Community Events

Community Events That Unite

In times of crisis when people feel stuck and overwhelmed, we have stepped up to create events that bring people together so that they can move forward. Our events at the local level foster connection, community, action, healing, and unity to address national crises. We create a big tent, and give people a way to connect and take action. We advise and build internal capacity for communities and groups to organize their own powerful events that unite. Simply put, we create the space where people can get unstuck.

Our track record includes creating events for racial justice and racial harmony for more than 20 years; mobilizing large-scale local movements; and bringing healing, relief, and understanding across the tense Israel - Palestine divide, giving communities a way to model co-existence and see all human life as sacred.
CGAs events provide a needed forum for every day people to take action, develop understanding, come together across differences, and advance progress.
We can support your community with a model to organize a mobilization, and to Regroup, Respond, and Rebuild.
CGA is ready to partner with you to organize your own events to meet the needs in your community. We have a model that works, and will bring the technical assistance and insight to achieve your goals.

“In organizations, people are looking to the top for guidance, and things fall apart in disarray. People don’t have the skillset to work it out. I’ve seen the work CGA did, people were hurting, in so much pain, and they brought people together and provided a skillset needed to hear each other“

Jane Daniels 

Mobilizing
REGROUP, RESPOND, REBUILD:

We are ready to help you meet this crucial moment in history. We can talk you through how to organize and mobilize. We are in an unprecedented moment where our Democracy, and the Constitutional rights and freedoms of the people who choose to live here, are under threat. We are here to help. In 2017, before CGA was founded, we launched and co-led a large mass mobilization movement – organized locally, engaged on national issues, empowering every day people to take action and make a real difference.

In January, 2017 when the newly elected President of the United States signed an executive order banning Muslims from entry, Jen and two friends organized a candlelight vigil and rally with speakers from all backgrounds, including Muslim leaders. Hundreds of people showed up, along with news reporters, TV cameras. When people asked us “what’s next?” we knew it was time to organize a mobilization. She and friends co-organized and co-facilitated an open meeting for all people to gather and created the Takoma Park Mobilization (where we lived) to defend Democracy and freedoms. It was one of the larger Indivisible chapters, a national movement we affiliated with. We engaged 1,000 people in the community, trained people to form and lead a dozen powerful committees advocating for women’s rights, immigrants’ rights, the environment, and for state and federal policies of decency, civility, compassion and Democracy. We created channels of activity, organized locally, operated with an open, consensus-model, embraced nonviolence, and built the leadership capacity and skills of hundreds of people. We incited hope and action, and gave people a way to make a difference. CGA does not support or oppose any candidate or elected leader, however, we do stand up for programs and policies that support all people, valuing all human beings, and we stand up for Democracy.

Nationally communities are needing to REGROUP, RESPOND, and REBUILD. And we are ready to support your local organizing efforts and can share guidance and connections and models. Just reach out, and we will talk you through how to organize and mobilize.

