In 2007, the members of Sylvia Rivera Law Project (SRLP) formed a committee to
investigate how to add new dimensions to SRLP’s membership structure. We aimed to
intentionally create more points of entry for community members whose ongoing
experiences of state violence, poverty, ableism, racism, and transphobia produced
obstacles for them to consistently participate in community organizations. We set out to
learn the following:

• What are other organizations doing to build and sustain their membership models?
• How can we create organizational models that build skills and leadership within community members?
• What organizational models support grassroots fundraising of organizations?
• How might we best utilize ally energy?
• How can we address the common obstacles that come up in doing radical work to fight oppression while also facing oppression?

The result is From the Bottom Up: Strategies and Practices for Membership-Based Organizations. I was honored to work on this project as a staff and collective member of SRLP, and very excited that it is now available for public distribution. Please share!