Solidaire Action is entering its third year of relationships with 16 (c)(4) partners. According to the strategy developed in partnership with our Advisory Board, we selected these partners for their base-building efforts. While we continue to learn from many of our electoral funding partners that have a depth of experience in supporting national wins, Solidaire Action is clarifying our role as an entity that builds political power across working class communities and communities of color. This means we see our (c)(4) investments as creating a bigger “WE,” especially in places or communities that are thought of last in many national formations — red states and “small” percentage identity groups, and among those calling for abolition and workers’ rights. 

Solidaire Action accompanies grassroots processes to build an organizationally coherent, strategically grounded left capable of governing and influencing local, regional and state policies.

For instance, Mass Liberation AZ is focused on Black liberation and abolition in Arizona, a state with a 5% Black population and the 5th highest incarceration rate in the nation. They understand that multiracial coalitions must be built to win while acknowledging the anti-Blackness that exists even in organizing communities in the state. This is where their abolitionist framework, attacking prominent county attorneys and the police department, helps to build a larger understanding of Arizona as one of the largest prosecutorial states in the country harming all BIPOC communities, especially poor, undocumented and working class communities. Mass Liberation AZ takes on public fights few others feel able to, creating a larger political field.

Caption: Mass Liberation AZ accompanied directly impacted protesters for a petition drop march on the #DropTheChargesMCAO campaign that led to the resignation of the Maricopa County Attorney

Another one of our movement partners, Warehouse Workers Action (WWA), is a newer 501(c)(4) arm of the longstanding workers center, Warehouse Workers for Justice. WWA is based right outside Chicago in the city of Joliet, Illinois, which is surrounded by massive warehousing complexes that make up the Port of Joliet, the largest inland port in the country. Initial funding from Solidaire Action helped the (c)(4) project get off the ground and has helped the group win significant local victories including flipping three of eight city council seats and winning the mayorship over just two election cycles.

The impact of local electoral victories in Joliet can already be felt. During their newest session, the council has reigned in the local staffing industry and moved toward the implementation of a progressive water rate that will modernize the city's waterworks while minimizing the burden on working families. While all eyes were rightfully on Brandon Johnson’s historic mayoral election win (which WWA also supported), WWA was also securing meaningful victories for workers in Joliet, Illinois’ third largest city.

Caption: WWA worked to elect Cesar Cardenas to Joliet City Council, his was one of three seats flipped for progressives.

As we approach 2024, Solidaire Action is poised to play a key role as an electoral funder. We are assisting movements in scaling power nationally as well as identifying and strengthening local groups that struggle to get consistent, long-term support yet are imperative to combating far right strategies. 

The deep partnerships we are building with the first cohort of the multiyear general operating support grants listed below seek to advance our goals of:

• Strengthening movement capacity to fight and win against authoritarianism by increasing movement organizations’ ability to mitigate security threats posed by a fascist, white supremacist and antidemocratic right
• Strengthening the capacity of movement organizations to absorb and develop mass numbers of people spurred into action by recent mobilizations for racial justice
• Expanding voting rights and the electorate of poor people and communities of color by mobilizing new and unengaged voters at the grassroots level, increasing access to the polls and enfranchising individuals excluded from voting
• Supporting a higher level of alignment and cooperation among organizations and social movements that work intersectionally for racial, gender, economic and climate justice