From the Ground Up: Why Grassroots Organizing is Essential to Building Our Future
In a moment when the biggest issues of our time—from climate change to food security to protecting our democracy—can feel impossibly vast, there’s power in remembering that real change always starts close to home.
It starts with showing up at the town hall.
Learning the language of advocacy.
Connecting with neighbors.
Asking better questions.
And building from the ground up.
Grassroots organizing is how movements are born—from people. From community members raising their voices, shaping policy, tending the land, safeguarding waterways and reimagining what’s possible in their communities and home states. When we invest in this work, we’re not only advancing causes we care about—we’re growing a pipeline of lifelong advocates who know their power—and how to use it.
Across the country, we're honored to support partners who are doing just that—creating accessible, inclusive and joyful pathways into advocacy that reflect the diversity, complexity and creativity of the communities they serve.
Our Mighty Partners are leading this charge.
Outdoor Alliance’s Grasstops Collective
Outdoor Alliance’s Grasstops Collective is cultivating the next generation of outdoor advocacy leaders by providing immersive training in federal policy, grassroots organizing and campaign strategy. By centering equity and relationship-building, they're helping outdoor users—from climbers to cyclists to paddlers—understand how to turn their love for public lands into sustained action at every level of government. Learn more about the 2025 Grassroots Collective cohort here.
National Young Farmers Coalition’s Root & Bloom Fellowship
The National Young Farmers Coalition is a farmer-led, grassroots network shifting power and changing policy to equitably resource the new generation of working farmers. Their Root and Bloom Fellowship is a dynamic learning and leadership journey for 25 farmers from across the U.S., focused on advocacy and building collective power. Structured in two phases—ROOT and BLOOM—the fellowship invites participants to examine how the barriers facing young and BIPOC farmers are closely tied to the foundations of federal agricultural policy, and to begin envisioning and shaping a more just and equitable future in farming.
Conservation Colorado’s Boards & Commissions Leadership Program
Conservation Colorado’s work drives policies and elevates leaders that advance climate action and environmental justice—and holds them to it. Their Climate Justice Leadership Academy has launched its second season of cohorts for its Boards and Commissions Fellowship—a group of 20 fellows from the heart of our communities—who are learning how to serve on local and state boards and commissions. By supporting leaders from historically underrepresented communities to serve on state and local boards and commissions, Conservation Colorado is building power from the inside out—where policy decisions are made and influence lives every day.
Warm Cookies of the Revolution
Warm Cookies of the Revolution aims to make civic engagement into something people want to do. Through creative events, art, and storytelling, Warm Cookies of the Revolution is helping neighbors connect to issues that matter—like affordable housing, racial justice and economic policy—in ways that are playful, powerful and rooted in joy.
Dr. Ayana Elizabeth Johnson: “What if we act as if we love the future?”
Dr. Ayana Elizabeth Johnson, cofounder of Urban Ocean Lab, a think tank for coastal cities and author of What If We Get It Right? wrote, “We’re about to see how much we can get right on climate and the environment without federal support. Take a deep breath, find your role, roll up your sleeves, get tenacious. What if we act as if we love the future?
“Keep showing up. Join something. Find your people. Bring your superpowers. Be a problem solver. Choose your battles. Nourish joy. Love nature.”
This is how we build power.
Not just in headlines, but in libraries, gyms, school boards, climbing gyms and coffee shops. In our backyards. On our farms. Around our dinner tables.
At Mighty Partners, we believe the future we want depends on investing in this kind of community-rooted leadership. When we support grassroots organizers, we grow the soil that future advocates will rise from—and that’s where the real transformation begins.