Core Organizer Training

Learning to be a community organizer is another way of saying people are learning to be in control of their lives. It’s learning about the mainstream power dynamics that exist to keep marginalized people “in their place,” and then realizing that we have the power to bring those dynamics into balance.

People learn through G.O.T. Power, MSPJC’s training program, that we can’t and shouldn’t sit back and wait for those in authority to make changes for us, but that we are the ones who know best what our communities need and the most powerful and lasting way for change to occur is by doing it ourselves.

What is G.O.T. Power? Our training program is Grassroots Organizers Training for Power. G.O.T. Power is a movement-building program that trains individuals and organizations in the skills of community organizing and develops movements to shift the balance of power in communities. If you have the Desire and Commitment to make our city a better place, G.O.T. Power will give you: Real-world skills you need to be effective in your organizing Expert advice and support from leaders in the field A wide range of practical resources, hands on tools, and locally relevant information A support system of other people who share your vision for a better world

Who Participates? G.O.T. Power attracts participants from a wide variety of backgrounds. Some are paid community organizers, some are community activists in their spare time, and some are in social service fields and want to incorporate a community organizing perspective into their work. Many others are people who want to learn more and get more involved in their communities. What unites them all is a vision to make our city a better place by building strong, powerful organizations of the people directly affected by the problems in our communities.

Our future organizers enter the program through one of our Core Organizer Trainings which teach the basic skills of organizing that allow people to effectively lead their communities and win on issues that are important to them. Core Organizer Training The Core Organizer Training 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.

What: Core Organizer Training. A maximum of 20 people will be trained in order for all to get individual support and for the maximum learning potential for the group.

When: Beginning September 15th. Meetings take place for the following 7 Thursdays from 6-8:15 ending on November 3rd. This training builds upon itself each week and participants must attend all sessions. Partial attendance is not allowed.

Where: First Congregational Church, 1000 S. Cooper Cost: Sliding scale based on individual’s income.

If your organization is sending you to the training, use the organizational budget to determine the fee.

It costs MSPJC $200 per person to do the training. Fee includes over 16 hours of training, simple snacks, and follow up support from a network of the mid-south’s best organizers and activists.

If your annual income is... You pay...

Less than $15,000             $30
$15,000-$25,000               $50
$25,000-$35,000               $100
$35,000-$45,000               $150
$45,000-$55,000               $225
Over $55,000                    $300

Please be in touch with us if you have any questions or concerns about the fee structure at allison@midsouthpeace.org.