Mutual aid groups ponder future of community-based help

By EDEN STIFFMAN of The Chronicle of Philanthropy
Chronicle of Philanthropy

As the pandemic upended lives and livelihoods, people around the country came together to help ensure their communities had food, money for rent, childcare assistance, and other basic needs. Many groups organized under the banner of mutual aid, a practice with deep historical roots that continues to exist in many forms. Mutual aid groups emphasize an egalitarian way of providing help with no strings attached. Community-based nonprofits may participate in and collaborate with mutual aid networks, but the groups themselves are typically volunteer led and unincorporated — often because they prefer it that way.