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| Sacramento Area Congregations Together | |
|---|---|
| Name | Sacramento Area Congregations Together |
| Abbreviation | SACT |
| Type | Interfaith coalition |
| Founded | 1970s |
| Headquarters | Sacramento, California |
| Region served | Sacramento County, Yolo County |
Sacramento Area Congregations Together is an interfaith community organization active in the Sacramento metropolitan region that brings together congregations, neighborhoods, and institutions to address local issues. Rooted in broad-based organizing models, the coalition conducts leadership training, civic engagement, and issue-based campaigns involving faith communities, labor groups, and neighborhood associations. Its activities intersect with civic institutions, nonprofit networks, and political actors across Sacramento and neighboring jurisdictions.
SACT traces origins to faith-based organizing currents in the 1970s and 1980s that paralleled national movements such as the Industrial Areas Foundation and the PICO Network, connecting to figures and organizations like Saul Alinsky, the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., and the National Council of Churches. Early affinity with Sacramento institutions and movements linked SACT to local chapters of the American Civil Liberties Union, the League of Women Voters, and Sacramento State University campus groups. During the 1990s and 2000s SACT engaged local elected officials including Sacramento mayors and California State Assembly members, coordinating campaigns that brought together congregations from diverse traditions such as Catholic, Protestant, Jewish, and Muslim communities, as well as Hispanic and African American churches. Influences include organizing tactics found in works by Jane Addams, Cesar Chavez, and Ella Baker and interactions with regional actors like the Greater Sacramento Economic Council and the Sacramento Housing and Redevelopment Agency.
SACT is structured as a coalition of member congregations, neighborhood associations, and allied institutions, with trained organizers and volunteer leaders. Governance has involved boards or steering committees composed of clergy, lay leaders, and representatives from partner institutions similar to structures used by the PICO Network and the Industrial Areas Foundation. Leadership training programs mirror curricula used by community organizing institutes and leadership schools at universities such as University of California, Davis and Sacramento State. The organization coordinates with municipal bodies including the Sacramento City Council, county supervisors, and local school districts, while interacting with statewide entities like the California State Senate and the California Department of Housing and Community Development.
SACT has launched programs addressing housing justice, homelessness, public safety, and immigrant rights, collaborating with organizations such as the Sacramento Housing Alliance, Volunteers of America, Catholic Charities, and Lutheran Social Services. Campaigns have targeted issues linked to federal and state statutes like the Fair Housing Act and California environmental regulations, engaging stakeholders including the California Attorney General’s office and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. Training initiatives often draw on curricula from community development networks and leadership institutes affiliated with national nonprofits like United Way chapters and the Aspen Institute.
SACT’s interventions have influenced local policy debates before bodies such as the Sacramento County Board of Supervisors, Sacramento City Council, and regional agencies like the Sacramento Transit Authority and the Sacramento Metropolitan Air Quality Management District. Its mobilizations have intersected with electoral campaigns for Sacramento mayors, California governors, U.S. Representatives, and state legislators, and have engaged unions such as Service Employees International Union and public-sector employee associations. Advocacy work has been cited in collaborations with legal advocates from organizations like the ACLU of Northern California and the Legal Services of Northern California in matters touching on civil rights, tenant protections, and criminal justice reform.
SACT-organized actions have included public forums, voter registration drives, community assemblies, and direct negotiations with institutional powerholders including school boards and housing authorities. Events have attracted attention alongside regional initiatives such as the Sacramento Blueprint for Regional Prosperity, state-level policy pushes by the California Housing Partnership, and national conversations involving the Center for Community Change. High-profile campaign moments have brought together clergy and civic leaders with figures like California governors, U.S. senators from California, and county sheriffs to address acute crises such as housing displacement and homelessness.
SACT affiliates with a network of faith communities, nonprofit partners, labor unions, and civic institutions including diocesan offices, synagogues, mosque associations, neighborhood councils, California community foundations, and regional philanthropic entities. It has worked in coalition with statewide advocacy groups such as the Western Center on Law & Poverty, the California Immigrant Policy Center, and regional bodies like the Sacramento Area Council of Governments and Sacramento Steps Forward. National linkages reflect alignment with the PICO Network, the Industrial Areas Foundation model, and community organizing alliances that coordinate with organizations like the Ford Foundation and the Hewlett Foundation.
Funding for SACT typically combines membership dues from congregations, grants from philanthropic foundations, donations from allied institutions, and in-kind contributions from volunteers and partner organizations. Grantmakers that commonly support community organizing efforts include local community foundations, national funders such as the Ford Foundation, and policy-oriented philanthropies. Governance mechanisms employ assemblies, steering committees, and trained organizers who implement accountability practices similar to nonprofit boards and membership-based coalitions, coordinating with city and county administrative frameworks, and occasionally engaging legal counsel and accounting firms for compliance.
Category:Non-profit organizations based in California Category:Organizations based in Sacramento, California Category:Community organizing in the United States