Midwest Academy: What Donors Need to Know
Founded in Chicago in 1973, Midwest Academy is a national institute focused on training organizers to advance social, economic and racial justice. Over nearly five decades, the academy has trained an estimated 25,000 organizers.
The academy offers two standardized courses—one for organizers and one for managers—as well as customized training, such as when it is hired by foundations to train their grantees. It also offers one-on-one coaching for organizing staff.
Midwest Academy has worked with numerous small, community-based organizations that are vital to long-term change, as well as a “who’s who” of national organizations.
Community organizing is simultaneously one of the least “flashy” and most vitally important aspects of building political power to make lasting, positive change. It was organizing that saved the ACA, organizing that is increasing minimum wages in cities throughout the country, organizing that killed the Keystone XL pipeline, organizing that is changing the landscape of criminal justice in many locales, and organizing that led to critical election wins in Georgia, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin in 2020.
Good organizing is highly effective. But it requires long-term, steady investments and is extremely underfunded. Political campaigns often raise tens of millions of dollars, but they are in and out of communities once votes are cast, foregoing long term relationships and local fights. Real organizing requires deep investment in communities over the long run. And that’s where the gap in funding is most obvious. Donors who want to make a lasting impact on issues and communities long after elections end should consider channeling at least some of their giving away from political campaigns and toward community organizing. Investing in groups that train organizers is a cost-effective way to support such work.
Blue Tent strongly recommends Midwest Academy—a top player in the organizing training space with a long track record of positive impact. Supporting the organization should be a high priority for donors who value building progressive power.
This brief is based on independent research and interviews with both Midwest Academy leadership and alumni of academy training sessions.
Is it a top leader in its space—or have the potential to be?
Yes. Midwest Academy is one among a number of groups focused on effective organizing, all of which are underfunded. These include among others: RePower; the LGBTQ Task Force; the Movement Cooperative; the Analyst Institute; and Black Organizing for Leadership and Dignity. Some of these specialize in one or another aspect of grassroots organizing, such as the critical role played by tech in expanding the reach of organizers, integrating race/class narratives into the work of organizing, or ensuring that managers are equipped to support organizers across a wide swath of campaigns and communities. All are important and effective.
As part of this ecosystem, Midwest Academy is one of the “go-tos” for training on how to build power and effectively organize for change. Organizations whose staff have recently been trained by the academy include the American Civil Liberties Union, Center for Popular Democracy, Planned Parenthood, the Sierra Club, and the Service Employees International Union (SEIU).
Does it have a persuasive theory of change and a realistic strategy?
Yes. Midwest Academy sees training organizers as a force multiplier that can achieve gains across the spectrum of progressive issues. At the center of its approach is its “Strategy Chart,” a tool to help organizers set goals, assess organizational needs, identify allies, and take other key steps that are required to mount effective campaigns.
Midwest Academy’s two standardized courses are Organizing for Justice, a four-day training that builds concrete skills for effective organizing; and Supervising Organizers, a three-day workshop to build management skills and teach managers how to develop work plans, build accountable relationships, and teach on-the-job skills. It also offers several customized programs, including one-on-one coaching for organizers and supervisors alike.
Conversations with both alumni and current partners indicate that Midwest Academy’s approach works, helping organizations develop more realistic, achievable strategies and increase their impact.
One key feature of Midwest Academy’s training, alumni said, is an education in the difference between advocacy and organizing—and why organizing succeeds where advocacy alone may fail.
“A lot of people think that organizing is more advocacy work, but they don’t know how to really show power in order to get their demands met, and what that means and what that looks like,” said Arista Burwell-Chen, the organizing director of FEEST, a youth-led organization founded in Seattle in 2008 that works “to build collective power and organize for transformative and systemic change in their schools.” FEEST recently partnered with Midwest Academy in a total overhaul of its strategic plan and organizing strategy.
The academy continues to evolve its theory of change and coursework to keep up with new understanding of best practices. Under the relatively new leadership of Co-Directors Jay Travis and Eric Zachary, the academy has introduced a new model called the “Organizer Triangle,” summarizing what it sees as the three most critical aspects of long-term effective organizing. The triangle focuses on (1) clarifying both the roles played and skills needed by an organizer; (2) building a long-term guiding vision; and (3) increasing self-awareness among individual organizers.
