HOW WE GROW
We hold space for hope. We support solutions to the issues we view as most pressing in our communities—social justice and water conservation. This focus directs our donations and the educational work we do through our product selection, person to person conversations, and our online platform. As a white-owned business we have a commitment and a responsibility to share economic opportunities in our community that serve a better future for people and our planet.
Supporting our staff and neighbors to create healthy economic and social systems is our most impactful work. We provide a true living wage to our staff, dictated by our belief in their value and respect for their contribution rather than by a market designed to lift only a few. We work to support the personal and professional goals of each team member both inside and outside of the store, and offer opportunities to create micro ventures within the Psychic Sister resource net, including designing their own products, organizing events, or utilizing the space as service providers. This tent for entrepreneurial incubation expands beyond just our staff—we utilize both our physical resources and our platform to promote local vendors, activists, and healing practitioners.
We prioritize inclusivity and diverse representation in our inventory, staff and community events. We earmark profits from the sale of books and products from Black creators to be directly reinvested in Black-owned businesses, racial justice organizations, and mutual aid funds. We continue to expand our awareness and support of Black Lives Matter, the fight for racial justice and the celebration of black excellence. We honor the heroes, thinkers, and leaders of this movement.
WHAT WE GAVE IN 2020
In 2020, we donated 12% of our profits, or 1.25% of our total sales, to a mixture of both public and private recipients. We’d like to acknowledge a few of those recipients here and encourage our fellow community members to research them and consider donating as well.
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● Interfaith Works offers emergency services and support to our most vulnerable and stigmatized neighbors, not as charity but as an act of social justice. Interfaith Works Homeless Services is rooted in empowerment, social inclusion, and community education to end the unnecessary stigmatization of the most vulnerable.
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● The Chinook Nation is made up of the five western-most Chinookan speaking tribes at the mouth of the Columbia River, whose history and constitution define themselves as being Lower Chinook, Clatsop, Willapa, Wahkiakum and Kathlame. The Chinook Indian Nation is not a Federally Recognized Tribe despite years of recognition and interaction with the federal government, Chinook status still remains unclear. The nation works to preserve their language and cultural heritage.
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● Sassy Latte is a political creative sharing education about body politics and racial justice, juxtaposed with body-based art, and creating a community space to learn and interact, to stumble and to rise.
OUR GOALS FOR 2021
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● In 2021 we plan to fund and distribute the inaugural grants from our BIPOC-Owned Business fund. These funds are profits that we have specifically earmarked for reinvesting into neighboring BIPOC entrepreneurs, with the goal of changing the racial demographics of our local business community to more accurately represent those who live here.
● We will distribute raises and benefits to our staff to remain ahead of industry standard changes—ensuring that we’re paying our talented employees a living wage well above the future minimum wage standards in recognition of their special skills and experience.
● We will increase transparency about our vendors, making it easier for our customers to shop in support of BIPOC creators, continue to expand that market share, and learn more about the causes we care about.
