As people on the frontlines, we each have a vision of the world where power is shifted away from a centralized, exclusive set of decision-makers and into the hands of our communities. A vision where solutions aren’t developed for us and where we instead come together and build the solutions we want ourselves to address the issues we face.
Community Assemblies are an innovative project that aims to build connections between different communities of people organizing for change and prepare them to pursue policy change and funding. As a coalition of over seventy frontline community organizations in Washington State, Front and Centered is well-equipped to create a community network where people can support each other in advancing the common goal of a Just Transition.
Frontline communities don’t just need to survive, we need to thrive. Community Assemblies are a way to do exactly that, because they are a structure that can support our communities’ ability to be active participants in changing the rules and moving government funding toward what we really need.
Through Community Assemblies, frontline communities can create the future we want to see. Because if we’re not prepared to govern, we’re not prepared to win.
UPDATE — Our first community assemblies cohort has been chosen and begun meeting! This first cohort is comprised of the following Front and Centered coalition members:
1. A. Philip Randolph Institute—Tacoma chapter
2. Guanajuatenses en Washington
3. Puget Sound Sage
Applications to bring community assemblies to your community are now open! View the application materials below and apply as soon as you can—applications are due by April 7, 2024.
Check out this video to learn more
about the Community Assemblies project!
Need a little more info before you apply?
Check out this video and read some FAQs,
and then dive into the application info below!
Frequently Asked Questions
Is there funding for the project?
Yes! We are still assessing how much we can provide to each team, but know that it will be at least $30,000 for each team. This would be used to cover the costs of each assembly including time (staff/honoraria), location, food, daycare, material costs, transportation, etc. Anchors will be in charge of creating a budget for each assembly and providing Front and Centered with reporting requirements that may be required by our funding sources.
What if my organization can’t commit three people to work 5–15 hours a week on this project?
We understand that the three-person requirement may be a lot for some organizations. The reason we created the requirement is because we estimate that planning and executing assemblies and conducting the follow-up work of research, data analysis, power mapping, etc. would take up a lot of time for just one person.
We strongly recommend that applicants designate at least two people who can commit to this project. Applicants who do not have three people who can commit are still encouraged to apply and note how you would staff the project. Maybe that’s with one staff member who can lead and others who can support, or four team members who can commit only a few hours each. If you would like to discuss this requirement further, please reach out to [email protected].
How much work is required between cohort meetings?
Between meetings, we will send anchor teams a set of worksheets to complete. Each worksheet will guide anchors in planning some part of their assembly.
For example, one worksheet will ask anchors to do a capacity assessment of their team to identify who will lead solution ideation and who can lead facilitation at the assemblies. Another worksheet will ask anchors to think through how they will educate their community at assemblies by looking through a series of activities to see which, if any, feel right.
After each assembly, anchors will be asked to do some research and consolidation of the notes they took. As such, work between meetings will fluctuate depending on the time of the project, but we can estimate something like five to ten hours of work outside of meetings.
Do anchors get to choose when, where, and what format assemblies happen in?
Yes! Anchors will choose the location of their assemblies and whether they should be in-person and/or virtual. With the structure Front and Centered is recommending, we suggest assemblies happen in July, September, and November in this initial round. However, this could be changed if a particular anchor team decides they really want to accelerate or decelerate the process. We would just want to have that conversation and work with the anchor team to figure that out together.
Is there funding for the project?
Yes! We are still assessing how much we can provide to each team, but know that it will be at least $30,000 for each team. This would be used to cover the costs of each assembly including time (staff/honoraria), location, food, daycare, material costs, transportation, etc. Anchors will be in charge of creating a budget for each assembly and providing Front and Centered with reporting requirements that may be required by our funding sources.
What if my organization can’t commit three people to work 5–15 hours a week on this project?
We understand that the three-person requirement may be a lot for some organizations. The reason we created the requirement is because we estimate that planning and executing assemblies and conducting the follow-up work of research, data analysis, power mapping, etc. would take up a lot of time for just one person.
We strongly recommend that applicants designate at least two people who can commit to this project. Applicants who do not have three people who can commit are still encouraged to apply and note how you would staff the project. Maybe that’s with one staff member who can lead and others who can support, or four team members who can commit only a few hours each. If you would like to discuss this requirement further, please reach out to [email protected].
How much work is required between cohort meetings?
Between meetings, we will send anchor teams a set of worksheets to complete. Each worksheet will guide anchors in planning some part of their assembly.
For example, one worksheet will ask anchors to do a capacity assessment of their team to identify who will lead solution ideation and who can lead facilitation at the assemblies. Another worksheet will ask anchors to think through how they will educate their community at assemblies by looking through a series of activities to see which, if any, feel right.
After each assembly, anchors will be asked to do some research and consolidation of the notes they took. As such, work between meetings will fluctuate depending on the time of the project, but we can estimate something like five to ten hours of work outside of meetings.
Do anchors get to choose when, where, and what format assemblies happen in?
Yes! Anchors will choose the location of their assemblies and whether they should be in-person and/or virtual. With the structure Front and Centered is recommending, we suggest assemblies happen in July, September, and November in this initial round. However, this could be changed if a particular anchor team decides they really want to accelerate or decelerate the process. We would just want to have that conversation and work with the anchor team to figure that out together.
Application Information
