PatrickOD-blog

The “bottom-line” for grassroots community organizing and social justice groups have been taking a pounding. Since the tech bubble busted around 2001, it’s been a slow slide down. Soon after that bust, there was a shift in funding to electoral campaigns. As this trend continued, the economy went south and there has been even less money that foundations are willing to part with. These community organizing groups are the on the front lines of the fight for civil rights, environmental justice, and economic prosperity for people of color, low-income folks, LGBTQ peoples, and others. They develop and support community leadership and sustain pressure for change during, arguably, the more important times between election cycles.

Many groups in this latest economic crises have either closed up shop or moved to subsistence level operations, focusing almost entirely on their core programs and unable to invest internally to strengthen their organizations.

The needs of their constituents have gone up, while their capacity has gone down. General support funding or project support for the internal health and well-being has become more rare than than a Ford Pinto.

The National Organizers Alliance and the Data Center have teamed up to help reverse this trend. They are collecting the data and the stories of how the economic crises has been impacting these groups. This is a vital survey and unique. It’s the only survey of it’s kind.

If you are a community organizing or social justice group, take the time to participate. It’s focus is on the field and gathering the information that will help to validate, enlighten, and ultimately support it….

sustainingorganizing:

“The Sustaining Organizing Study has launched a survey this week and is looking for local, regional and national organizations engaged in community organizing or resource/intermediary organizations that support organizing work to take the 30 question survey that will explore their programs, the impact of the economy on their organizing work and their experience of fundraising.  The survey is part of a one year project that began with a literature review (see previous entry) and is now moving to primary documentation of organizations’ experience through surveys and interviews. The goal is to gather 250 surveys over the next four months.  The following is a link to the survey.”

SURVEY LINK