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 19 member organizations based in Missoula - 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
|
Families for a Liveable Climate First United Methodist Church Immanuel Lutheran Welcome Back Emmaus Campus Ministry Franklin to the Fort Neighbors in Action Missoula Food Bank and Community Center St. Francis Xavier Parish Western Montana DSA SMART 103 |
Community Food and Agriculture Coalition 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 City-County Health Department Climate Smart |
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 2019, 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 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.
- Nearly 100 new leaders have been trained in the Fundamentals of Organizing since May of 2019. 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 200 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, 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.
- This Spring, as the code reform project continues, our members are holding table talks to hear how Missoula's growth is impacting folks and what it is like to live in Missoula. How has past land use planning and zoning impacted our neighborhoods and everyday life here? We've already heard from over 150 people and with events scheduled through June, we expect to reach over 500 (and hopefully more!) people and hear their real stories and provide input to the city collectively.
- Through these table talks, issues are already emerging and our delegates are getting ready to jump into several actions this summer around air quality, transportation safety and planning, and housing justice. We're also finding new leaders and will host another Fundamentals training in May!
How can I learn more?
Email [email protected]
