Happy New Year, Alliance Fam!
We are kicking off 2023 by taking a glimpse into our future here at the Alliance. We have so much in store for our youth organizers all across the network.
At the Alliance, we don’t believe in off-years. This year, Alliance Network Organizations are diving deep into their work at the local level. Now is the time to connect with and civically engage more young people, and hold the officials elected last year accountable now that they’re in office.
Take a glimpse into what some of your favorite Alliance programs are going to look like this year!
This Year We’re Manifesting…
Strengthening Democracy
This year, the Alliance Network is dedicated to protecting young people’s access to the ballot box. We are diving deep into fighting for voting rights at the local and state level and launching a new democracy cohort pilot program.
The Alliance Network engages young people in democracy reform advocacy that varies across the network. The issues our network organize around include fair redistricting, expanding Vote By Mail (VBM), voting rights restoration, lowering the voting age, defending against anti-voter legislation, defending and expanding access to vote for college students, educating voters on recent changes, and election protection.
While many Alliance Network organizations have won on these issues, there’s still plenty of work to be done across the network to ensure young people can thrive in a democracy that is done right. This year we’re calling on all the artists in our network to shine a light on how they’re advancing democracy in the communities through our first-ever Democracy Done Right zine!
Our new Advocacy Director, Kayla Rivera, will take the lead on a new democracy cohort pilot program that will support six network organizations- Chicago Votes, Forward Montana, New Era Colorado, Detroit Action, Engage Miami, and Mississippi Votes- in launching or advancing a democracy advocacy program. Within this program, the Alliance will provide capacity-building services to the cohort around organizing training, materials, and templates related to advocacy work, ongoing strategic consultation, campaign development support, and financial resources (as we can raise).
Who is able to access the ballot and how in 2024 will be determined in state legislative chambers across the country in 2023, and the Alliance is stepping up to ensure everyone is involved in our Democracy.
Want to learn more about how youth organizers are fighting to protect our democracy? Sign up to stay updated on the latest in democracy from the Alliance.
Investing in Political Homes for Young People
A major element of the work we do at the Alliance is supporting the grassroots organizations that make up the Alliance Network. We believe that investing in organizations led by young people will pave the way for a brighter future of leaders from the next generation. Doing this work as a young organizational leader isn’t easy, so the Alliance provides capacity building support from every angle to make sure young leaders in the network can flourish.
This year, we’re also excited to host an in-person network-wide conference to continue building the skills young leaders need to build youth power in their states! If you like seeing how we build youth power across the network, join the Alliance Allies email list! This year we’re sharing more exclusive updates via email on our Strategic Roadmap, and giving you more insight into our capacity building work happening behind-the-scenes.
Hear From the Network
We asked youth organizers in the Alliance Network what they are excited about this year. From passing progressive policies to reaching more young people, our network has some big plans for 2023. Check out what they said on our Instagram!
As always, we’re so grateful to have you along with us on this journey to grow the progressive power of young people across the country. We know that by investing in powerful young leaders and strengthening the capacity of their organizations, we’re changing our communities for the better. Here’s to building the most progressive and diverse leadership America has ever seen!