Read about the Power Institute in the August 2022 issue of Gazette Chicago!
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The CivicLab has launched the POWER Institute (People Organizing to Win, Engage & Resist) to get you TRAINED to ORGANIZE and WIN a Chicago and a world that we all deserve and can prosper in. Connect with us at info@civiclab.us.
We offer a series of civic workshops to impart the basic knowledge and skill sets needed to do organizing and change work. We also offer workshops on building and sustaining your nonprofit organization, as well as coaching services for nonprofit executives. Our basic sequence of civic workshops consists of a set of "101" sessions that are two hours in length and are designed to get you up and running in public life. These are a connected sequence of two-hour workshops that are designed to be taken in order but can also be delivered as customized, one-off events for your organization. All attendees will receive access to a private POWER Institute web space loaded with the presentation and audio from the workshop plus links to resources and reports and other materials related to our topics! "Civic Engagement in a Time of Isolation" - The times call for more participation in public life, not less. How can we do justice, do civic work, and fight for equity and the well-being of our neighbors in a time of isolation? This webinar experience will address this issue and participants will join small groups to explore, share, and - hopefully - laugh! We will share insights around isolation, resilience, effectiveness, tool building, and more. Attendees will have access to resources and references via a dedicated web space. We did the workshop on June 13, 2020 and you can view the resources from that session here: https://www.civiclab.us/civic-isolation. How do we stay healthy and powerful in times of fear and isolation? "Public 101" [NEW FOR 2022!] - At the CivicLab, we LOVE "public"! We think an understanding and love of our public assets and services is fundamental to doing any social justice work at this time. We will help you lift up and advance "#MorePublic" in America! "Chicago 101" - How did Chicago's civics get SO toxic? Did you know that Chicago is America's MOST corrupt city? We cover Chicago's geo-politics from before the white man got here right up to the history of the Chicago Machine. You must know Chicago's history in order to change it's future. “Community Organizing 101 - How Do the Powerless Get Power?” – Did you know Chicago is the home of modern community organizing? Learn the basic skills and mindsets of a community change maker. This will be a highly interactive and hands-on session as you construct a Power Matrix for a real campaign. Build your power to win. “Grassroots Campaigning 101 - Winning for Justice” – Learn the basic steps toward putting together a principled grassroots electoral campaign for change and justice. Attendees present analysis of the vulnerability of their own aldermen based on recent elections and campaign performance. Plan and prepare in order to win. "TIF 101 - Organizing for Economic Justice" - This session explains how Tax Increment Financing districts evolved and work in Chicago. We cover the public policy insults they offer to our communities and the organizing opportunities they present to us. We will also look at TIF organizing from other cities. In addition to our basic sequence of "101" offerings we also can deliver:
We also deliver the more in-depth TIF Illumination, which is done for a specific ward. We tell you the COMPLETE history of TIFs in YOUR ward right through 2017. No one else can reveal these details. That's why we've been invited to do 75 public meetings on TIFs across the city! In 2015 nine candidates for Alderman hosted TIF town meetings - two won and two went into run-offs. What people have said about our forums and public events: “This is a critical time in our country’s history and now, more than ever, we need our voters to be able to make informed decisions. That’s where CivicLab’s TIF Illumination Project comes in. Tom will bring your community the undisputed facts about the TIFs in your area, their values and any projects that are funded by those TIFs. As I learned in my TIF Illumination, the information Tom provides passes any scrutiny from the Machine and can turn a small meeting into enlightening discussion of civic affairs. This is a resource I invite you to take advantage of and share with your community. You wouldn’t lead an army into battle unarmed. Don’t lead voters to the polls uninformed.” – William L. Smith – Organizer of 34th Ward TIF Town Meeting. Attendees at past POWER Institute workshops said:
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