This panel invites a candid conversation about the complicated intersection of community care, labor, and capitalism. As organizers, healers, educators, artists, and activists, many of us find ourselves doing deeply meaningful work—often for free or at low cost—because we believe in it. But how do we balance that calling with the realities of rent, bills, and burnout?

Together, we’ll explore the messy, often emotional decisions around what we charge for, what we offer freely, and how privilege influences who gets to choose unpaid labor. What happens when survival is on the line? How do we value our time while staying aligned with our ethics and communities? And how do we call each other in, not out, when our strategies differ?

Join us for a reflective, nuanced dialogue on boundaries, self-worth, sustainability, and imagining new models of reciprocity beyond capitalist norms.