Ohio-Michigan Leadership Development Campaign

About this grant

Despite the need for community organizing efforts to maintain their roots in neighborhoods and cities, the focus of decisionmaking has shifted to the state level. Therefore, as community organizing has grown in size and sophistication, statewide alliances of local organizations have developed to address improvements in public policy. With the current success of statewide alliances, the next phase is multi-state initiatives.Multiyear funding will support a leadership campaign to connect two Direct Action, Research and Training (DART) community organizations in Michigan and Ohio. Objectives include expanding the membership base in all cities with an active or rebuilding organization; sponsoring at least one research action in each state; sponsoring at least one research action for project leaders from both states with allies from national organizations; gathering staff and leaders from both states for strategy development sessions; convening leaders for in-depth training; and designing steering committees from each state to identify ongoing leadership development activities and research actions.Building Responsibility, Equality and Dignity is the Ohio affiliate of the DART network and the lead organization in the DART-Ohio Organizing Collaborative.