Rising Activist Organization Spotlight
This past year, along with funding a strong group of longstanding community organizations, Liberty Hill expanded our power-building strategy with a specific focus on “Rising Activist” organizations.
We consider “Rising Activist” organizations to generally have formed within the past 10 years, have annual budgets of less than $500,000, fewer than three full-time staff, and work in areas of the County with historically less nonprofit and organizing infrastructure.
Investments in these Rising Activist groups are particularly critical as low income people of color continue to be displaced from central areas of the County to neighborhoods where fewer institutions exist to advocate and organize for historically oppressed communities. Liberty Hill shifted our outreach strategies, application processes, and assessment tools so that these smaller organizing groups could have greater access to funds.
A crucial part of Liberty Hill’s “Rising Activist” strategy is developing capacity building programs that invest in the sustainability and growth of these emerging partner organizations. As part of the Foundation’s Wally Marks Leadership Institute, “Rising Activist” organizations also have access to organizational coaching and peer convening intended to focus on sustainability and long-term organizational impact, as well as specialized training on networking and other skills.
