Organize! Ohio

To advance and encourage community organizing as a strategy for progressive change in Ohio.

Organize! Ohio strives to build a system of support for community organizing efforts across the state by bringing together groups and organizations to:

• Enhance communication and learning
• Broaden their impact by working together
• Identify and meet their training and resource development needs

• Organize! Ohio believes that all social, political, economic, environmental, and community policies should be developed with input and contributions by the people who are directly or indirectly impacted by such policies.
• All public, semi-public and private institutions serving the public and officials must be held accountable and responsive to the people served.
• All people, regardless of race, class, ethnicity, gender, age, religion, physical disability, or sexual orientation should be treated with dignity, have equal opportunity, and have full rights without discrimination in all phases of society.
• Organize! Ohio believes in the empowerment of low-income and vulnerable populations to have a strong voice leading to strategic change in the decision making that affects their lives and their communities.
• The vehicle for this strong voice should be the organization of democratic organizations that can speak collectively while developing and ensuring indigenous leadership.
• Through the organizing of such democratic organizations we can achieve meaningful progressive change that can lead to social, political, economic and environmental justice.

In 1997, organizers from around the state began discussing the need to revitalize community organizing.  A survey was conducted that dramatically revealed the strong need and interest in building a structure to support community organizing across Ohio. Based on the overwhelming response, Organize! Ohio was established. Originally housed and guided by the Grassroots Leadership Development Program in Lorain, Organize!Ohio is now independent with its office in Cleveland.