Sustaining Organizing Study

The DataCenter and NOA conducted the Sustaining Organizing Study (SOS) to document the impact of the economic downturn on organizing and movement building organizations. The SOS also focused on the sharing of strategies and best practices that are being used to sustain the work through these difficult times . There were other studies that examined the general climate in non-profits in general, but nothing on the effect on community and movement building organizations.

In the summer of 2009, the SOS began with a literature review (available on the collaborative's blog). We then surveyed 203 organizations from around the country, and have recently produced a report of our findings. Next we will host webinars and convenings to discuss the findings, planned for the summer and fall of 2010.

Visit the SOS Blog

Download the SOS Report

Sustaining Organizing Study collaborating groups

The DataCenter is a fully-integrated research, training and strategy center serving poor and working class communities of color organizing for social justice. In partnership with grassroots social justice organizations, the DataCenter plays an integral role in making information accessible, engaging communities in research, recognizing and drawing out community expertise , and building community capacity to strategically apply research in organizing and policy work. . In the past five years, DataCenter has conducted numerous organizational needs assessment that has generated powerful new knowledge to inform strategy, capture and interpret current conditions accurately, and create recommendations to support movement building work. For more information, check out their website.

The mission of the National Organizers Alliance is “to advance progressive organizing for social, economic and environmental justice and to sustain, support and nurture the people of all ages who do it. In furtherance of that goal, our members are organizers who are responsible to a defined constituency and who help build that constituency through leadership development, collective action and the development of democratic structures.” NOA is an individual membership association of community and labor organizers in virtually every type of community work including independent neighborhood groups, faith-based networks, labor-community coalitions, GLBT groups, peace organizations, housing advocates, anti-racist networks, immigrant organizers, etc. NOA also is the sponsor of a unique retirement pension plan for the organizing community that is made up of organizational memberships.

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