Who We Are
Community Planning is a national nonprofit organization dedicated to fostering equity and justice in communities across the United States. We work hand-in-hand with a diverse range of partners, including national, regional, state, and local organizations, to create meaningful, lasting change that benefits everyone, regardless of background or circumstance.
Our mission is rooted in the belief that every community deserves to thrive. To achieve this, we focus on transforming the power dynamics and structures that shape our lives and communities. We understand that true change comes not just from addressing immediate needs but from reimagining and restructuring the systems that perpetuate inequality and injustice.
At the core of our work is a commitment to policy advocacy and local organizing. We believe that by supporting grassroots efforts and influencing policy at all levels, we can drive comprehensive, systemic change. Our approach is holistic, recognizing that the challenges communities face are interconnected and that solutions must be as well.
We emphasize the importance of developing fields of work that encourage collaboration and learning across multiple levels—local, regional, national, and even global. By fostering trans-disciplinary partnerships, we aim to break down silos and create a more inclusive, cooperative approach to community planning. This means working across different issues, from housing and healthcare to education and environmental justice, ensuring that our efforts are aligned and mutually reinforcing.
Community Planning is not just an organization; we are a movement dedicated to empowering communities and creating a more just and equitable society. Our work is driven by a deep commitment to justice, collaboration, and the belief that together, we can build stronger, more resilient communities that work for everyone. Whether through advocating for policy changes, supporting local organizers, or fostering partnerships that span the globe, we are here to make a difference—one community at a time.
Building Local Power for Health Justice and Racial Equity
At Community Planning, we firmly believe that building local power is essential to achieving health justice and racial equity. By prioritizing local initiatives, we are not only addressing the immediate needs of communities but also advancing the true potential of our democracy. This approach allows us to work together, govern together, and ensure that all voices—especially those that have been historically marginalized—are heard. Through collaborative efforts, we forge shared visions and implement groundbreaking, disruptive work that challenges the status quo and drives meaningful change.
Our dedication to these principles is rooted in the belief that popular education is a powerful tool for community empowerment. We provide organizing, learning, and sharing frameworks that deeply value participation and experiential learning. This approach ensures that communities are not just passive recipients of solutions but active participants in creating them. By promoting the development of evaluation systems that recognize local power as a critical component of successful campaigns, we empower communities to take ownership of their futures.
One of our primary commitments is to build power in communities that are often marginalized in policymaking. We understand that these communities possess unique strengths, histories, and insights that are vital to creating lasting change. Therefore, we prioritize projects that have the potential to build long-term community infrastructure, laying the foundation for sustained activism and progress.
Speaking Truth to Build Power
A core strategy at Community Planning, and with our community partners, is to “speak truth to build power.” We recognize that effective communication is a critical part of any successful change strategy. Re-framing complex issues does not happen overnight or with a single media soundbite. It requires persistent, clear communication that resonates with people from all walks of life and in multiple languages. To this end, we work closely with our partners to take complex concepts and translate them into plain language, making them accessible to a broader audience.
Our work is grounded in the principles of shared learning, research, and evaluation, all of which center around the concept of local power. In today’s information age, research is the new currency in policymaking. However, we are acutely aware that in a time when information and facts can be overshadowed by political will and power, accountability is more important than ever. We do not just examine the content of policy initiatives; we also consider the context in which they arise. By doing so, we provide credible information that advocates and community organizers can use to address local priorities in a way that respects and leverages the local context, history, culture, and wisdom.
Leveraging Financial Resources for Change
We also recognize that money makes a difference. Community Planning is committed to leveraging financial resources to expand change infrastructure in communities that have experienced high levels of disinvestment. These are the areas where opportunities for health justice and racial equity are most critical. By working with traditional philanthropic partners and exploring new funding avenues, Community Planning has successfully raised over $10 million for advocacy and community-based organizations nationwide.
This financial commitment is not just about funding projects; it’s about empowering communities to build the infrastructure they need to sustain long-term change. We believe that by investing in these communities, we are not only supporting immediate efforts but also laying the groundwork for a more just and equitable future.