Having operated RISE eX-detainee for over 10 years, we can confidently say that much of non-profit funding is driven by so-called saviours looking to offset their “tax burdens”, often expecting vulnerable people to perform gratitude and dance around them, and not engage in any actual work that challenges the foundations of white supremacy and capitalism. With this attitude, anything projects that actually threaten the status quo are deemed “controversial”. It’s no secret that corporations sanitise their own racism and vulture capitalism, disguising it as “corporate responsibility” by offloading part of their tax burden through donations to non-profit organisations. They do this by setting up entire departments to manage these funds which function like marketing machines and have little understanding of what is actually happening on the ground with refugee eX-detainee victims and survivors.
The likelihood of corporate trustees funding queer-based advocacy and projects is often higher, because these issues do impact white people, their loved ones, and their friends. This is seen as “cutting edge” , including “diversity” and giving voices to the “marginalised” while supporting “campaigns”. However these campaigns, while ostensibly for queer people, rarely include visible queer eX-detainees.
The philanthropy sector in so-called Australia tends to expect survivors like us to run loosely defined projects. They don’t want us to challenge white supremacy or question the government, but rather only to take their money, run a 12-month project, and say thank you. They still don’t trust the values and services that these organisations provide. They do not want us to be genuinely self-governing- it’s always on their terms. They also expect non-profit organisations to write lengthy reports, which they then copy and paste into their annual reports just so they can feature us in their annual reports and feel good about themselves. Some parts of the non-profit sector, despite their core values, are run in a way that is ultimately defeating the very purpose of what it means to be a non-profit.
RISE eX-detainees is entirely run and led not only by eX-detainee refugees but also by people of colour. Basically, if any grassroots advocacy organisation is run by people of colour outside of elite society, funding is rarely available, unless we become servants to their saviour industrial complex approach. Some major philanthropies have even asked us to stop our advocacy or “tone down” how we speak about certain issues and projects. Basically, they’re asking us to stay silent and put their comfort first. This feels like being asked to die quietly and not tell our truth about what the reality of the experience of an eX-detainee is. This is the state of the philanthropy sector in so-called Australia and it has been operating like this for decades.
RISE eX-detainees have always refused to accept funding from State, Federal and local governments. We also refuse funding from those investing in prison, land grabbing and any other violation of our values. eX-detainees at RISE are unapologetic for the work we do and we will continue to hold accountable anyone who are against eX-detainees self-determination. The fact that we are unapologetic for our work also means our funding, donations and followers decrease on a daily basis, but we still RISE.
RISE eX-detainees