Expanded Voter Organizing Project
The Center is launching a new 6-8 year initiative to dramatically enhance the ability of community-based organizations to mobilize their members and constituents through an integrated civic engagement strategy.  By coupling expanded support for voter mobilization with parallel capacity to mobilize members in ongoing legislative and organizing campaigns, the program will help groups achieve fundamental changes in polices that affect their communities.
 
We will enable participating organizations to build steadily on their work by providing a consistent level of training, strategic convening, research and organizational development support along with staffing-level grants over a multi-year period.  Thanks to a remarkable gift from the Ralph Smith Foundation, the Center is committing to provide year-round support to 10-15 state based organizations working in historically marginalized communities including people of color, women, immigrants, LGBT people, low-income and rural constituents and youth. 
 
This long term approach will provide a unique opportunity for participating organizations, funders and researchers.  Organizations will receive a steady level of support rather than the traditionally episodic and late infusions of election-related funding.  And funders and researchers will be able to study the effects of that support over a multi-year period.

--Find out more about the program here--

The Progressive Leadership Alliance of Nevada

Community Alliance of Tenants

Oregon Student Assocation

Center for Intercultural Organizing

Grassroots Immigrant and Refugee Rights Leaders Gather

Claiming our Rights, Envisioning our Future: Communities Organizing for Justice is a national conference by the National Network for Immigrant & Refugee Rights (NNIRR) set for January 18-20 in Houston, Texas.  This event creates a critical space for immigrant and refugee advocates, activists and organizers to come together and share stories, strategies and tactics for grassroots initiatives. Registrations are still being accepted at www.nnirr.org or email conference08@nnirr.org for further information.
Center staffers Lucilene Lira and Aimee Santos Lyons will be supporting a regional caucus at the event.  Contact them to participate.

The Emergence of EMERJ

Expanding the Movement for Empowerment and Reproductive Justice (EMERJ) started just over a year ago by a group of organizations, including Western States Center, to increase the coordination, collaboration and strategy of reproductive justice groups across the country. EMERJ is building a stronger and more vibrant Reproductive Justice Movement, and you are invited to join in! Find out more about EMERJ and access terrific training tools, policy analysis and leadership analysis tools on their newly launched--and interactive--website at www.emerj.org.