Your support of Oakland Rising made a large difference this year. With your help, we were able to advance community-led solutions, strengthen Oakland’s racial and economic justice movement building work, and build the political power of working-class, immigrant, and BIPOC communities.
This election year provided opportunities to shift power back to our communities. Our conversations with thousands of flatland voters debunked the false assumption that people of color, immigrant communities, and formerly incarcerated people don’t care. In fact, we care the most because we are disproportionately impacted by the policies that are passed. And, together, we won big on issues ranging from housing security to increasing government accountability.
As always, the collaborative and our team are continually growing and showing up in amazing ways to support each other. Thanks to supporters like you, this year we:
- Moved from paid seasonal teams to offering year-round employment to a core group of 4 outreach team members, 1 team organizer, and 1 team coordinator, to deepen our relationship with our base and grow momentum for our priorities in between campaigns.
- Educated and mobilized our base to pass our 3 priority measures:
- Measure W, the Oakland Fair Elections Act, creating a more participatory, responsive, and accountable local democracy. With anti-democratic forces on the march around the nation, Oakland is pushing back!
- Measure T, Invest in Our Oakland Act, reducing taxes for small businesses and generate over $20 million for Oakland’s general fund.
- Measure V, extending eviction and Just Cause protections for tenants.
- Partnered with allies to host a ballot party and countless townhalls and candidate forums leading up to the elections to prepare voters.
- Ran digital ads sharing personal stories to raise awareness about the role and impact of the District Attorney as part of our Know Your DA campaign.
- Had 4,465 views of our 26 Monday Meals, our weekly live Instagram series which provides a space for discussions about issues that impact our communities most and how folks can get involved. Follow @oakland.rising on Instagram so you don’t miss these conversations!
- Won newly redistricted maps that ensure Oakland’s unhoused, poor, working-class, and BIPOC neighbors receive accurate political representation and allocation of funds for schools, health clinics, transit, and other important resources.
- Brought our annual event, the Oakland Progressives Party, back in-person and in community with one another to honor our town’s fiercest social justice leaders and Townie Award recipients.
- Increased our team’s capacity with our Digital Organizing and Training Strategy fellow, helping us to increase our story collecting, and produce more social media content including graphics, videos, and ads.
- Hired an Integrated Voter Engagement Volunteer Coordinator who helped to recruit, train, and fill 200 phone banking and door knocking volunteer shifts.
\We are proud of these accomplishments which you helped to make possible!
Building political power does not stop at elections. Heading into 2023, we will build on relationships to co-govern with newly elected leaders, from District Attorney-elect Pamela Price to Mayor-elect Sheng Thao to ensure racial and economic justice are front and center in all that they do. And next year’s city and county budget fights will provide opportunities to shift funding to jobs, housing, community services, and arts and culture. We look forward to you continuing with us on this journey as we work towards an Oakland that realizes our shared dreams of health, happiness, safety and opportunity for all.
Thank you once again for your support. It means the world to us! You have made a real difference in the movement to advance social justice in the Town.
You still have time to support our work this year! Click here to make a donation.