Finances of Occupy Wall Street
Occupy Wall Street has raised just under $400,000 in assets in under two months.
The organization has spent about $55,000 so far, and according to a NYC General Assembly finance report, ”The single largest costs have been for food, medical care and laundry cleaning at Zuccotti Park, a total of about $22,000, while the cost of communications systems is second, at about $20,000. OWS has raised about $450,000 in public donations, and has about $400,000 cash on hand.”
Analyzing the report reveals that comfort spending included clothing and sleeping costs. Communications included wifi hotspots, computers, livestream cameras, and associated gear. Occupy Wall Street also purchased tarps, furniture, hardware, and generators, which were later confiscated by the FDNY. Travel expenses were also covered, and were mainly used to transport the injured to the hospital.
Occupy Wall Street also includes alternative renewable (human) energy in the form of bikes attached to capacitors.
In true Occupy Wall Street fashion, the assets are not held in a regular bank. Instead, they are held at Amalgamated Bank, which is a national bank owned by the Workers United/SEIU labor union. It is America’s first bank to be fully owned by a union.
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Hello GroupMate!,
I have been so consumed with my studies that I have not had a chance to check the news until last night; the first thing that came up was the protest in Oakland. I’m glad that you keep up with the news and its really cool that you actually go to these events, take notes and a few pictures, then write about it later. I’m assuming you took the picture as well, and I feel it really captures the moment.
Good Job!
Best Regards,
Chris G.
Hey Fellow Journocritter/Groupmate.
Again, I’m impressed by your coverage of the OWS movement. I had no idea the movement had raised that much money – and I think it’s interesting that they’re keeping the money at Amalgamated Bank, which I’ve only ever heard of in reference once before. Keep up the good work – you’re definitely covering aspects of the protests that main stream media seems to be overlooking.