We’ve been busy this summer doing some very exciting development work on our training program with the help of an amazing national training organization, Training for Change. The result is a completely new training program for the community! The program is still called G.O.T. Power (Grassroots Organizers Training for Power) but is now made up of three components: Core Organizer Training (our flagship grassroots organizing training), a Training of Trainers, and a series of ongoing Support and Development Trainings.
The Core Organizer Training, previously known as G.O.T. Power, teaches participants the foundational skills they need to be effective organizers and win on issues that are important to them. We are incorporating a new model of learning, one based on popular education and integrating experiential education. This allows people to learn in a hands-on, direct manner, while also drawing out the expertise that the individual already has within. The result is a training that is fully interactive and has direct application in each session. The Core Organizer Training is so new we highly recommend that even past G.O.T. Power graduates take this training, as completely new tools are used to teach the skills in a totally new way. Topics covered include: Intro to Organizing, Organizing your Community, Campaign Planning, Facilitating Meetings, Media, Transforming Conflict, and Direct Action. The next Core Organizer training begins on September 15th. Email our Training Director Allison at allison@midsouthpeace.org to get an application.
We are thrilled to also be able to offer a Training of Trainers program for the first time. In the spirit of popular education, we do not want to be the gatekeepers of training knowledge. We want to train people to do trainings in their own communities, with their own community members. It is in that spirit that we are creating a Training of Trainers program. This program is available to all past G.O.T. Power graduates and graduates of the Core Organizer Training. This training goes into more depth around skills such as facilitation, working with diverse communities, transforming conflict, and working with various group dynamics.
Support and Development Trainings are offered to Core Organizer enrollees, graduates, and individuals and organizations in the larger community to enhance their organizing skill sets. Trainings available include: Mindful Communication, Consensus Based Facilitation, Advanced Facilitation, GOTV: Civic Engagement, Anti-oppression and Diversity, Nonviolent Action, Framing and Messaging, Citizen Lobbying, Canvassing and Phonebanking, and more. Support and Development Trainings are designed to both build skills and provide personal support structures for G.O.T. Power graduates or anyone engaged in organizing and community change work. Recent examples of Support and Development trainings that were offered by members of our community include Emotional Support for Activists facilitated by Laura Sullivan, and Collaborative Art as a Vehicle for Social Action facilitated by Richard Lou. Check our calendar for the next training. We are also excited to be offering a workshop on Deconstructing Power for the national GetEQUAL www.getequal.org organizer training that will be in Memphis later this month.
Another important and exciting change within our training program is an expanded capacity for offering trainings to the community. MSPJC offers many workshops publicly, but we also offer our workshops to organizations and people working around a specific issue, with each tailored to meet the organization or group’s individual needs. We are able to offer one of our Core Organizer Trainings, or we can design a workshop series that will meet your specific needs. If you are interested in bringing this powerful training to your organization or group please contact center@midsouthpeace.org.
We are also incorporating a sliding scale fee model for our trainings. As we in the non-profit sphere know all too well, depending on outside funding is not a sustainable or dependable model to rely on to be able to continue doing our important work. We already know how valuable these trainings are to our participants, and we are proud of moving in a more sustainable direction to ensure that we are able to continue providing top quality trainings. We also hold the value of keeping barriers-to-entry as low as possible, which is why our training program is hundreds of dollars less than comparable programs both locally and nationally, and this is also why we are instituting a sliding scale model based on an individual’s income or an organization’s annual budget. Most trainings are also offered free to our members.
We are so glad to be able to continue to support the Memphis community by building a base of organizers with the skills to be able to make positive change within our community. We know that our experiences and lives are interconnected, and the positive change that occurs in your community affects us all. We look forward to learning with you soon and we appreciate your continued support!