Many grassroots organizations define their missions as creating civic homes for various constituencies. Civic homes are inclusive spaces where individuals can connect over shared values, build collective power, and work toward common goals. However, there has been very little research to understand how community members think about the concept of a civic home and, more importantly, what characteristics they most value in a civic home.

This project was designed to begin examining these questions from the voice of community members—both those connected and not connected to organizations. To conduct this research, Sojourn Strategies collaborated with six community-based organizations across six states over two phases.

In phase one in 2022, we conducted research in collaboration with Voces de la Frontera, an immigrant rights organization in Wisconsin; Voice of the Experienced (VOTE), which organizes justice-impacted people in Louisiana; and Inland Congregation United for Change (ICUC), an affiliate of PICO California, a youth advocacy organization in California. In phase two, from 2023–2024, we partnered with Poder NC, a Latinx organizing group in North Carolina; New Georgia Project, which primarily works within the Black community in Georgia; and Building Freedom Ohio, a partner of the Ohio Organizing Collaborative, a group that organizes justice impacted people in Ohio.

We used qualitative methods for this project, which included participant observation, one-on-one interviews, and listening sessions. We chose a qualitative approach because civic homes, especially from community members’ perspective, are underexplored.

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