Issue: Principles & Processes

In these times, I’ve found myself called back to the words of Dean Spade in his 2020 book, Mutual Aid. The book opens with Spade’s reflections on mutual aid where he shares:
“Mutual Aid has been a part of all large, powerful social movements, and it has a particularly important role to play right now, as we face unprecedented dangers and opportunities for mobilization. Mutual aid gives people a way to plug into movements based on their immediate concerns, and it produces social spaces where people grow new solidarities. At its best, mutual aid actually produces new ways of living where people get to create systems of care and generality that address harms and foster well-being.”

To build effective, powerful campaigns capable of winning, we must understand what power our movement and communities have, and what power our opponents have. Join us for an hour training to dive into power mapping 101 – identifying who has power in our constituency, and using power mapping tools to determine what will move decision makers.

The coalition cohort comes out of the learnings from the Blueprint for a Multiracial, Cross-Class Movement, a report on what works – and what doesn’t – in coalition work. The Lab’s indepth guide to building stronger, more equitable coalitions that support coalitions in winning bold climate policy. Drawing from case studies, organizers interviews, the Blueprint Report identified key practices that help coalitions thrive, like shared decision making, mutual accountability and healthy conflict resolutions. It included research backed report and a hands on workbook to support colations navigating internal dynamics across power, race and class.
This spring, the findings from the Blueprint report didn’t just sit on paper, they sparked action. In response to overwhelming interest from the ground, the LAB launched the Coalitions Training Cohort, a 5 month intensive program designed to put the Blueprint into practice. This cohort included leaders from nearly two dozen environmental justice coalitions, clean energy campaigns, local climate tables, and transit equity fights.
From the very beginning, the cohort surfaced the real, often unspoken challenges facing today’s colations. How do we share power without replicating the systems we’re trying to dismantle? How do we move beyond report-outs and disengagement and instead spark meaningful participation? How do we speak honestly, especially when the truth might cause tension? Coalition leaders named what many have felt but rarely had space to share: decision-making processes are often murky, conflict feels risky, and burnout is quietly draining our movement’s capacity. Most striking of all was the collective realization that many coalitions haven’t paused to reflect on how we’re making decisions or why. These questions weren’t just theoretical, they were live challenges shaping coalition life every day. In this newsletter, we’re sharing some of the powerful learnings and reflections we took away from the Coalition cohort.

Power mapping supports organizers in understanding the stakeholders within their campaign. This resource offers step by step instructions and tips for power mapping your campaign.

Are you burned out? Are your coworkers burned out? Are we ALL burned out?

This session focuses on preventing doxxing attacks and protecting personal information that could be used to target climate advocates.

This session introduces participants to basic digital security concepts and practical threat modeling strategies.

This session introduces participants to basic digital security concepts and practical threat modeling strategies. You will learn about threat modeling for organizations and movements and how to apply the model to your organization.

Join us for an hour as we dive into best practices of recruitment strategies and how to foster entry points for new people in your organization.

Are you a health professional passionate about advancing climate advocacy and health equity? Join us for an information session on the Climate Advocacy Lab’s Climate + Health Peer Learning Circle.