Is there strong evidence of its impact?
Yes. In conversations with alumni and current partners—both those referred by Midwest Academy and those approached independently by Blue Tent—our sources uniformly said that working with the academy had a significant, positive impact on their work.
For example, the coalition that successfully worked to persuade then-New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo to ban fracking in 2014 relied on the academy’s Strategy Chart to plan their work, according to Food & Water Watch Organizing Director Emily Wurth. “[The Strategy Chart is] a very concrete and practical tool that really forces you to think through how [to] accomplish this goal,” she said, whether the goal is to change a state’s policy on fracking or passing a resolution on recycling through a three-person town council.
Much more recently, the National Education Association (NEA) has been working with Midwest Academy to create a nationwide education justice movement, consisting of coalition partnerships between union locals and community groups in cities across the country. NEA organizer Kyle Serrette refers to the academy as a “co-leader” in the effort, training organizers in the target areas and “taking the lead on helping to build coalitions where there were none before.”
Serrette said that the NEA’s effort to build the justice education movement has strongly benefited from the ways in which the academy’s “community perspective” has balanced the NEA’s “union perspective.” That balance, Serrette said, has helped prevent mistakes the NEA probably would have made had the union decided to pursue the justice coalition project on its own.
Burwell-Chen of FEEST in Seattle best summed up the seeming collective sentiment of sources we interviewed, saying “the Midwest Academy is the best of the best when it comes to building the power that you need to get the changes you need to have in your community implemented. There is no one better, hands down.”
In addition to the testimony of alumni and the sheer number and range of organizations whose staff have been trained by Midwest Academy, the level of repeat business provides more evidence of its impact. Academy leadership estimates that at least 60 of the more than 80 organizations that participated in training or coaching in 2020 and 2021 first sent organizers to a standardized national training session within the past five years.
Does it have a plan to achieve future impact?
Yes. Midwest Academy is expanding its staff to meet growing demand for its courses and raising money to support that expansion. The academy will also continue offering online training opportunities for individuals and groups who can’t travel, and maintain a sliding scale for fees introduced during the pandemic.
Does it have strong leadership and governance?
Yes. For one thing, the stability of Midwest Academy’s leadership is noteworthy. Heather Booth, the legendary activist who founded Midwest Academy, continues serving as chair of the board. Two other former directors are also board members and Steve Max, Midwest Academy’s first lead trainer, remains as Director Emeritus. Judy Hertz, the director immediately preceding Travis and Zachary, served in the position for 20 years.
Both Travis, promoted from within after five years on staff, and Zachary, an outside hire, bring extensive organizing experience to their roles. Travis previously served as an executive director at the Kenwood Oakland Community Organization, program officer at the Woods Fund of Chicago and Funders Collaborative on Youth Organizing, and as a founding member of People United for Action PAC. Zachary has experience in both community and union organizing, was the founder of the NYC Coalition for Educational Justice and established a new community engagement infrastructure for the American Federation of Teachers.
Is it diverse and culturally competent?
Yes. Midwest Academy’s board and staff are racially and ethnically diverse. A majority of the organization’s seven staff members (including two retiring part-time staff) identify as either female or non-binary, and two identify as queer. Roughly half the staff is Black or Latino, and the other half is white. The board is composed of six men and five women, including four who identify as white, four as Black, two as Latino, and one as Middle Eastern. (Midwest Academy doesn’t document the sexual orientation or gender identities of its board.) All of the academy’s training sessions are presented through “an explicit intersectional equity lens,” according to the leadership team.
Is its financial house in order?
Yes. While the academy’s budget is small—revenue in 2019, the most recent year on file, was $724,006—Tock told Blue Tent that the organization has a reserve account and isn’t carrying any debt. Most of its revenue comes from its training courses, making the organization largely self-sustaining. (It reported just $109,044 in contributions and grants in 2019.)
Is it respected by its peers?
Yes. In addition to other feedback Blue Tent received, the academy’s leadership team cited ongoing partnerships through which the organization is providing training, coaching, and facilitation.
Conclusion
With nearly 50 years of experience, strong leadership, and a proven track record of helping progressive organizations better serve their missions, Midwest Academy offers donors a high-leverage opportunity to effect change across a range of progressive issues. Blue Tent Strongly Recommends donating to Midwest Academy and we believe supporting this group is a high priority.
