As a name, “Gia” means "God is gracious" in several languages.

In Sanskrit, gia signifies the essence of life, the spirit, and the soul.

In Spanish botany, gia refers to “an evergreen tree with a spreading crown.”

In Greek mythology Gaia (Gaea) was the goddess of the earth, the great mother of all creation. She is the Greek goddess who personified Earth in its primordial form. Quite simply, the definition of Gaia is life. She is the mother goddess, inhabiting the planet, and offering life and nourishment to all her children. In ancient civilizations, she was revered as the mother, nurturer, and giver of life.

Why?

Why Give It Away

Many of us understand that we benefit from privileges rooted directly in the oppression and suffering of others, especially BIPOC people and the people of the global south. Many of us want to address such injustices, but feel too busy, overwhelmed, uninformed, lost or unsure where to begin. GIA Collective is an invitation to begin (or to continue) taking concrete steps to embody your values. Receive. Read. Redistribute.

Nothing belongs to us. But we belong to each other. Redistribute what you “have” to where it’s needed, and trust that it will come back to you when you are the one in need. And given the current climate emergency, multiple genocides, and the world’s rapid descent into fascism and world war, we all will be. Our survival literally depends on our ability to care for one another and be cared for. So, let that shit go. It was never yours. Give it away.

Why divest and redistribute “your” wealth?

“In recognition of the fact that all white wealth is stolen wealth, allies & accomplices should make divestment work a central part of their political practice, and organize other white folks to make divestments. Divestment may be made in the form of: direct contributions of money and other resources; fundraising work; any work that frees up POC leadership and community members to focus their organizing.” Source: Community Ready Corps (CRC) The 5 Methods of Divestment & Weaponization of White Power & Privilege

More reasons:

• Colonialism
• The Racial Wealth Gap
• The 13th Amendment
• Redlining
• The Tulsa Race Massacre
• Reparations
• Solidarity, Not Charity
• A Guide to Grassroots, POC-led Support
• Source: Reimagined (formerly Anti-Racism Daily)

Why direct and mutual aid over traditional “philanthropy”?

“Truly, the most effective way of getting resources directly to those who need them is through mutual aid. Mutual aid [...] focuses on each individual being able to give what they can while affording necessities: water, food, shelter, standard articles of clothing, etc. It prevents people from having unnecessary money and wealth which they’ll never utilize and instead redistributes it to those who don’t have sufficient wealth enough to afford the aforementioned life necessities. [...]

Mutual aid is much more reliable than charity in the way that the help people in any given community may need is directly given to them by members of their community. So, “mutual aid goes beyond simple charity and patronage – it mobilizes society itself for society itself” [...]

Native cultures have long lived by the ideal of “mutual aid” before it was even made up as a concept and was primarily used before colonialism, neo-colonialism, imperialism, and Westernization became rampant around the globe. [...] Europeans forced individualistic culture to the front of society to add efficiency to their industrializing, colonizing, and imperializing. [...]

Mutual aid is a non-Western tradition. Indigenous communities have long had interdependency as a part of their cultures and since the rise of Westernization people of color have always used it to survive and take care of each other, particularly in the West. Until the colonial and industrial era happened, Indigenous cultures around the world were highly connected to the modern ideal of “mutual aid.” People of color to this day are targeted for using mutual aid and this cannot be ignored in conversations about it in our communities, especially because “the co-option of mutual aid without accountability amounts to racism.” Source: Solidarity not Charity: Why Mutual Aid?

What?

GIA Collective’s Intentions

Redistribute Wealth: To directly redistribute as much money as possible together. The intention is also to spread awareness about this work, but primarily to encourage the Collective to meaningfully invest in it. The idea is for each Collective member--especially those with great privilege (see “Who?”)--to make a one-time contribution or become a monthly supporter to as many CCOs as possible.

Build a Collective: To grow. GIA is centered in collective action. The intention is for these CCOs to reach as many people as possible, especially white people with access to wealth. This is a call to redistribute and, just as importantly, to bring others with us. Please share about GIA! Who else do you know with white and/or financial privilege? My dream is 50 new Collective members by the end of 2025.

Unlearn “Ownership”: To unlearn and begin to abolish harmful colonial, imperialist, capitalist notions of “ownership” together. To shift away from individualism and toward the collective. To release that which you have believed to be “yours,” and allow it to become ours. “Mine” and “yours” are made up. Let’s begin to let them go.

Who?

GIA Collective’s Audience

Everyone. Anyone. But especially white people and those with financial privilege, which might look like: owning land or property (including your home), having a trust fund, an inheritance, or generally benefiting from inherited wealth, making 6 figures or more (which makes you part of the top 10% of earners in the US!), not having student loan debt or other forms of debt, etc.

How?

Budgeting for Community Care

If these values resonate with you, put your money where your heart is. This work--taking care of each other--is essential; it is a matter of survival. So budget for it like you would any other essential expense, like rent, food, or gas.

For example, “my” monthly net pay is about $4,200. I aspire to contribute at least 5% of this to community care, eventually 10%. At the moment, I’m working on paying down about $8,000 in credit card debit, so I may not get there right away, but ultimately, when I do, I will be redistributing at least $210 a month back to my local or our global community. How much can you release?

Tier 1: 5%

Tier 2: 10%

Tier 3: 15%

Tier 4: 20%