“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has,” - Margaret Mead

REGROUP, RESPOND, REBUILD: How to Organize a Mobilization

We are ready to help groups and communities REGROUP, RESPOND, REBUILD:
First, take care of yourselves, and take the space to be present to all of the hurt, worries, anger, before centering and taking skillful action. From a grounded center, then take skillful action rooted in care for people and for communities that are threatened.
Affiliate with a national movement (in 2016, before we were CGA, we affiliated with Indivisible, a national movement. Today, in November, 2024, there are many national organizations stepping up to lead the movement to defend Democracy and the rights and freedoms of people who live here. CGA does not endorse or oppose any candidate for elected office, nor do we support or oppose any elected official, but we do advocate for policies that protect people’s rights and freedoms and embrace compassion and civility. Your affiliation with a national group does not mean you are obligated to do everything they suggest.
Organize locally: Hold a vigil, organize a rally, call a meeting, invite widely, all are welcome.
Adopt common guidelines and values at the outset – Nonviolence is mandatory. Consensus model of decision making can work well. Adopt a set of guiding principles and a mission. You can gather a large group and do this together, hashing out the words and reaching agreement (there are a dozen good consulting methods for how to align on a mission, and we can support your group as needed). Get agreement publicly by all participants to adopt the guidelines, values and mission. Again, Nonviolence is an essential guideline. Consensus decision making can work well.
Structure your group to be flexible and empowering.
People self-organize into committees on issues they care about. Committees form around shared concerns. We had a dozen committees (and 600 people actively engaged in committee work) on Immigrants rights, Women’s rights, Environment, Education, LGBTQ, etc. Committees function with autonomy. Encourage people to propose a committee on an issue they want to work on and ask if others want to work with them. If someone proposes an odd idea or an idea outside of the mission, people won’t choose to join them, and the odd proposals won’t gain traction (so you don’t need to be afraid of letting people stand up and make their own proposals – we believe in values of freedom and acceptance, not control over others). People will resonate around shared concerns.
Operate with an affiliation model - form a central coordinating committee, in which each committee is affiliated, with freedom to operate autonomously. The job of the central coordinating committee, which we called COOL (Communications, Outreach, Organizing, Logistics) is to support the committees, not to control or have power-over the committees. The central coordinating committee is tasked with empowering people to take action. The central committee helps make the trains run on time, manages a budget, and supports the collaboration and coordination between committees, cross-committee, and with a national affiliated movement. Each committee chooses a representative to the central coordinating committee.
Plan for how to address conflict: Some differences around strategy and choices may occur, so have a plan for how to manage differences of opinion. We offer the Grounded Resilience model and recommend taking collective action from a grounded place. Conflict resolution methods are effective at helping people talk through differences, we recommend Nonviolent Communication and Imago mirroring. Seek to understand the issue or someone else before reacting. However, If a committee or a person is acting out of sync with the agreed upon principles of nonviolence and the mission of the group, then it is no longer welcome in the group, and you may need to ask that person to find a different group; you don’t need to give up your organization to someone who is undermining the core values of nonviolence and the agreed upon mission. We can offer advice and help if you need it.
Connect to other local groups and movements (women’s groups, immigrant rights groups, environmental groups, education groups, LGBTQ groups) both locally and nationally. There are often state-based organizations that exist already whose mission is to protect the rights of immigrants, or of women’s reproductive freedom, or of LGTBQ self-determination, or working to save the earth from climate catastrophe. Look for those organizations, reach out and offer to collaborate, and affiliate with them loosely. You can still create your own projects and your own campaigns, but it’s good to be in coalition with existing organizations, and part of a bigger movement.
Alert the press to your good work - you want your events and your rallies to be covered in the news. Learn how to issue press advisories and press releases, and work the press.
Feel free to reach out, we will offer support, guidance, and a model for structure that can work flexibly with maximum participation and collective leadership. We’ve done it!

Before we became CGA, we were people organizing as part of a larger Mobilization. A few of our accomplishments as a Mobilization:

A People’s Town Hall forum with 2,000 people, co-hosted with Congressional Rep. Jamie Raskin, held on two stages (an indoor stage, and an outdoor stage), 2 US senators, 4 Congresspeople and dozens of local leaders, organizational leaders, and electeds.
Dozens of major rallies and marches outside of the White House, on the steps of the US Capitol, etc, including collaboration on the Women’s March of January 2017, which we contributed to with coordination and people-power.
A candlelight vigil for Immigrant and Muslim rights (our first event)
A campaign to save the Affordable Care Act. We organized rallies at the state capitol, and at the US Capitol.
A direct support for immigrant families committee which aided individual immigrant families
Local education and training workshops for local residents on the issues.
Over 600 people taking action, feeling empowered to lead, and making a difference!

Photos from the local News on our Community Gathering for All to create unity in a time of pain and tension across the Israel and Palestine divisions.