03/27/2020
It's been a while since we posted. We've got an update below to share what we've been working on recently and where we're headed next:
Dear Organizing Community,
We’ve got an exciting update about the future direction of Organize BC.
First, we want to recognize that we’re sharing this update during a time of uncertainty and upheaval; we hope you are getting the support and community you need right now. The pandemic has also shown how important organizing is – from mutual aid organizing in neighbourhoods to campaigns to stop evictions and get paid sick leave for all. We’re adapting and building wherever we can.
Now to our update.
When Organize BC first started in 2013 we had relatively stable funding through a single grantor. That grant sunsetted in 2016. Over the last three years, as we searched for a new funding model, a substantial portion of our revenue was made up of contract trainings and small grants. As time went on, we found ourselves spending more time chasing funding and less time working on programs or with organizations best aligned with fulfilling our mission of “Lifting up organizers fighting for social and environmental justice.”
Ultimately, we’ve decided that the best way forward is, unsurprisingly, to organize – we’ll reboot Organize BC as a grassroots run project. We’ve got a core team made up of Anna McClean, Dylan Cohen, Laura Gaaysiigad Cuthbert, Peter Gibbs, and Tahia Ahmed who will engage our community in a process to re-imagine how the work Organize BC has done since 2013 can continue on for many years to come.
We were just getting ready to share this news when the effects of physical distancing and self-isolation measures began to really hit hard here. We initially hoped to announce an in-person visioning event and an in-person training later this Spring. Obviously, we’ve had to re-imagine these processes, and we’ll be getting in touch with what we will do soon. We are also talking about what we can do to support organizers in adapting to, learning from, and creating community in a time when everything is physically distant.
If you want to stay connected with us as we try new things and evolve as a new organization, please re-subscribe to our email list here: https://forms.gle/YJxFw243dPSyPXSx9
We want to thank our parent organization, genius//Next UP, for providing a stable home for this work for the last 6 years, and for their support during this transition period. We’re excited to keep working with genius//Next UP in our training and capacity-building work and in supporting each other’s programs!
All the best, and we hope you join us on this next step in our journey.
Onwards!
Laura, Tahia, Dylan, Anna, and Peter
As we re-imagine what organizing training can look like, we hope you join us and stay in touch! Fill in this form to stay on our email list.