Grassroots Community Organizing Partnerships Fund

You are invited to help make sure UACT’s powerful, long-running, hands-on Grassroots Community Organizing class is accessible to as many students as possible! If you are an alum of GCO, you know the importance of this class. If you’re not an alum but support students learning real-life social change skills, please read on! 

In the face of growing structural inequalities, marginalized communities are building power to  change the policies and structures that affect them through grassroots community organizing. Many of these movements for change are in it for the long haul, and looking to connect with the next generation of diverse change-makers. This is where our class comes in. Grassroots Community Organizing (GCO) is a course that connects students to organizers and base-led campaigns for racial justice, immigrant justice, secure housing, an end to mass incarceration, and more.

Our students participate in an Alternative Spring Break, where they learn from and work with community organizers on projects and campaigns. This past spring GCO students worked on a youth-led campaign for mental health support in the Springfield Public Schools by canvassing neighborhoods, developing educational materials, preparing youth for public speaking, and supporting a collective action. The PVP Youth Voices United leaders whom our GCO class supported just experienced a huge win, with $3.9 million additional funds allocated for mental health support!

The goal of GCO is for students to develop the capacity to learn from and act in solidarity with a wide range of communities and to build relationships with community organizers. After taking GCO, many of our students go on to work in labor, social work, education, and other social change careers. Many also stay in community organizing; GCO alumni have gone on to become key leaders in movements like the Movement for Black Lives and the Sunrise Movement. Take a look at our Alumni Newsletter to see what they have to say about UACT and GCO!

In the past ten years, GCO has worked with: City Life Vida Urbana in Boston, MA; Solidarity and Green Economy Alliance in Worcester, MA; Alternatives for Community and Environment in Roxbury, MA; Maine People’s Alliance in Portland, ME; the Pioneer Valley Project in Springfield, MA; Ex-Prisoners Organizing for Community Advancement in Worcester, MA; WE ACT for Environmental Justice in Harlem, NY; Independent Drivers Guild in Brooklyn, NY; Massachusetts Against Solitary Confinement in Boston, MA; the Holyoke Ethnic Studies Program in Holyoke, MA; and the Granite State Organizing Project in Manchester, NH.  

We have always relied on fundraising efforts from our incredible alumni and community supporters who understand the value of this class and the mentorship of diverse, experienced organizers that it makes possible. This year, costs are higher and the need is greater. We are inviting you to join us in this work by supporting our 2024 community organizing projects and Alternative Spring Break trip. 

Your donation will help make our spring break community organizing trip possible! We support our organizing partners as co-educators, as they spend a great deal of time training and supporting our students’ work and learning during their Alternative Spring Break trip. We also need support with lodging, food costs, and fuel for vehicles for the trip. Lastly, your generous donation will support community organizer-led workshops and events that will not only benefit students in our class but also members of the Five College Community. 

The costs of running this course have increased considerably in recent years. We have a very long track record of transformative, hands-on education in UACT, and it is of utmost importance that we keep our core course accessible to the many students who want to take it. By giving to GCO 2024, you will help build wise, skilled, and committed future community organizers and social movement leaders.