Movement Technologies
Burnout Is Not Inevitable: Building Movements That Can Hold Us | Truthout
TOOLKITS & RESOURCES
Movement Protection Strategies Guide | Sustainable Economies Law Center
A guide to help organizations navigate political threats. Also available in Spanish.
Guía de Estrategias de Protección de Movimientos | Sustainable Economies Law Center.
Una guía para ayudar a las organizaciones a navegar amenazas políticas.
Fortunately Magazine, Un/Making Issue | Boston Ujima Project.
JOBS
Communications Generalist – ART.COOP
Program Manager – Beloved Community Incubator
Finance Fellowship position – OurSpace World
Social Media Manager – More Perfect Union
Senior Communications Organizer – Corporate Accountability
Anchor Strategy Director – Center for Community Wealth
Director of Communications – Mothers Out Front
Director of Marketing and Communications – Organization: ACLU of Minnesota
Director of Development – Dignity & Power Now
Director of Development and Communications – Ignite Peace
Membership Insights & Collaboration Strategist – BLIS Collective
If you’re hiring, consider submitting to The Roundup.
For more opportunities, check out this job board from NEC member Post Growth Institute and this one from the U.S. Federation of Worker Co-ops!
EVENTS
FARMWISE Foundations of Financial Health Webinar Series 2025. Croatan Institute’s FARMWISE Hub, is partnering with the Michael Fields Agricultural Institute and SHARE (Soil Health Alliance for Research and Engagement) to deliver a webinar series this season. Tune into free, online workshops designed for beginning and underserved farmers! Gain knowledge about how to build the foundation of financial health for resilient soil health transitions and wealth building. (December 2 & December 9 – Virtual)
Power & Place: A Film Series on Housing, Power, and Collective Action. A four-film series examining the human stories behind America’s housing crisis and the communities rising to meet it. Each film explores a different facet of home—from displacement and organizing to policy and persistence—offering both a reckoning and a vision for what housing justice can look like. Join a live virtual Q&A with filmmakers, directors, or featured subjects for a deeper look at the movements shaping the future of housing (December 3, 1:00 PM ET – Virtual)
The Ethics of Reporting and Storytelling about At-Risk Climate Defenders. A free webinar to discuss the ethical and safety considerations media professionals should take into consideration when reporting on climate defenders who are living under legal, mental, or physical threat, and increased mass surveillance. For anyone telling stories about climate change and human rights, who want to do so with people’s safety and security in mind. (December 3 – Virtual)
Graduation Showcase by Start.coop’s Black Community Wealth Accelerator. Meet and celebrate twelve Black cooperatively-owned startups who are seeking to more equitably distribute wealth, directly addressing systemic oppression, and actively supporting the communities they call home. These cooperatives are building businesses across various industries and sectors, including agriculture, grocery, healthcare, real estate, and many more. (December 5 – Virtual)
Cooperative Leadership Certification Program by Round Sky Solutions
Increase your facilitative leadership capacity in this training by: tapping into tools, skills, & confidence to facilitate in the midst of uncertainty; gaining effective and collaborative decision-making processes; strengthening alignment & accountability and reduce burnout through collaborative project management tools; building community & hashing out the real world complexities in meaningful democratic management. (Application deadline is February 8th, 2026 – Virtual)
Registration Has Officially Opened for the NEXT ECONOMY MBA
LIFT Economy’s MBA is a nine-month online course to equip social impact leaders with the tools they need to help create an equitable, inclusive, and regenerative economy. In addition to bi-weekly facilitated course sessions, office hours to dive into deeper learning, and practical resources, participants will join a 800+ strong alumni community of mission-aligned professionals aspiring to grow the new paradigm of business. Some amazing regenerative organizations are represented in the MBA Alumni network – from climate justice initiatives that center indigenous-led food sovereignty like Native Roots Network, to a Black Farmers Fund, Boston Ujima Project and more. Curious if the Next Economy MBA is right for you? Sign up for a free intro. (Next cohort begins March 20th – Virtual)
Free Worker Co-op Tax Webinars.
Hosted by the US Federation of Worker Co-ops’ Co-op Clinic:
WORKER CO-OP STARTUP WEBINAR, perfect for folks in the early stages of building their co-op businesses, English only. (January 7 – Virtual)
PREPARING TO FILE 2025 TAXES AS A WORKER CO-OP, English to Spanish. (January 12 – Virtual)
PREPARING TO FILE 2025 TAXES AS AN LLC COOPERATIVE, Spanish to English. (January 19 – Virtual)