Ohio Fair Trade Network

08/27/2026

There is power in the union

08/16/2026

TWENTY TWO people freed from ICE in the last two weeks in the time before our funds ran out, bringing our total for 2026 to 276.

This number makes two things clear:

1) the need for bond assistance is STRONG. Each one of these twenty two people were returning to their lives disrupted by the violence of ICE detention, but couldn’t do so because of the extreme financial barriers of bond.

2) we have the hardest-working volunteer team team in the biz. Every person who works with MIBF, from our bond squad to our treasurer to the person writing this post is a completely unpaid volunteer. There is so much that goes into this work—from negotiating back and forth with ICE about releases and coordinating with families and attorneys, to making graphics, to balancing the books and ensuring we have all the records we need to ensure compliance—and it’s all done by folks balancing jobs (many of them stressful!) or full-time school, and all the other stuff that goes into managing a life, from child care to dentists appointments to doing the dishes. And amidst all of that, also planning and prepping and working incredibly hard to ensure other people can get back to doing the lovely mundanity of their dishes in their own home.

Keeping an all volunteer workforce means that your donations go incredibly far—we keep a small amount on hand to pay for a few services (bookkeeping, web hosting, mail), and everything else goes straight to getting folks out of immigration detention.

Please help us keep doing this work, and donate so we can reopen our application. Right now, a donor is matching funds, dollar-for-dollar, up to $50,000, so there’s no better time to give. mibfc.org/donate

08/12/2026

08/09/2026

07/31/2026

ODNR plans to leave nine oil and gas rules unchanged, including rules on permits, pollution prevention, and safety. These rules are reviewed only once every five years, yet Ohioans have only two weeks to comment.

By August 3, email [email protected] and [email protected]. Demand more time, reject “no change,” and call for updated rules that protect Ohio communities.

Please CC [email protected] so we can track how many Ohioans speak out.

View our press release for more info at: https://benohio.org/odnrs-two-week-comment-period-falls-short-ben-demands-more-time-to-review-oil-and-gas-rules/

07/29/2026

Join us at this years Ohio Fair trade Expo on Saturday October 24th: https://www.zeffy.com/en-US/ticketing/2026-ohio-fair-trade-expo-tickets-and-sponsorship-2

This annual in-person event at John Carroll University is expected to bring together hundreds of fair trade supporters, advocates, retailers, and vendors from across the state. The Expo is an opportunity to continue building energy around the already vibrant Ohio fair trade movement and previous Expos. In addition to the Global Marketplace of fair-trade vendors, we’ll host educational presentations and our Fair Trade Around the World program for kids.