touch grass … roots movement organizer academy

  • Cohort Model (2-5 fellows per year) — A year-long fellowship with monthly convenings, skill-building workshops, mentorship, and project development support 

  • Movement Communications Capstone Project — Each fellow designs and executes a cultural civic project: zine, pop-up exhibit, performance, voter education event, mutual aid clinic, digital storytelling campaign, etc. These are some basic ideas, but here are some more “out there” examples that we enjoy.

  • Stipends & Mentorship — Fellows receive stipends, access to civic mentors (local elected officials/staff, movement leaders, culture-makers), and possible support from Help Desk to execute their projects 

  • Peer Learning & Network Building — Structured cohort time for fellows to share skills, resources, strategies, and build lasting relationships across creative disciplines and organizing spaces

The TGR Youth Fellowship builds the next generation of Black, Brown, and queer cultural organizers who understand civic systems, create narrative power, and lead campaigns rooted in cultural practice. In an election year and beyond, the Fellowship provides young people with the tools to organize, advocate, and build democratic culture in their communities.

Semester 1: Civic Education and Social Change Academy

Work and Worth: Labor, Capital, and Culture

Participants explore how labor, capital, and culture intersect in the modern economy by connecting workplace skills with critical understandings of power, value, and creativity. Through discussions, case studies, and media analysis, participants examine how workers shape and are shaped by systems of production, ownership, and inequality.

From Vision to Victory: The Practice of Nonviolent OrganizinG

Introduces George Lakey’s nonviolent movement organizing framework, tracing how everyday people build power, strategy, and solidarity for social change. Participants learn the stages of campaign development—from visioning and base-building to direct action and negotiation - through historical and contemporary case studies. Special emphasis is given to the role of voting.

Bloomfield Movement Continuum & Organizational Orientation

Translates Lakey’s work into a tool to compare an organization’s mission and programs to progress in their movement space.

Movement Roles

Participants learn the critical roles in making change happen, how roles work together, and how to determine what role(s) is best for them.

Semester 2: Fellowship Site Placements and Organizing Training 

City, State, and Federal Infrastructure Civic Education

Participants will understand government structures, know how to engage with elected officials, identify funding opportunities, and navigate compliance requirements for advocacy work.

Creator-Focused Digital Organizing Training

Training specifically tailored for artists, cultural workers, and creative practitioners who want to integrate organizing into their artistic practice.

Mutual Aid Tool Kit

Hands-on workshops using real community scenarios to design and implement mutual aid programs.

Movement Communications

Connecting cultural creators with activists via collaboration grants to change narratives. Grants of $2,500 to $10,000 are awarded for joint projects with mentorship and technical assistance throughout project implementation. Collaborations conclude with public showcases and community events in partnership with a movement-related organization.