We believe that a more just world is possible, but it cannot come without help.
More Americans than ever are concerned about our collective futures—and with good reason. Right now, our system is one of stark inequities and deep challenges. Everyday people are growing disillusioned with our political process and radical factions very literally threaten our lives and our futures.
Organizing is the solution to these problems. When people know how to organize, they can work within their communities to fight for the just future we all deserve—before it’s too late. The fight for justice in America has always been led by organizers and activists fighting for a more equitable future for the people who live on this land. The Civil Rights Act, women’s right to vote, the Americans with Disabilities Act, and more were all hard-fought battles organizers led and won. These champions have laid out the blueprints for our potential future, and help us dream of the just and equitable democracy we deserve. And that’s why we believe bringing more and more everyday people into organizing work is precisely what our democracy needs right now.
Rising Organizers trains new and emerging leaders in community organizing skills, and makes organizing a more accessible pathway to civic participation. We find people at the beginning of their organizing journey, provide them with skills, direction, and community, and build a more representative democracy for all of us.
Our mission
Rising Organizers equips everyday people and emerging leaders with community organizing skills, relationships, and support so they can fight for a more equitable future for themselves and their communities.
Our vision
We believe in a future where everyday people hold the power; where everyone has the tools, confidence, resources, and relationships to improve their communities and to hold decision-makers accountable to serving those communities.
Our values
These are the principles, attitudes, philosophies, and orientations that we believe are centrally important in our work.
We are committed to building movement leaders. We seed and nurture relationships among people, organizations, and networks to build collaborations that can shift power.
We are deliberately anti-racist and intersectional in all we do. We know that power structures reinforce the oppressive relationships between race, gender, class, disability, and immigration status. We are actively in solidarity with movements for liberation and work to dismantle the complex ways that racism, sexism, classism, and imperialism impact our communities.
We practice humility. We believe that anyone can become an organizer, and that people themselves are the best experts on their own communities and experiences. We build on and learn from organizing traditions and movement leaders both past and present.
We believe organizing belongs to everyone. We offer free services so all may have access.
We follow the lead of our people and commit to staying responsive to their communities’ real needs. We believe that flexibility is necessary to meet people wherever they are, and more important than fidelity to our own established processes.
We believe that Rising Organizers spaces should be free and liberatory. Everyone should be confident that they can express themselves and take action without fear.
We believe that joy and humor are essential to achieving justice. In our work and in our relationships with each other. Joy not only sustains us but also guides us toward our vision of a just world.
What We've Achieved
Since our founding in 2016, we have trained over 4,000 people through our public trainings program.
We have completed 14 cohorts of our community organizing intensive fellowship, with a combined 263 alumni.
We have partnered with dozens of organizations and universities across the DC Metropolitan Area and nationally to provide trainings, strategic advice, and more.
Ari (Fall ‘21) won a $26 million dollar increase in funding to support cash assistance to cash-economy workers in DC during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Josh (Fall '18) was appointed as a commissioner to the City of Long Beach California Equity and Human Relations Commission. Their mission is “to inspire and support social justice and equity in the City of Long Beach and foster mutual understanding and respect for all.”
Yany (Fall '17) became the Advocacy Manager at Engage Miami, where she develops civic engagement and participation among young people.