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Chapter 12. "That Reciprocity that Makes Us Human"
- Texas A&M University Press
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12 “That Reciprocity that Makes Us Human” Mutual aid organizing by US Mexicans can seem so peripheral as to be invisible: day laborers wiring money to their hometowns, or a faded mutualista sign on a dilapidated building. Yet, as we have seen, barrio mutual aid activity has a long if overlooked history that continues to reverberate in cutting-edge ways. Moreover, this influence even extends to the elite world of corporate philanthropy. Some of the biggest players, such as the Global Business Network’s Monitor Institute, argue that the mutualista model is essential for the future of philanthropy itself. The Global Business Network/Monitor Institute publication Looking Out for the Future: An Orientation for Twenty-first Century Philanthropists features the article “Mutualismo Not Filantropía.” Employing the “futures scenario” tool currently all the rage among policy professionals, the report argues that community philanthropy, in particular, should consider the mutualista approach. This particular “futures scenario” posits the historic mutualista model as applied to the community foundation of Cedar Rapids, Iowa. “After becoming the first community foundation in a predominantly white area to adopt the Mexican mutualista (mutual aid) model,” they write, “the Greater Cedar Rapids Community Foundation (GCRCF) announced in 2024 that it had more than doubled its endowment, and that its education and neighborhood safety programs had helped lower high-school dropout rates and decrease juvenile crime by more than 50 percent.”1 According to this scenario from the Monitor Institute, the so-called Greater Cedar Rapids Community Foundation decided to implement the mutualista after having seen the success in El Paso of philanthropies that had tapped their own local mutualista tradition. “Renaming itself the El Paso Mutual Aid Society in the ’00s, it joined with others across the US in experimenting with endowed community hubs that solicit money from residents of all income levels and play an active broker role for their constituencies .” The futures scenario included an initiative “to coordinate remittance giving back to home communities in Mexico,” recognizing what immigration scholars call “philanthropy from below.” In general, the Cedar Rapids plan looked to the way that “El Paso began using its assets”—that is, longstanding mutual aid that could be harnessed “to operate credit ser- 163 “That Reciprocity that Makes Us Human” vices, to provide sickness and death benefits, to represent and advocate for local residents . . . and to offer social and educational programs to community members.” For the benefit of its audience of philanthropy professionals, the Monitor Institute explains that “The El Paso mutualista itself was adapted from earlier Mexican traditions of sociedades mutualistas and the mutual aid societies that helped Mexican-American immigrants adjust to the US in the late nineteenth century.” The scenario builds to an impressive conclusion, citing the 2024 executive director of the Greater Cedar Rapids Community Foundation, one Simone Johnson, on the effectiveness of the mutualista model, having her report that “In Texas, contributions from everyone, even very poor residents, helped create new bonds and an unbelievable spirit of fraternity in the community. But it isn’t just Latinos that want stronger connections between donors and the recipients of their giving. It took us awhile to work through the growing pains, but just like in El Paso and Corpus Christi, folks here in Cedar Rapids didn’t want some cold institution that just collected money from rich people and gave it at a distance to poor ones. They wanted a place that would bring people together to share and help each other—to build a real community that looks out for its own.” The scenario also cites a supposed 2024 philanthropy expert at Indiana University to the effect that “some people didn’t think that a model that emerged in Latino communities would translate so well to a predominantly white area like Cedar Rapids, but there is no denying the results. Mutualistas are simply more fluid and dynamic than previous models for community philanthropy, and they are much more connected to all parts of the community.”2 When presented with this scenario, a pioneer with regard to US Mexicans and philanthropy, Herman Gallegos, responded that in fact the actual community fund operating in El Paso works quite well—“does important work.” Gallegos explained that the El Paso community foundation began with about ten families donating about ten thousand dollars each, and now, “for a miniscule amount of money,” the foundation provides professional accounting expertise for local donors, issuing checks on their behalf to whatever community group the grantee has designated. He said...