Banking on Our Future Day of Action: March 21, 2023
Brunswick and Sutton Way, Grass Valley
3:30 to 5:30 pm
On March 21, 2023 from 3:30 to 5:30 p.m., local climate groups are organizing a Banking on Our Future demonstration at the corner of Brunswick and Sutton Way in Grass Valley, in coordination with similar events across the country. This event will highlight the way that the top four banks (Bank of America, Chase, Citibank, and Wells Fargo) use our deposited money and credit card fees to loan money to fossil fuel companies that make climate chaos worse. Without this funding, the vital transition to clean energy would have happened years ago.
Third Act, a climate organization whose members are age 60+, has called for this National Day of Action. It will give people concerned about the climate, regardless of age, an opportunity to challenge the “Big Four” banks to stop bankrolling the expansion of the fossil fuel industry. Third Act’s Banking on Our Future Campaign addresses the moral dilemma of investing in fossil fuels and points us in the direction of financial responsibility through our banking choices. Third Act is not doing this alone. To date, 45 other organizations have signed on as partners, including GreenFaith, Sierra Club, 350.org, Climate Reality Project, and the Hip Hop Caucus. See Why We Must Act: Banks Drive Climate Destruction.
Participants in the local demonstration will gather at the corner of Brunswick and Sutton Way in Grass Valley, near Bank of America, Wells Fargo, Chase, and a Citibank ATM. People are encouraged to bring signs. Some participants will walk together to these banks; some customers plan to cut up credit cards and close accounts. Organizers will respectfully share plans with local bank managers in advance. The purpose of the Day of Action is not to shut down banks, but to raise awareness about the link between banking and the climate crisis and to urge banks to fund clean energy projects rather than fossil fuels. Some bank managers and employees may agree.
The first step for participants, whether customers of these banks or not, is to Take the Pledge: “If Bank of America, Chase, Citibank, and Wells Fargo are still funding climate-destroying fossil fuel projects on March 21, 2023, I pledge to close my account and cut up my credit card. If I don’t bank at these institutions now, I pledge I won’t do so in the future.” Those who won’t be able to change banks on March 21 are encouraged to sign the pledge anyway, open an account at a local credit union or community bank, and get the process going.
Those who need support to change banks can find help by reading How I Broke Free from Climate Bad Banks: It Feels So Good, and by contacting us for support in changing banks and moving their money. We have a growing list of local Grass Valley banks and credit unions that do not invest in fossil fuels.
Everyone is invited to participate in the local demonstration on the Day of Action, either as individuals or as part of a group. This action is being sponsored locally by Earth Justice Ministries, Elders Climate Action, and Nevada County Climate Action Now. For more about the local action or for a list of community banks or credit unions that do not fund fossil fuels, contact us at dayofaction@earth-justice.org. For more about the national day of action, go to https://thirdact.org/national-day-of-action/