2021 Annual Report: The Power We Carry

We can see it sometimes in people who’ve known hardship: the pain they carry. It’s in the depth of their eyes, the set of their shoulders. But when we bring people together, we see something deeper, beneath the pain: it’s the power they carry. The power of united purpose.

At Community Change, our job is not to erase the pain but to ignite the power. Alone we suffer. Together we fight. And while the anguish of poverty and racism may be personal, its causes are political. The power we carry can change that. It is rooted in each of us but flowers only in solidarity: the power to transform policies; to change minds; to organize and inspire; and to connect and uplift. In short, the power to shape the future. In 2021, Community Change worked ceaselessly to help grassroots organizations and people.

Explore What We’ve Built Together:​

• Power from the ground up to change the policies and institutions that impact lives.
• Power to transform policies like Build Back Better which shifted immigration, child care, renewal of the expanded Child Tax Credit and Earned Income Tax Credit, and historic investments in affordable housing
• Power to change minds by pivoting from self-interest to collective interest through political education
• Power to organize and inspire through relation organzing, leadership development of women of color, and electoral strategies
• Power to connect movement uncommon partnerships via leaders from Black, brown, and immigrant communities; and uplift progressive policies.
• And learn about the diverse people and minds within Community Change.

This is just a snapshot of the work we’ve done in 2021. Read the full 2021 Annual Report: The Power We Carry to learn more

“Together we can create change that allows all communities to thrive.”Lorella Praeli and Dorian Warren

A Note From Our Presidents

For Community Change, Community Change Action, and our partners and allies, 2021 brought us proof that grassroots action works, and that the government can serve the people.

In 2021, we celebrated important policy victories at the federal and state levels, from major investments in child care and housing to laws protecting immigrants. And we grieved our losses, as COVID and systemic racism continued to claim lives and sow hardship among the most vulnerable communities.

We brought grassroots groups together across the lines of race, gender, and geography, and helped individual activists evolve into leaders. We created space for shared learning, planning, and healing. And throughout it all we elevated the women of color who are the drivers of social change in our Communities.