Symbiosis PDX

 2022 Spring Update

We wanted to update you all on how funds are spent and budgeted for us. Symbiosis as a whole organization shares in this pot to sustain all of our efforts. Our biggest efforts needing funding these days are our Mutual aid and our Indigenous solidarity work. 

We maintain a weekly food drop and regular water drops to 2 locations on the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs Reservation as a baseline in our work. We maintain a once a month resource distribution for chunks of the year. There are regular crises on the Reservation that require immediate response(fires, heatwaves, water line breaks, surges in covid) which oftentimes requires purchasing and transporting large quantities of water, PPE, Food, filters. We seek to do this work as free or cheap as possible without compromising stepping up to our fullest to meet the need the best we can. Donations contribute to these resources as well as gas reimbursements and truck rentals. For reference 1 pallet of water can cost around $330. 

Our Mutual aid work for a few years now has organized a resource donation and distribution site for folks facing food, housing and economic insecurity. Here we cook, package and provide meals, groceries, PPE, plan B and pregnancy tests, first aid supplies, sanitation supplies and other needed resources. This has also been a place we have taken in donations for other efforts for example sun hats for migrant farm workers, fire relief response efforts etc. Our mutual aid work has also made sure to get emergency resources out to the surrounding Houseless community when weather, fires etc requires elevated survival support. The main costs of these efforts are in paying $600 /month rent, togo containers and utensils, supplemental foods when donations are low, and then resources like freezing temperature gear, electrolytes for higher heats etc. 

Given the level of need we meet with our programs we work to sustain about $6000 dollars as a baseline in our accounts so as to have room to problem solve fundraising should we lose sustainers, without endangering our ability to continue the work. This also allows us a base from which to access funds when the next crisis hits so that we can at least initially have a couple of thousand dollars to initiate responses without threatening the longer term aspects of our work. 

There are a couple of thousand people every year who are supported by these efforts, so thank you for helping us continue this work.