It’s hard to believe that Cohort 5 of the Neighborhood Organizing Institute will launch next month. NOI’s first four cohorts have included dozens of Madison-based community organizers, advocates, and grassroots leaders. NOI builds the capacity of Madison leaders to organize their community to develop community-driven solutions to social issues. We do this work by providing a 9-month, cohort-based organizing fellowship that includes monthly training sessions, mentorship, and the support of a network of graduated organizers. Our curriculum focuses on the development of strategic skills, effective base-building skills, and resilience skills, while centering the building of people power to effect change.
NOI participants share:
- Strong enthusiasm for equity and social justice.
- Willingness to place high value collective action for communal well-being over individual self-interest.
- An overall sense of ownership and caring for a particular Madison neighborhood or community (neighborhood, issue, or identity-based).
- Excitement for opportunities to build new relationships and bring others together to build collective power.
- Commitment to building their capacity to make their community better.
- Vision for what a thriving community looks like.
With these NOI fellowships, Madison community leaders have the opportunity to explore a social issue identified by a particular neighborhood or identity-based community and develop a project to support a community-driven solution. This 9-month commitment includes monthly training sessions, mentorship, and the support of a network of organizers.
Please join us in celebrating the impact of Cohort 4 (pictured at graduation and in a workshop), welcoming Cohort 5 (getting underway in March), and thanking the City of Madison’s Community Development Division for grant support to make NOI a reality.