Body Politic's Future At Risk

Mustard yellow textured background, with cream colored window for text in the center, and a megaphone icon on the bottom left, and Body Politic logo at bottom center. Text says: Future of Body Politic at risk!

To our beloved community,

We are writing to give an update about our current situation and what we’re asking from community members. To be blunt, our financial situation is dire. We estimate Body Politic (Slack included) will cease to exist by early 2023 without funding (GOAL: $500k). 



First, to our community members: thank you for making this community and space what it is today. The dynamic support and high-caliber discourse of these channels reach patients searching for support and advice, and save lives. We are honored to hold space with you, and hope to continue maintaining a safe and ethical platform. To do so, BP’s Board want to be transparent about what happens next. 



Body Politic is struggling to maintain what we’ve built and continue forward. We do not have capacity to responsibly maintain this 13,000+ (and rapidly growing) patient group. To better serve this community, we are shifting from a scrappy emergency response in the pandemic’s first wave to a professional operation with adequate operational and legal infrastructure.


This group launched as an immediate, grassroots crisis response, building the plane while flying. We relied on patchwork solutions and all volunteers to build our space, research our diseases, advocate for change, and facilitate peer-support. We hold ourselves accountable to good science, grounding our approach in evidence-based research and empathy.


Now, our administrative capacity is buckling under exponentially increasing demands. Each wave brings 1000s of new members seeking help across the globe. Our 2 paid part-time staff and 30+ volunteers are unable to manage what we’ve collectively created. We cannot keep apace without changing our operating model away from solely volunteer-based, and start paying for Slack.



Here is where the money will go: 

  • Slack subscription PER USER per month (free trial ends January 2023)

  • Maintaining privacy by remaining on Slack

  • ⬆️availability & number of channel moderators (paid and volunteer)

  • Expand channel offerings in response to member requests

  • Keeping Slack open to new members, with a fast and easy process to join

  • Continue offering resources/info to newly chronically ill & disabled people following COVID-19 infections 

  • Liaisons & advisors to government agencies, researchers, clinicians, industry professionals, and media

  • ⬆️ opportunities for members to participate in research, spread awareness with media, inform clinical trials & gov’t action

  • Public education through virtual events, social media, and digital outreach 

  • Community-based advocacy centering lived experience 

  • Explore future funding sources to sustain our work 

  • Incubating at Springboard HealthLab

  • Operational & legal administration

Without a cash infusion, there simply is no possibility to sustain Body Politic. The Slack platform and support group moderation are critical, and sets our group apart from other spaces. We will not continue in this work without a robust team of moderators and administrators to ensure equitable and evidenced-based standards for our community. 


How you can help: 

  1. DONATE & RAISE MONEY bit.ly/donatebodypolitic to make a tax-deductible donation via our fiscal sponsor Springboard HealthLab, EIN 87-1818608, 5601 Van Fleet Ave, Richmond, CA 94804. Include “Body Politic” in Paypal note or check memo. (Note: recurring donations on PayPal does not currently have space for comments to include Body Politic. We are working with SpringBoard HealthLab on this. Please email us at info@wearebodypolitic.com if you encounter any issues.“)

  2. CONNECT US TO DONORS & PARTNERS: Our team is pursuing private donors, foundations, and strategic partners, and we could use more connections and insights on potential partners. Reach out to info@wearebodypolitic.com  

  3. SPREAD THE WORD. Until our Slack account runs out, we’re accessible to new patients (SIGN UP). Consider using your platforms to help your peers, like sharing our posts on Body Politic’s current situation (Twitter, Instagram). You can this google form to tell the world what the Body Politic Support Group means to you HERE 



This potential loss is insurmountable and impending. We need your help. No matter where we go from here, we as a community have created something absolutely wonderful and one-of-a-kind. 



Our deepest gratitude, 

Body Politic Board

The Editors