We Build Progress

07/28/2026

Strong communities grow when neighbors show up for one another. Organize with your neighbors, strengthen your community, and build lasting connections.

This toolkit gives you the first steps to get started—no organizing experience required.

https://webuildprogress.org/explainer-2026-07-21-stronger-together-toolkit

07/16/2026

One week away! Don't miss this incredible in-person or online FREE event.

What does it take to build a democracy that truly works for all of us? 🌎

Join Institute for Policy Studies in collaboration with The Nation Magazine and We Build Progress for the third annual Henry A. Wallace Symposium "Forging a Democracy that Works for All" on Thursday July 23rd from 2:30-6:30pm with a reception to follow. RSVP in person or online at https://bit.ly/4vzkCRw

This afternoon of incredible conversation with movement leaders includes Rep. Jamie Raskin (MD), Sulma Arias, People’s Action, Keya Chatterjee, Free DC, Kate Hess Pace, Hoosier Action, Aru Shiney-Ajay, Sunrise, Shane Larson, Communication Workers of America, Lindsay Owens, Groundwork Collaborative, Erica Smiley, Jobs With Justice
Katrina vanden Heuvel, The Nation, Tope Folarin, Institute for Policy Studies, Sarah Anderson, Institute for Policy Studies, Lindsay Koshgarian, National Priorities Project, Institute for Policy Studies
Khury Petersen-Smith, Institute for Policy Studies and more!

https://bit.ly/4vzkCRw

FREE EVENT: At the 3rd annual Henry Wallace Symposium, expert speakers and thinkers will explore the most urgent of challenges: how might we re-envision democracy to ensure its survival?

Join us July 23 from 2:30-6:30 pm ET in D.C. or live online. Sign up now: https://ips-dc.org/event/3rd-wallace-symposium/

07/13/2026

Across the country, Local Progress' elected champions are fighting for their communities and leading the way with bold, creative policies that put people first. Our team was proud to join the national convening to talk about building community-owned clean energy, creating good union jobs, informing communities about data centers, and much more. We're leaving inspired, renewed, and ready to get back to work!

06/26/2026

U.S. Foreign Policy: Sponsored by Corporate Greed. Watch the full Netroots Nation Nation panel here: https://youtu.be/xxQulXRiC0E

We named the forces driving U.S. foreign policy—Oil money. Arms dealers. Corporate lobbyists. We also connected that work to the resistance happening right here at home.

We were proud to share the stage with Sandy Shan of Justice Is Global, Sunjeev Bery of Public Citizen, Miranda Cleland of the American Friends Service Committee, and Stephen Semler of the Center for International Policy — people doing the hard, honest work of challenging militarism and exposing the true costs of U.S. foreign policy.

Thank again to Netroots Nation — the largest annual conference for progressives — for bringing thousands of organizers, activists, and advocates into the same room and giving us the space to have this conversation.

We hear it many times: America is bringing democracy to the Middle ...

06/23/2026

The federal government just made it easier to connect new data centers to the grid. Meanwhile, communities are facing higher electric bills, polluted water, and relentless noise from data center development: https://www.utilitydive.com/news/ferc-doe-data-center-interconnection/823360/

The government shouldn't be fast-tracking data center growth. It should be listening to the people being asked to live with the consequences.

We're working to lift up impacted communities and hold decision-makers accountable. Read our report: bit.ly/datacenterreport

How States are Approaching the Data Center BoomLast Updated November 18, 2025Author: Graham Steinberg, Organizing and Outreach Associate; Katie Thomas Carol, Esq, Director of Livable FuturesIntroductionAs a result of the rapidly increasing use of artificial intelligence across industries and crypto-...

06/15/2026

Join We Build Progress, Public Citizen, Quincy Institute, National Priorities Project, Common Defense on Thursday, June 18, 2026 from 2:00-3:00 PM ET for our briefing: Billions for Bombs, Pennies for the People. At a moment when people are struggling to afford groceries, pay medical bills, and send their kids to school, we’ll break down what fuels the war machine and what it would take to craft a budget that funds human needs—not death and destruction.

