Who we are; what we do

Our Mission

Organizers' Collaborative is a membership organization of activists and technology consultants dedicated to providing social change groups with proven, easy-to-use technology and support that is specific to the needs of organizers.
OC provides:

  • Focused training and assistance coupled with expertise in organizing
  • Technological best practices and free, customized, state of the art software
  • Online infrastructure to link organizations, individuals and organizing resources

    • Organizers' Collaborative facilitates the use of low-cost, easy to use, and open source technologies in order to strengthen individual grassroots organizations and unify the progressive movement.



    Our Programs

    Grassroots Use of Technology
    OC's education and training program enables community organizations to incorporate technology that enhances their work. The components of this program include:

  • Annual conferences focused on technology for nonprofit organizations and community organizing.
  • Free training series on using the Organizers Database for organizing, member management, volunteer tracking, and fundraising.
  • Resources including the OCtech email newsletter, Tech Tips, database case studies, a list of technology tools for community organizing, as well as a comprehensive library of links to web resources on technology and social change.
  • Low-cost, paid services (including telephone and on-site support) and referrals to qualified consultants for hardware and data conversion assistance.

    • Online Collaboration and Movement Building
    OC has supported several projects to develop web sites that serve as a clearinghouse or "portal" for specific organizing sectors or information relevant to groups engaged in organizing. For example, Democracygroups.org is a national directory of web forums and email lists related to social change, searchable by issue, constituency, or geographic location. The site also provides resources for "best practices" on the use of email lists by nonprofit organizations. The software behind DemocracyGroups is a volunteer project (see calf.democracygroups.org) and we invite people versed in graphic design or Perl programming to participate.

    OC also serves as a fiscal agent to three other projects that use the web in innovative ways to promote social change:

  • CampusActivism.org - an online clearinghouse for student activists nationally,
  • NetAction.org - the publisher since 1998 of a widely known basic training guide for online activists, and
  • 13Myths.org - a resource for collaboratively publishing fact-sheets.

    • Strategic Tools for Organizers
    Because OC's model of technology assistance places a unique emphasis on affordable off-the-shelf tools, we actively research new tools as they become available. Software released under an "open source" license to serve outreach, advocacy, and fundraising needs of nonprofits has become available only in the last 2-3 years. OC is working to make these tools easier for nonprofits to adopt. We are assisting with documentation, arranging for field testing by community organizations, and advising other groups on incorporating these tools into their trainings.

    On occasion, OC develops new, affordable tools where there is a void. We released the Organizers Database (ODB) software in March of 2002 to improve the ability of small organizations to maintain their organizing and fundraising contacts. This database software for Windows is free and available for download. We also released eWrapper, a utility that helps activists prepare e-newsletters.



    History of Organizers' Collaborative

    OC was founded in 1999 because we felt that there were few resources available to assist smaller community organizations with technology. Small nonprofits we had worked with had chronic difficulties using technology, even though the computer hardware had become extremely affordable.

    Working with others interested in addressing this problem , Rich Cowan convened the founding meetings of Organizers' Collaborative (OC) in 1999. In July of 2000, Organizers' Collaborative gained 501(c)(3) status. Operating initially as a volunteer-based organization with only part-time staffing, OC has expanded into a nationally recognized technology resource that now reaches thousands of non-profits and community groups. OC's accomplishments have included: