Neighborhood Organizing Institute 2.0 (NOI 2.0)

At a Glance

The structural and cultural forces that shape health are the result of decisions made by those in positions of relative power. To help members build their networks of relationships and develop their understanding of how to use power and move projects forward in their communities, the Lussier Community Education Center (LCEC) and Goodman Community Center formed the Neighborhood Organizing Institute (NOI) in 2015. NOI was a 12-month cohort-based training and support program that provides local, grassroots, low-income organizers with skills to make change in their own Madison neighborhoods and communities. This project, Neighborhood Organizing Institute 2.0 (NOI 2.0) was created to catalyze increased and sustained action by building long-term peer and institutional support for organizers’ work. NOI 2.0 was successful in building a leadership council that led organizer workshops, retreats and summits which provided opportunities for organizers to build relationships. The project team also worked with partners to compile research supporting the impact of organizing approaches which was shared with individuals from nine local funding sources.

The Challenge

The structural and cultural forces that shape health are the result of decisions made by those in positions of relative power. As groups are systematically excluded from decisions, disparities and health inequities are perpetuated. In Dane County, the Race to Equity Report highlighted disparities between Black and white individuals in rates of poverty, academic success, un/underemployment and involvement in the juvenile and adult justice systems. In order to advance equity, the focus must be on empowerment and the processes of building power.

To help members build their networks of relationships, develop their understanding of how to use power and move projects forward in their communities, the Lussier Community Education Center (LCEC) and Goodman Community Center formed the Neighborhood Organizing Institute (NOI) in 2015, a 12-month, cohort-based training and support program that provided local, grassroots, low-income organizers with skills to make change in their own Madison neighborhoods and communities. While this work has fostered community power and developed community leaders, there was no structure for peer support among organizers and there was little to no institutional or financial support for the long term development of organizing in Madison.

Project Goals

This project, Neighborhood Organizing Institute 2.0 (NOI 2.0) was created to catalyze increased and sustained action by building long-term peer and institutional support for organizers’ work by:

1. Building the sustained power of NOI alumni and other grassroots organizers by supporting them to develop their own network for peer support, mentorship and collective action.
2. Building the case for funders and policy makers to support community organizing generally, and NOI in particular, through the compilation and development of the research and evidence base, formalizing the program model and curriculum and strengthening evaluation processes.

Results

This project was successful in building a semi-formal network of NOI alumni through the Neighborhood Organizing Network Leadership Council. These council members were able to act together during the COVID-19 pandemic and support one another’s community work by leading organizer workshops. NOI 2.0 also held an organizers’ retreat, an intensive bonding opportunity for organizers to build relationships, and two organizing summits; the first of which was attended by over 60 people and the second was held virtually during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The project team worked with Amy Hilgendorf of UW–Madison’s Center for Community and Nonprofit Studies and Mari Gasiorowicz of Public Health Madison Dane County to review the current state of the project’s program evaluation, strategize about efforts that would be most meaningful and measurable and develop a systemized and streamlined evaluation process. Amy Hilgendorf also helped the team compile a brief of the research supporting the impact of organizing approaches. A summary of these results was shared back with individuals from nine local funding sources following conversations about their perceptions of social change and its connection to organizing as well as barriers to funding organizing.