A new movement is using donations to buy debt on order to keep it out of the hands of debt collectors.
Rolling Jubilee is more than charity for those in debt. Rather, it is a protest against the debt system.
Rolling Jubilee is a Strike Debt project, which was inspired by Occupy Wall Street. The project aims to provide more effective ways of resisting debt.
It does not buy an individual's defaulted debt. Anonymous accounts are collected together and sold as a group. Hence, information is limited as to whose debt is being purchased.
Banks sell debt for pennies on the dollar to debt buyers who then try to collect the full amount from the debtors. Rolling Jubilee finds ways to buy some of this debt before it reaches the debt collectors.
The name Jubilee comes from a traditional event in many religions. It was a time when all debts were cancelled and those in bondage were set free.
Strike Debt contacts those whose debts are forgiven and asks if they can donate some of the money they will save back to the program.
As of November 15, 2012, The Rolling Jubilee Fund has raised over $350,000 to eliminate over $7 million in debt. It says a $20 donation can wipe out $400 of debt. The fund is a non-profit 501(c)(4) organization.
