Common Good Missoula unites everyday Missoulians to work together across traditional divides like race, class, and ideologies. We listen. We plan. We organize. We act. We celebrate.
Common Good Missoula is an affiliate of IAF (Industrial Areas Foundation) Northwest and has 23 member organizations - All Nations Health Center, labor unions, faith communities, neighborhoods, and other non-profits. In our tradition, organizing is led by the people most directly affected by the issues the organization is working on.
Well-being throughout our community requires everyday citizens, particularly the most impacted to be meaningfully involved in creating the solutions shaping our community. Recognizing this, we continually build leadership from within our community, working to understand and address the root causes of the issues, not just the symptoms. When everyday folks realize they have the agency to create change and that they aren't alone in their struggles, their human dignity shines and they are motivated to make change and become leaders in the community.
We bring these leaders together to build power they wouldn’t have individually and use that power to create systemic change. We see ourselves as part of a larger movement for social change and work towards strengthening that movement.
Common Good addresses inequity by creating a large and racially/socially diverse network of everyday leaders working to address local challenges such as structural racism, lack of affordable housing, and community safety.
Current Members
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Families for a Livable Climate First United Methodist Church Immanuel Lutheran Missoula Education Association Welcome Back Emmaus Campus Ministry Franklin to the Fort Neighbors in Action Missoula Food Bank and Community Center St. Francis Xavier Parish SMART 103 Sheet Metal Workers University Area Neighbors in Action Working Dogs for Conservation |
Montana Farm Connect Missoulians for Common Good Our Saviors Lutheran Church Montana Chapter of the Sierra Club Partnership Health Center All Nations Health Center Western Montana Building Trades Council Missoula Public Health Climate Smart Missoula River Neighbors in Action Starbucks Workers United |
Who leads the work?
We are everyday citizens as leaders in our community. Many of us are BIPOC, LGBTQIA+ and low-income leaders. Common Good Missoula has a delegates assembly formed from members of every dues-paying organization. This assembly makes large decisions about what actions to take and what focus the group will tackle. Between Delegates Assemblies, which happen 3-4 times a year, the Strategy Team guides the organization and directs the paid organizer(s).
What has Common Good Accomplished?
Since officially founding in May of 2022, Common Good Missoula has launched into citizen action and continued training dozens of leaders across our community to engage in a healthy local democracy to create systemic change led by everyday, average residents.
- Over 75 delegates from our member organizations came together in September 2022 to discern our collective priorities and reach a consensus. Leaders decided to begin work on Housing Justice, Community Safety, Connectivity and Planning and to keep climate and Indigenous justice themes woven throughout as we launched our Campaign for a Just, Equitable, and Connected community.
- Over 300 new leaders have been trained in the Fundamentals of Organizing since May of 2022. This two-day training experience teaches critical thinking about power, negotiation, civics, and reconnecting and rehumanizing our communities. Participants leave excited, inspired, and ready to engage in positive change-making for themselves and for our community.
- Over 250 residents have completed Wrestling With the Truth of Colonization Training, creating a welcoming space where Indigenous leaders and settler leaders can work together as their whole selves to create the positive change we need.
- In December 2022, over 250 members and community members joined us for the Civic Academy to launch the Our Missoula Code Reform Initiative. Through relationships, Common Good leaders were able to build trust with City of Missoula staff and consultants to model a paradigm shift for what citizen engagement can look like. Through this good work, the everyday folks of Missoula are in on the ground floor of this initiative, providing feedback and input right as the project begins.
- In Spring of 2023, we conducted table talks across nearly all member organizations and heard from over 300 people about how they wanted their neighborhoods to develop.
- In June of 2023, more than 55 delegates gathered to hear commitments from Mayor Hess, and Transportation Planners Aaron Wilson and Ben Weiss to implement a Neighborways pilot.
- In October 2023, more than 85 delegates gathered at Free Cycles for a Mayoral Candidate Accountability Session where both Candidates Nugent and Davis committed to continuing the city of Missoula's commitment to implementing Neighborways and looking at policies with Indigenous and Climate Justice in mind.
- In January 2024, Common Good Missoula hosted the first IAF Pacific International 60-hour community organizing leadership intensive with leaders and trainers from Australia, New Zealand, Canada, and NW USA.
- In February, 2024, after hundreds of volunteer hours, the housing research action team secured all interim land use planning changes for the City of Missoula, including last minute negotiations to alter ADU square footage, which was accepted as a friendly amendment at City Council.
- In June of 2024, 154 delegates showed up to Montana Rail Link Park to celebrate Neighborways and speak in favor of a pilot route.
- In September of 2024, CFAC, Common Good and AARP partnered up to conduct a walk audit of an alternate Neighborways pilot route and created a small demonstration project.
- Fall of 2024, Wrestling with the Truth of Colonization training sparks real change. Thanks to the leadership of Carolyn Thompson, the Historical Museum at Fort Missoula has removed outdated Euro-centric panels and videos and is now designing a historically accurate interpretive plan rooted in truth and inclusion and the Nk̓ʷúwilš Solidarity Program led by Jenny Mish launches after several years of organizing.
- Our new leadership cohort with Sierra Club and UM’s EVST program is thriving, and demand for training is at an all-time high.
- In November 2024, three Common Good-trained leaders were elected to the Montana State Legislature.
- In November of 2024, Common Good leaders organized amendments to the draft land use plan securing the option for Neighborways in street types and adding a policy goal of incentivizing visitable home development. The Land Use Board adopted a resident-led planning document crafted with deep input from Common Good member-leaders. A big shout to the visionary and courageous CDPI staff for their trust in working with us. Every single item of substance we asked for made it into this transformative plan, which aligns with the priorities identified at our 2022 discernment assembly: equity, affordable housing, connectivity, climate action, and Indigenous perspectives. This is a plan for the people, protecting our conservation and agricultural lands while making it possible for everyday Missoulians to live, work, and thrive in walkable neighborhoods. From Neighborways possibilities to universal design goals, this document reflects what we know our community needs—and it’s likely headed for full adoption in December.
These wins are a testament to the power of organizing and the vision we share for a better future. Let’s keep this momentum rolling as we head into December and beyond—together, we are building a stronger, more equitable Montana.
How can I learn more?
Email [email protected]
