As an anti-capitalist living and working within capitalist systems and structures, I’m committed to providing services at accessible rates. I use a sliding scale and am always open to discussing ways to balance costs, consider trades, or co-create an exchange that works for us both.
As a white person doing anti-racist and decolonial work within settler-colonialism and white supremacy, I want to honour and acknowledge that all of my learning and understanding (past, ongoing, and future) comes from and through the labour of Indigenous, Black, and racialized folks. As an attempt to be accountable for the ways in which I benefit and profit from these oppressive systems, I am committed to redistributing some of the money I make from either consulting or counseling that connects with this work directly back to Indigenous, Black, and PoC led grassroots advocacy and activism. At a minimum, I will be taking 25% of this income to support:
- Land Back initiatives (responsive in the moment)
- Grassy Narrows (https://freegrassy.net/)
- Jane Finch Action Against Poverty (https://jfaap.com/)
- Migrant Rights Network (https://migrantrights.ca/)
- Butterfly: Asian and Migrant Sex Workers Alliance (https://www.butterflysw.org/)
Working and earning money for equity work, even with the intention of redistribution, is imperfect and there aren’t clear or established systems for doing this in good ways. I am open to any and all feedback or ideas around how to maintain accountable and transparent practice. If there is a group or cause I should be donating to, please don’t hesitate to suggest!
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When determining pricing, I will consider a variety of factors including but not limited to:
-The scope of work we’re undertaking
-If you are paying for this independently or if a workplace or organization is covering some or all of the costs
-If the work is one-on-one, in a dyad, or if the number of people/scope of work requires a combination of one-on-one and group meetings/sessions
-The scale of ‘behind the scenes’ work – how much time will I need to spend developing, building, or analyzing in order to best show up for meetings (e.g. am I building a curriculum for your leadership team? Am I having a number of one-on-one interviews before facilitating a group?)
If it’s for an organization:
-what type of organization (for profit, non-profit, charity, government, etc)
-what the annual operating budget is
-what percentage of that budget is dedicated to equity initiatives and/or professional development
-what funds are available to you individually within your org for this type of work
Specific sliding scale ranges for pricing can be found on the counseling and consulting pages.
Where do I fall in a sliding scale?
Determining what to pay within a sliding scale can feel challenging or confusing, and our relationships to money are both subjective (what $100 means to each of us) and dependent on where we live and our financial obligations. In the hope of making it easier for you to decide what to pay for these services here are some guiding questions/considerations:
-How does your social location (race, gender, sexuality, dis/ability, immigration status, educational status, etc) shape your access to financial resources?
-Do you have enough financial stability to meet basic needs?
-Do you have expendable income?
Consider paying less within the sliding scale if you:
- Support dependents
- Have significant debt
- Have medical expenses not covered by insurance or benefits
- Receive public assistance
- Have immigration-related expenses
- Are an elder with limited financial support
- Are an unpaid community organizer
- Have been incarcerated
- Have $0 savings
- Earn a living through criminalized work
- Have less access to money because of abuse
- Have chronic illness(es) or disability(ies)
Consider paying more within the scale if you:
- Are being funded by your workplace or organization
- Own the home you live in, rent by choice, or own other properties
- Have investments, retirement accounts or inherited money
- Travel recreationally
- Have access to family money or resources in times of need
- Work part-time by choice
- Have a relatively high degree of earning power (even if you aren’t using it right now) due to level of education, gender or racial privilege, class background, etc.
- Pay other practitioners full price
- Have few or no dependents
Interrogating and taking inventory of our financial resources and levels of privilege can be one way to challenge classist and capitalistic norms. The hope is to take action toward economic justice, not cause additional stress or anxiety. Paying what you can — in alignment with your values and capacities — is the goal.
Resources on sliding scales:
http://www.wortsandcunning.com/blog/sliding-scale
https://www.ridefreefearlessmoney.com/blog/2016/05/sliding-scale-1/