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IMPACT! is an independent, all-volunteer organization based in Petaluma which works for social justice, primarily on the issues of police accountability, immigrants' and workers' rights. We are comprised primarily of students and young workers. IMPACT! formed in May 2008 out of the remnants of previous radical youth organizations in Petaluma. We are fiscally-sponsored by the Peace and Justice Center and can receive tax-deductible contributions.
IMPACT! believes in building grassroots social movements led by young workers, students, immigrants, and low-income/working class folks in our community.
We utilize direct action and community organizing: our CopWatch program regularly patrols city streets to observe the police, gives trainings on how to deal with the police, mobilizes to support victims and survivors of police violence, and builds alliances with local organizations to pressure for changes. Our Food Not Bombs program is hard at work at building relationships with immigrant day laborers with the goal of starting to organize around issues such as the impounding of workers' cars and the theft of wages by employers. In the near future we will also be implementing programs such as tutoring, organizer trainings, free literature distribution, helping to build a roof-top garden at the Phoenix Theater, conducting grassroots fundraising to support the Phoenix, and establishing a legal clinic.
We focus on leadership development and challenging oppression: we center anti-racist, feminist youth leadership into our work. We collaborate closely with MEChA (Movimiento Estudiantil Chicano de Aztlan) and the Committee for Immigrants' Rights. We seek to build leadership among youth of color, as well as train young white activists to be allies and strong leaders in combating racism in the white sectors of the community. We also prioritize the leadership of young women, and challenging male dominance within the group and our movements. We hold regular "Organizer Trainings" to teach young folks how to run campaigns, plan actions, work with the media, and develop critiques of capitalism and incorporate visionary politics into our every day work.
We are also pay close attention to our own organizational development: We are working to strengthen our understanding of consensus and being intentional about creating a truly participatory and welcoming space. We strive to constantly rotate the roles in our organization and encourage people to step up. We believe in peer mentoring in order to support the growth and leadership of young activists. We are increasing our presence in the community through expansion of our web presence. We also have a website, a Facebook page, and a Twitter. We engage in grassroots fundraising to support our organization and sustain the work. Furthermore, we are increasing our focus on developing a collective vision for the organization that is rooted in de-centralization and autonomy, workers' power, solidarity across movements, and building a revolutionary culture that can sustain our political struggles. We are adopting a base-building strategy wherein we can mobilize and involve many more people in our organization and build the capacity of our community to resist violence, exploitation and authoritarianism.
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