Philadelphia

Philadelphia

RG-PHILLY! 

We are RG Philly and we are so happy you have landed on our webpage. Maybe you have suddenly gained access to a trust fund. Maybe you know that you’re going to inherit family wealth in a few years. Maybe you find yourself in a position of class privilege in the largest poor city in the country. Maybe you don’t know what to do with this access to wealth, but you suspect there are better uses for it than letting it sit in a vault. Whatever the reason that brings you here, we are glad that your explorations have led you to Resource Generation.

Resource Generation (RG) is a community of young people with wealth or class privilege organizing ourselves toward the equitable redistribution of wealth, land, and power. We move personal and family wealth to partner organizations while educating ourselves on the socioeconomic systems that lead to inequality and how to undermine them. For over a decade RG Philly has carried out Resource Generation’s mission on a local scale, working to make Philadelphia a more equitable place for all who call it home.

 

What Does RG Philly Do?

​​Praxis: Praxis is a word that means the process of engaging with and practicing theories, lessons, and skills. Every year, RG Philly runs Praxis sessions for young people with wealth or class privilege to reflect on and process their access to wealth. Throughout this six month praxis, cohorts of eight to ten young people operationalize their values, consider what wealth redistribution might look like for themselves, and then make plans for how they want to move their money, all in a supportive environment. Everyone’s giving plan is unique, but many RGers move money toward one or more of our partner organization projects below.

Poor People’s Army: The Poor People’s Army is a collective that provides on the ground community services to Philadelphia’s underserved Kensington neighborhood, among many, many other things. They are one of RG Philly’s longest standing partnerships. In 2024, RG Philly worked with the Poor People’s Army to raise $150,000 toward the purchase of a community center, so that they will have a permanent base of operations in Kensington for generations to come.

Philadelphia Community Bail Fund: Philadelphia has a cash bail system, which means that many Philadelphians are in jail for months at a time without ever being convicted of a crime, simply because they cannot pay their bail. The cash bail system separates families and disrupts homes. RG Philly holds biannual fundraisers for the Philadelphia Community Bail Fund around Mother’s Day and around the winter holiday season to bail out Black mothers and jailed youth, respectively. These fundraisers reunite families navigating the criminal legal system.

Freedom Side School: Freedom Side School is a free, abolitionist K-5 school for children directly impacted by mass incarceration, set to welcome its first class of students in 2026. RG Philly has partnered with Freedom Side School to ensure that the school has three years worth of funding by the time the school is ready to open, so that Freedom Side can focus its energy on the students, the curriculum, and on building the next generation of abolitionists.

 

And So Much More!

RG Philly is not just a donor network and not just a study group. We organize our base to become leaders and organizers. We are active participants and partners to our partner organizations. In addition to praxis, RG members have numerous opportunities throughout the year to plug into a community of like-minded individuals figuring out how to use privilege and access for good, from taking on working-group roles with our partner organizations to facilitating our meetings, retreats, or workshops. There’s never a bad time to find your way into movement work. If you think that RG Philly has something to offer you, it does, and we hope that you join us at our next event and in our next campaign.

 

How To Get Involved With RG Philly

  • Fill out Resource Generation’s Intake Form and select “Philadelphia”. Someone from our chapter will reach out to you to set up a one-to-one meeting to discuss our chapter, answer any questions, and talk about opportunities to get involved in our work based on your interests. From there you can also be added to our chapter listserv to receive our monthly email newsletter.
  • Follow our chapter on Instagram @rg_philly to know about our upcoming events!

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