➡️ Every year, Congress and the White House add hundreds of billions of dollars more to the war budget, while underfunding health care, food assistance, clean water, and more. The current budget for the Pentagon is a whopping $1 trillion. For next year, Congress is planning to add a record-breaking $500 billion more, bringing total spending on war to $1.5 trillion!

➡️ In just weeks, Congress will vote on this unprecedented war budget. That’s why we’re convening experts to discuss how corporate greed drives our militarized budget, the real-life impacts, where we could fund our communities instead, and next steps to oppose this egregious war spending.

🔗 Register here: https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_U-Lw7HpDSWCCxclL9jEK6Q #/registration

06/15/2026

WATCH the full discussion: The Right's War on Progressive Philanthropy—and What It Means for Movements. A timely conversation about the attacks on progressive philanthropy, what's driving them, and what they mean for movement-building going forward.

https://www.youtube.com/live/B6Uc723EhFI?si=O-V_I-G9jGPPlYTf

06/08/2026

The attacks on progressive nonprofits and foundations are real, coordinated, and escalating. At Netroots Nation 2026, we got into the room and talked about it plainly.

Our second panel, The Right's War on Progressive Philanthropy — and What It Means for Movements, laid out how the Department of Justice, executive orders, courts, and Congress are being used to choke progressive giving — with BIPOC-led organizations bearing a disproportionate share of the targeting. And it didn't stop at naming the problem: our panelists came with strategy.

We were honored to share the stage with Leena Barakat of Women Donors Action, Lisa Gilbert of Public Citizen, Farhad Ebrahimi of Solidaire Action, and special guest Congresswoman Delia Ramirez of Illinois's 3rd District. Our very own Executive Director Gohar Sedighi moderated.

We Build Progress believes that frontline communities must have the power to shape the policies that affect their lives. That requires a funded, independent movement. These panelists are making sure it stays that way.

Thank you to Netroots Nation — the largest annual conference for progressives, bringing together politicians, grassroots activists, organizers, and independent media makers since 2006 — for creating the space where conversations like this one can happen.

06/08/2026

Oil money. Arms dealers. Corporate lobbyists. At Netroots Nation, we named the forces driving U.S. foreign policy — and connected that work to the resistance happening right here at home.

Our first panel, U.S. Foreign Policy: Sponsored by Corporate Greed, broke down how these interests have shaped decisions on Venezuela, Iran, and beyond — and how Philadelphia's own Quaker peace activists at the American Friends Service Committee are pushing back on the ground.

We were proud to share the stage with Sandy Shan of Justice Is Global, Sunjeev Bery of Public Citizen, Miranda Cleland of the American Friends Service Committee, and Stephen Semler of the Center for International Policy — people doing the hard, honest work of challenging militarism and exposing the true costs of U.S. foreign policy.

This panel is part of our ongoing Foreign Affairs work, which analyzes how bloated military budgets and corporate-driven foreign policy hurt communities here at home — and builds the movement for a foreign policy rooted in human rights, diplomacy, and shared prosperity.

Learn more at webuildprogress.org/foreign-affairs.

Thank you to Netroots Nation — the largest annual conference for progressives — for bringing thousands of organizers, activists, and advocates into the same room and giving us the space to have this conversation.

05/29/2026

"America is spreading democracy." "Protecting our interests abroad."

But whose interests, exactly?

Not yours. Not mine. Not the communities bearing the cost of U.S. military aggression. The interests driving U.S. foreign policy belong to oil companies, arms dealers, and CEOs who spend millions lobbying Washington to keep the war machine running — because it's very, very good for business.

At Netroots Nation on June 4, we're putting that analysis in front of the movement — out loud, with experts who work on these issues every day.