This Is What Years of Organizing Make Possible

On Tuesday, voters across the country demonstrated what years of grassroots organizing can make possible. From historic electoral victories to protections for bodily autonomy and democratic participation, communities exercised their power to shape their own futures.

In Virginia, voters protected reproductive freedom, marriage equality, and voting rights for formerly incarcerated people. In Missouri, they rejected an attempt to roll back abortion rights and restrict gender-affirming care, and weaken direct democracy. Nevada voters once again affirmed abortion rights.

We also witnessed historic shifts in political leadership, including Keisha Lance Bottoms becoming the first Black woman elected governor in U.S. history, Deb Haaland becoming the first Indigenous woman elected governor in U.S. history, and Gina Hinojosa becoming Texas’s first Latina governor.

These results are worth celebrating. And so are the people who made them possible.

I’m thinking today about Groundswell Fund partners whose nonpartisan civic engagement and community organizing help make democracy real in people’s everyday lives, including Women Engaged in Georgia, Freedom, Inc. in Wisconsin, Ohio Women’s Alliance, New Voices for Reproductive Justice in Pennsylvania and Ohio, TAKE Resource Center in Pennsylvania and Alabama, I Be Black Girl in Nebraska, TakeAction MN and the Transgender Education Network of Texas. Through voter engagement, leadership development, and trusted relationships, these organizations help communities exercise their power and participate in decisions affecting their bodies, families, and futures.

I’m equally proud of Groundswell Action Fund partners who have spent years building political power, including New Virginia Majority, Action St. Louis Power Project in Missouri, Make It Work Nevada, Our Voice Our Vote in Arizona, Asian American Advocacy Fund in Georgia, Mothering Justice Action Fund in Michigan, Equality North Carolina, New Mexico Native Vote, and Voces de la Frontera Action in Wisconsin. Their strategies differ across states, but their commitment to organizing communities, developing leadership, and strengthening civic participation is shared.

I’m also thinking about COLOR Action Fund in Colorado, where voters rejected an immigration enforcement amendment and supported a graduated income tax to invest in public education, early childhood programs, and healthcare, while approving multiple harmful measures restricting gender-affirming care for transgender youth and barring transgender girls and women from participating in girls’ and women’s school and college sports.

And in Florida, the Miami Workers Center and Power U Center for Social Change have much to build on. In a state where organizers have faced formidable challenges, years of relationship-building, leadership development, and grassroots organizing have laid the foundation for stronger communities and greater civic participation. That work continues well beyond any single election, building the collective power that is shaping Florida’s future.

After Dobbs stripped away federal constitutional protections for abortion and Callais raised profound questions about the future of voting rights and political representation, investing in state and local power has become more urgent now than ever. As communities face mounting threats to their rights, grassroots organizations are on the front lines of defending bodily autonomy and democracy. This is why Groundswell invests deeply in local leadership, organizing, and care-based power – not just to respond to today’s threats, but to build the infrastructure that communities need to shape their futures.

These outcomes remind us that progress is neither linear nor guaranteed. But the relationships these organizations have built, the people they’ve organized, and the leadership they’ve developed do not disappear after Election Day. Their work is no less essential today.

Democracy is something people build together, long before ballots are cast. The trust earned, leaders developed, and communities organized are accomplishments in their own right and pave the way for future victories. This election offered a powerful reminder of why those investments matter.

When we invest in grassroots organizations, we’re investing in the people, relationships, and infrastructure that make lasting change possible.

To our grantee partners and organizers across the country: thank you. Your vision, persistence, and commitment to your communities make this work possible.

Today, we celebrate you. Tomorrow, we keep building.