- Share infographics about the big banks on social media on January 29th.
We put together a google drive of photos and short animations we’ve made. Download some and post them to your preferred social media accounts on January 29th with the hashtags #bankswitch and #fossilbanksnothanks. Our friends at For Our Kids have also put together some amazing graphics targeting RBC.
We even set up a Click-to-Tweet to help us make #fossilbanksnothanks and #bankswitch trend on January 29th. If you click this link and then click the little calendar you can schedule a tweet for some time on the morning of January 29th. Scheduling may not be available on mobile.
We’ll retweet you!
2. Open an account for a child at a credit union and tell people about it! Send an email or post on social media.
If it’s too much to move all your money, you can at least help your kids get out of the big bank trap by opening their first account somewhere better. Alterna Savings provides full banking services without destroying the planet and there are many other excellent credit unions. Opening a first savings account is quick — you can do it this week and post, talk or send an email about it on the 29th.
This is one of several excellent ideas in the For Our Kids Jan 29 Toolkit.
3. Mail an open letter from Indigenous women to your bank.
The big banks aren’t just violating our planet, their violating indigenous sovereignty by investing in projects that trample on indigenous land. This moving and well-researched letter has been signed by dozens of Indigenous activists. Amplifying their voices by sending an additional copy is an important act of solidarity. One on the pipelines highlighted in the letter was recently cancelled by Joe Biden, so you can be sure the banks are already thinking about their involvement in these dubious projects. Print it, pop it in an envelope and drop it in a mailbox. QuitRBC will be delivering letters to RBC branches across Montreal on January 29th. So you won’t be alone here.
To learn more about the letter, read the original press from Oct. 19 2020 release here: https://www.wecaninternational.org/PressReleases/Indigenous-Women-Leaders-Warn-Global-Financial-Companies-to-Stop-Support-for-Tar-Sands-Oil
4. Email your friends and tell them about BankSwitch.
We’ve now got 175 people signed up to contact their branch manager and move their money to a cleaner bank in April. As a tiny little climate org, we’re proud of that number, but it’s going to take thousands of people to get the big banks attention. Make sure you include the sign-up link (https://actionnetwork.org/forms/bankswitch).
Obviously an email to your friends will need a personal touch, but we’ve included a sample email to get you started. Feel free to adjust it to your needs.
SAMPLE EMAIL:
Hi,
I’ve been increasingly worried about climate change and the fact that governments aren’t doing enough to stop it lately. In particular, I’m quite upset about the fact that all of the big 5 Canadian banks keep pumping billions into new fossil fuel projects even though burning the reserves we’ve already developed exceeds our carbon budget for keeping the planet safe. I decided to voice my concerns with my branch manager and tell them I will move my money elsewhere if they don’t clean up their act.
Speaking up made me feel pretty good! Unfortunately, we’re going to need a lot of people to do the same thing to have any influence on these huge banks, so I thought I would email and ask you to think about joining me.
I did it as part of a campaign called BankSwitch. You can read more about it here (https://climatepledgecollective.org/bankswitch/). Or sign up here if you want to join (https://actionnetwork.org/forms/bankswitch).
Let me know what you think and feel free to ask me any questions about how the process went for me!
Climate Pledge Collective 