Training in grassroots organizing for LGBTQ+ individuals ages 16 to 24
No matter your age, you have valuable insight & ideas on how to create positive change for yourself, your family, & your community.
Through a partnership with the Center for Youth Equity in the Violence Prevention Institute & NOLAHYPE, Organize & Mobilize is a 5-day program that will equip you with essential skills for grassroots advocacy & help you act on your community organizing passions.
The interactive intensive centers the unique experiences of LGBTQ+ youth and is situated in a supportive & collaborative environment informed by community needs, developed by an experienced team, & grounded in evidence-based, youth-centered strategies. It leverages expertise & programming generated through VPI’s Center for Youth Equity & NOLAHYPE.
Participants will receive a $300 stipend for attending.
The next session is July 29 through August 2 from 10 am to 2 pm at a location either in Mid-City or Downtown New Orleans. Transportation stipends may also be available.
The 2024 program has reached capacity and is no longer accepting applications.
We will notify accepted participants on a rolling basis and will close the application form when we are at capacity. If the link above is still available, we are still accepting applications. Feel free to email us at vpi@tulane.edu if you have questions.
Curriculum:
Day 1A: Exploring Your Purpose & Place | Introduction to Community Organizing
- Gain an overview of the training & its fundamental course content
- Engage in rapport-building activities
- Learn about principles & practice of community organizing & the diverse roles one can take in community organizing
- Self-reflect on which role(s) best aligns with personal strengths, interests, & skills
- Identify an area of interest or issue
Day 1B: Finding Your People | Communication & Relationship Building
- Develop skills around effective interpersonal & group communication & relationship building
- Engage in cross-cultural communication, shared decision-making, & conflict resolution
- Practice giving supportive feedback
- Self-select into small groups based area of interest or issue
Day 2: Defining Your Story | Creating a Shared Vision, Mission, & Strategic Plan
- Understand how to build a group identity
- Use the VMOSA (Vision, Mission, Objectives, Strategies, & Action Plan) strategic planning process as a framework
- Work through forming a shared vision & mission & identify one objective & accompanying strategy
Day 3: Sharing Your Story | What & How to Communicate To Diverse Audiences
- Understand strategies & learn basic skills in mass & social media as well as communicating to key stakeholders, including funders
- Gather evidence (e.g., statistics, anecdotes, plans, etc.) to support the story & develop a sample communication
Day 4: Building Your Organization | Resources & Sustainability
- Discern various strategies for identifying & gathering resources to initiate & sustain a community organizing initiative
- Discuss how to leverage existing assets using a resource mapping strategy
- Identify external funding, like microgrants, crowdfunding, donors, etc.
- Learn about common grant sections, basic grant-writing principles, & important considerations for creating a budget
Day 5: Celebrating Change | Final Presentations
- Deliver culminating presentation
- Provide feedback to fellow participants
- Outline possible next steps
