Grantees: Spring 2001 Grants Pool Awards

Alliance Organizing Project, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, $10,000
By developing parent leaders, AOP is building organizing teams and partnerships to improve Philadelphia's public schools and hold decision-makers accountable to the educational needs of the children. AOP will increase the organizing capacity of their members through training and establishing a high speed Internet connection, website and database to assist in their popular education campaigns, outreach and coalition building.

Coalition LA, Los Angeles, California, $8,700
Increasing low civic participation by organizing door-to-door in city council districts, Coalition LA is building grassroots leadership to hold elected officials accountable to the community's needs. Through the integration of Geographic Information System (GIS) mapping capacity, data management via bar-code technology, and a website; Coalition LA will strengthen their outreach and communication strategies in their accountability campaigns.

Colorado Jobs with Justice, Englewood, Colorado, $8,000
C-JWJ is a coalition of labor unions and community organizations that takes collective action to advance the rights of working people in Colorado. C-JWJ will improve its use of technology in mobilizing community support for its various campaigns by providing membership training on Internet use, developing a website and listserv to expand and facilitate the exchange of information. In addition, C-JWJ will update their database and purchase hardware.

District Action for Rights and Equality, Providence, Rhode Island, $10,000
DARE consists of 750 families working to win social, economic and political justice in the South Side and West End of Providence. DARE will increase the technological capacity of adult and youth members to assist staff in campaign planning and research through the use of the Internet, list serves and e-mail.

Every Mother Is A Working Mother, Los Angeles, California, $10,000
EMWM works to validate the economic value of raising children and ensure that this value is reflected in entitlement programs among other social and economic policies. EMWM will establish an internet-based video conferencing system and a high-speed Internet connection to connect members in isolated circumstances.

Miami Workers' Center, Miami, Florida, $10,000
The Miami Workers Center is committed to building a movement of Low-income workers based on grassroots leadership development, political education and direct action. The Center will improve the organizing capacity of it members through the expansion of their technology skills and provision of technology tools that can be integrated into popular education, planning and direct action strategies.

Montana People's Action, Missoula, Montana, $10,000
MPA is a statewide chapter-based membership organization working on the local and state level to ensure economic and social justice for those urban and rural communities. MPA will provide their members with training, technical assistance and the hardware necessary to improve communication and planning between chapters and to better coordinate their base-building activities and action campaigns.

New York City Organizing Support Center, New York, New York, $3,000
The Organizing Support Center helps strengthen people's use of organizing as a tool to build power for justice in NYC. The Organizing Support Center's Technology Project for Youth Organizing Groups will work with Central Brooklyn Partnership, El Puente, UPROSE, Youth force and Youth Ministries for Peace to connect their membership development and campaign goals to their strategic use of technology resources.

Northern California Coalition for Immigrant Rights, San Francisco, California, $10,000
NCCIR works to empower immigrants and refugees, regardless of immigration status, by developing leaders to hold policymakers accountable to the needs of immigrant communities. NCCIR aims to provide long-term technical assistance and training, including Spanish-language computer training to its members. NCCIR will also expand their use of databases to coordinate their campaign efforts.

Ohio Valley Environmental Coalition, Huntington, WV, $10,000
OVEC's mission is to empower regular people to work together to address regional environmental problems. OVEC plans to generate better visual aids and strategy tools for citizens and organizations to use as they speak out on environmental issues through the use of GIS mapping.

People Organizing to Demand Environmental and Economic Rights, San Francisco, California, $10,000
PODER works on the premise that the solutions to community problems depend on the active participation of all people in decision-making processes. PODER recently completed a technology assessment and plan in order to enhance their organizing effectiveness. They will use their award to increase their members' effectiveness by acquiring relevant training and new equipment.

Pineros y Campesinos Unidos del Noroeste, Woodburn, OR, $10,000
PCUN is a union of farmworkers, nursery and reforestation workers whose primary goal is to change the agricultural labor system so that it redresses the power imbalance between growers and labors and institutionalizes better working and living conditions. PTP's award will support the establishment of a FM low-power radio station in Woodburn serving the farmworker, immigrant and other surrounding Spanish-speaking communities.

Southern Power University, Miami Shores, Florida, $5,650
SPU's objective is to advance organizing for social change in Miami-Dade County through direct action, training and leadership development with low-income and people of color residents. SPU will use their award to increase their capacity to build leadership by utilizing translation software and increasing their ability to recruit and bring new leaders by expanding computer access and providing training in basic database and internet research skills.

Workers' Organizing Committee, Portland, Oregon, $10,000
WOC's goal is to improve the living and working conditions of low-wage workers in the greater Portland area by gaining and protecting Workers' Rights. WOC will undertake an organizational technology assessment and planning process.