(a.k.a. Please Read This Before Diving In, Thank You)
This is a living document!
If there is an organization, campaign or even a category that’s not here but you think should be, or you wish to request an edit or removal of a listing, please fill out this form.
If you’ve had an experience with any of the organizations on this list that you think people should know about — positive, negative or otherwise — please don’t hesitate to share. An organization may be removed from the guide if there is a reported ongoing pattern of abuse, oppressive behavior or financial impropriety on the part of the organization or its leadership.
I am only speaking for myself here.
The work in this guide and any opinions expressed here are mine and mine alone, and do not reflect the opinions of my employer, any publications I have written for, any orgs of which I am a part, any of the orgs listed here or their members, any friends or family members, or my dog. (My dog is, unfortunately, a Libertarian.)
I am not an expert on local organizing, or anything really.
I am Literally Just Some Guy who lives in Chicago and wants to encourage people to get involved in making their communities and city a better, more just place. I encourage you to use this guide in conjunction with other research and resources.
This guide is intentionally ideologically and tactically diverse.
I tried not to give too much space here to large, national, well-resourced nonprofits (particularly those that partner with war profiteers), but you will see a variety of sizes of orgs, models, approaches to organizing and tactics represented here.
Some operate more like typical liberal/progressive 501c3s; some are scrappy, grassroots anarchist collectives. Some of these groups will probably disagree with the methods or ideas of other groups represented here or listed alongside them.
The point is to show as many options as possible of where to plug in if you’re feeling stuck or overwhelmed.
Just because an organization is listed does not mean I endorse every single thing that organization or its members have ever said or done.
There are some orgs represented here whose members have said things or who have taken positions or actions I personally disagree with. And being able to build with and support folks with whom you disagree is a fundamental organizing skill. That being said, see point #1 — orgs exhibiting ongoing patterns of abuse or oppressive behavior will be removed from the guide.
Your mileage may vary
What may be one person’s perfect organizing home and community may not be right for another. There is no universally perfect org that will be the right space for everyone, and there are a number of reasons why an org may not be the right fit for you to take sustained, consistent action with or vice versa, many of which are not reflections of you or the org or the people in it. I hope you will keep going until you find an organizing home where you can best contribute (or grab some friends and do your own thing!).
Joining an existing org is far from your only option.
You have the power to start something and take action with your friends and family, your neighbors, your weekly pickup basketball game, your D&D party, whatever sorts of humans to whom you are connected. Building relationships with the people around you can feel daunting, but it is probably the best thing you can do to protect and support one another ahead of whatever comes next. I’ve included an appendix of resources for starting affinity groups, building those relationships and acting autonomously if that resonates more with you.
A word about not getting overwhelmed.
Like a lot of people who became more politically and communally activated after the 2016 election, I got super overwhelmed. Every time I heard about a new action or initiative, I wanted to help, and ended up exhausting myself through a series of one-off activities, not really building any relationships or engaging in a way that was sustainable.
So I hope you’ll start by finding one or two ways to plug in that you can commit to sustainably over time rather than trying to do everything. Remember you are contributing to a collective, and that you must be, as you’ll probably hear lots of people who are smarter than me say, “in it for the long haul.” This is a reminder to take breaks, to listen to your body and brain about when to take a step back, and know that the work will continue even as you rest, and there will be opportunities to jump back in when you are ready. I try to remember this tweet about “The Parable of the Choir”: “A choir can sing a beautiful note impossibly long because singers can individually drop out to breathe as necessary and the note goes on.”
beyond november 