Occupiers Get Cash From... Corporate Bosses

Ben and Jerry's leading the way
By Matt Cantor,  Newser Staff
Posted Feb 28, 2012 7:01 AM CST
Occupiers Get Cash From... Corporate Bosses
Occupy Wall Street activists march from Zuccotti park to the Thurgood Marshall U.S. Courthouse, Friday, Jan. 20, 2012 in New York.   (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer)

As the last Occupy camps are dismantled, an unlikely force has emerged to keep the rag-tag protest movement going. A team of corporate leaders is joining forces to raise money for protesters, with some $300,000 collected so far. Among the members of the new Movement Resource Group are Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield, of Ben & Jerry's fame, and Danny Goldberg, the former manager of Nirvana. The group hopes to raise $1.8 million, the Wall Street Journal reports.

About two-thirds of the money raised so far has come from the Ben & Jerry's Foundation and its steering committee, with another $60,000 provided by individuals. Some $150,000 will be used for a national movement office in New York. Starting next month, the team will join a group of protesters to review applications for project grants of $25,000. Some money will be used to provide stipends for "core activists." "Many of us have been working for progressive social change," says Cohen, but "there's been a critical ingredient missing." (More corporations stories.)

Get the news faster.
Tap to install our app.
X
Install the Newser News app
in two easy steps:
1. Tap in your navigation bar.
2. Tap to Add to Home Screen.

X