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| Granite State Organizing Project | |
|---|---|
| Name | Granite State Organizing Project |
| Formation | 1960s |
| Type | Nonprofit community organization |
| Headquarters | Manchester, New Hampshire |
| Region served | New Hampshire |
| Leader title | Executive Director |
Granite State Organizing Project is a New Hampshire-based community organization focused on grassroots civic engagement, social justice, and public policy advocacy across northern New England. Founded amid mid-20th-century civic movements, the organization has worked with local and national actors on campaigns involving labor rights, environmental policy, healthcare access, voting rights, and housing justice. Its activities intersect with a range of civic actors, coalitions, unions, faith groups, and philanthropic institutions.
The organization traces roots to postwar community mobilization and civil rights organizing in Manchester, New Hampshire, influenced by networks connected to Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, and regional chapters of AmeriCorps. Early organizers drew on tactics modeled by Industrial Areas Foundation affiliates and labor campaigns associated with AFL–CIO councils and Service Employees International Union locals. During the 1970s and 1980s it collaborated with organizers from Neighborhoods, Inc. and advocacy groups that partnered with the New Hampshire Charitable Foundation and faith leaders tied to the United Church of Christ and Roman Catholic Church social outreach programs. In the 1990s and 2000s the project engaged with policy debates alongside actors such as Senator Jeanne Shaheen, Senator Judd Gregg, and municipal leaders from Concord, New Hampshire and Nashua, New Hampshire, while coordinating voter outreach in concert with national efforts linked to Rock the Vote and Common Cause.
Its stated mission emphasizes building multi-issue coalitions to influence local and state policy and to increase civic participation. Programming includes community organizing trainings patterned after curricula used by PICO National Network and Center for Community Change, field campaigns echoing strategies employed by Dēmos and Planned Parenthood Federation of America affiliates, and civic education initiatives comparable to those from League of Women Voters and Local Progress. The organization conducts door-to-door canvassing, phone banks, and organizing labs similar to methods used by MoveOn.org and Indivisible (organization), and hosts forums featuring public officials ranging from members of the New Hampshire House of Representatives to county executives.
The group's governance typically comprises an executive director, steering committee, and volunteer base, reflecting a hybrid model found in organizations such as NeighborWorks America and United Way. Leadership has included organizers who previously worked with ACORN-style community programs, staffers from Democratic National Committee campaigns, and coordinators with experience at Environmental Defense Fund-aligned projects. Boards have featured representatives from labor unions like International Brotherhood of Teamsters, faith communities including Episcopal Church (United States), and civic nonprofits such as Catholic Charities USA and YMCA of the USA. Training partnerships have drawn on curricula from Harvard Kennedy School community engagement programs and civic innovation initiatives connected to Ashoka fellows.
Campaign work spans electoral engagement, policy advocacy, and issue campaigns. Notable efforts mirror voter-registration drives undertaken by Brennan Center for Justice partners and get-out-the-vote operations resembling those of Priorities USA Action and SEIU political programs. Policy campaigns have addressed Medicaid expansion debates involving advocates from Kaiser Family Foundation research networks and state-level health coalitions similar to Covering Kids & Families. The organization has supported environmental campaigns aligned with Sierra Club and Natural Resources Defense Council priorities, housing advocacy echoing Habitat for Humanity and National Low Income Housing Coalition initiatives, and labor solidarity actions coordinated with Service Employees International Union and United Auto Workers locals. They have also participated in coalitions addressing criminal justice reform alongside groups like American Civil Liberties Union and The Sentencing Project.
Granite State Organizing Project runs community leadership academies, tenant rights workshops, and mutual aid networks akin to programs from Community Change, Faith in Action, and local community health centers. Partnerships include collaborations with municipal offices in Manchester, New Hampshire, faith-based organizations such as Salvation Army (United States), educational institutions including University of New Hampshire and Saint Anselm College, and public health partners similar to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention outreach efforts. They coordinate neighborhood improvement projects with local chapters of Rotary International and volunteer mobilizations comparable to AmeriCorps VISTA placements.
Funding sources have included foundation grants, membership dues, and earned income from trainings, drawing support patterns common to nonprofits funded by the Ford Foundation, Carnegie Corporation of New York, Lilly Endowment, and regional entities like the New Hampshire Charitable Foundation. The organization's affiliation network spans national coalitions such as United States Student Association-adjacent groups, labor federations including AFL–CIO, and issue alliances like OpenSecrets-monitored advocacy networks. Fiscal sponsorships and grant management have been coordinated with community foundations and fiscal intermediaries similar to Tides Center and Lincoln Community Foundation.
Category:Nonprofit organizations based in New Hampshire