IndivisiStories: when we empower local groups, we all win
When we launched the Indivisible Guide in the wake of the 2016 election, we could only hope it would help inspire everyday people to see their power. What we saw was amazing: What started as a Google Doc has grown into a nationwide network of thousands of local groups taking action to fight for progressive values and policies. Today, we want to share some information about our GROW Grants, one of the ways we support groups.
GrassRoots Organizing Wins (GROW)
Indivisible’s GROW grant program is designed to empower local groups to achieve their goals. Every month, grant money is awarded for projects, supplies, trainings, venues, vendors, and more. With the help of these grants, Indivisible groups are able to build capacity and emerge stronger than before. And boy are they building! Here are some highlights from the past year:
When tasked with unseating Payback Senator Cory Gardner, two Colorado coalitions and one independent Indivisible group received Indivisible GROW grants to help get out the vote (GOTV). Their grants funded statewide trainings, voter registration advertisements in 30 public buses, and GOTV texting programs with 200 participants from more than 20 Indivisible groups. The campaign against Gardner wasn’t easy, but groups’ dedicated organizing created momentum around Hickenlooper’s progressive platform that propelled him across the finish line to victory.
To ensure that their GOTV efforts were effective and inclusive, Indivisible Highlands Ranch used their statewide training grant to encourage viewing all direct voter contact through a racial equity lens. The group conducted trainings with the help of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion trainer Regan Byrd, and held a workshop attended by 50 group leaders and Black and brown accountability partners.
Indivisible Highlands Ranch DEI training
In New Mexico, Indivisible Nob Hill received a collaborative grant to write bilingual postcards for Luna County — one of the four counties in NM where absentee ballots were not automatically sent to eligible voters. This project helped the groups recruit new members, identify new leaders, and make connections with other groups in more rural and red areas of the state. One of those leaders, Patricia Kuning, led the effort for three additional GOTV postcard projects — one in southern New Mexico and two targeting voters in Florida.
Two Indivisible Nob Hill members completing postcards
In the suburbs of Chicago, NWSOFA Indivisibles received a collaborative GROW grant to send postcards to voters in key states. With the help of the grant, they were able to collaborate with each of the other five local Indivisible groups. Working together, they held several successful “Votecard Triathlons” where each group wrote postcards to swing states ahead of the 2020 election. Considering that each group covers such a large geographic area, this grant brought together members who likely would have never intersected by building local capacity and engagement.
NWSOFA Indivisible “Votecard Triathlons”
GROW grants are a critical part of Indivisible’s success because they prove that, when we empower local groups, we all win.
So, how can we continue to support Indivisible groups?
Our 55 Indivisible groups in Georgia hold the fate of the Senate in their hands, and we’ve got their backs. We’re investing deeply in this race, including voter contact efforts, staff time to keep our strategy responsive to the movement, and, of course, direct support and grants to local groups. To avoid duplication, our organizing team has been working closely with Georgia Indivisible groups to structure a plan that centers their voices and is mindful of the needs of existing advocacy on the ground.
We’re already in place across the state — from our strength in the purplish suburbs to our small but mighty groups in rural red areas — and we’re ready to win.
We’re spending the next month reminiscing on our biggest wins and all the hard work that made them possible. We’ll be sharing stories all month long, so make sure you’re following us on social media: Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube. You can also receive updates by texting the word ‘Indivisible’ to 977–79. And if you have your own stories to share, reply to this email and let us know! We might feature them in an upcoming post or email.
