Our Relationship to Money

On paper, All Kings is a non-profit organization. We have a Board of Directors, and a small administrative staff, and an accountant.

But in reality we operate as a network of smaller communities, like a civic association or a social movement. Each community is run by local volunteer leaders and mentors. These local men bring in other men, including justice-involved young men, and collectively the group works together and grows. The national leadership supports the local men with training and accountability structures to keep the work is safe and effective. But it’s the local men who run the communities and develop them.

We didn’t invent this model. All Kings was inspired by two programs: Inside Circle, a group healing program based in Folsom State Prison, featured in the documentary The Work; and A Band of Brothers, a UK-based non-profit founded in Brighton, England in 2010. The model is proven effective. Over the last ten years, A Band of Brothers has spread to 11 communities across the country, with over 1300 men participating. One study showed that these communities lower the recidivism rate for young men by 82%. The communities also make contributions to their neighborhoods through service projects. And the men show up for their families because they are able to live with more integrity and accountability. (Check out some stories of men involved in that project or some press articles about it.)

We mention this, because we do want to be clear about this aspect of our work: our work is not about money. We are a local, volunteer-powered community. Each man gives his time and energy in service of other men, for the betterment of his community and as a growth opportunity for himself. 

This makes us somewhat different from other reentry programs that offer men tangible, material resources like jobs or housing. It’s also different from organizations who pay men to participate or lead.

We believe such organizations are absolutely essential. Every human being should have access to housing, social services, and a job that pays a living wage. Men who have been incarcerated in particular are often locked out of opportunities for those resources. And so in our advocacy and actions, we will fight to support organizations doing this critical work, and fight to break down the structural barriers that require it.

But our mission is somewhat different. Our mission is to create spaces where all men, regardless of his personal, legal, or economic circumstances, feel equally empowered to help other men grow and heal. Our mission is to help men cultivate and share their spiritual and emotional resources.

And those we already have in abundance.

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A few other points about our relationship to money.

FUNDING

We aim to have a small, lean organization. The funding for our “Hub Team,” which handles our administration, comes from donations and grants.

The funding for local communities gets raised locally. Older and more resourced men who join the community are asked to contribute a suggested donation of $50-150 to participate in the various trainings. Through these contributions from more established men in the community, we can we insure that all younger man can attend the weekend free of charge, courtesy of the men in their own community. We also believe that by creating our own income sources as a community, we can be ultimately responsible to ourselves, rather than to outside sources. 

ACCESSIBILITY

We understand men have different access to financial resources and different relationships to paid work -- some men find paid work easier than others, some men willingly choose to do work that pays less, as a contribution to others. We also know that a man’s wage has no relationship to his ability to serve other men and his community. 

Because of this, we pledge to make every program, training, and event 100% accessible to any man who wants to participate. Maybe he will have the opportunity to contribute financially at some point. Maybe his contribution will be non-financial. Whatever the case, we value his contribution and energy.

ALL KINGS STAFF

Our small staff — which handles the leadership, administration, and training, we will operate on a simple financial model, based on the model successfully employed by A Band of Brothers. Every employee for All Kings, regardless of position, makes the same rate: $30/hour, or a salary of $60,000 per year -- at 40 hours/week, with 6 weeks vacation. 

TRANSPARENCY

Money has a way living in shadow and causing separation. We commit to having open and clear conversations about finances. And we commit to making all documentation about our national budgets and expenditures public.