Havurah is a member of MACG (Metropolitan Alliance for the Common Good). The core team is a committee of Tikkun Olam and coordinates the relationship between Havurah and MACG. If you are interested in joining the team or knowing more, please contact Andy Beers at andy@andybeers.com.

What is MACG?

MACG stands for Metropolitan Alliance for the Common Good. We are an alliance of faith, labor, health education, and community organizations dedicated to building a base of everyday civic leaders to effectively stand for change they want to see in their communities.

• MACG organizes people power to create a better Tri-County region for all.
• MACG works for change from the bottom up: door-to-door and in living rooms, in congregations, union halls, classrooms and community centers, in front of City Councils and at the State Capitol.
• MACG works to hold both public and private power holders accountable for their public responsibilities.
• MACG is a multi-issue organization.

The issues MACG works on change from year to year, arising directly from the concerns of the people in the member organizations, lifted up through shared stories.  MACG crosses economic, faith and neighborhood lines to find common ground and act on MACG values.

For over fifteen years, MACG's civic leaders have worked to make neighborhoods safer, promote accessible and affordable health care and housing, and increase job opportunities and family wages, among other issues. While collective action is a critical part of what MACG does, MACG’s primary work is leadership development to equip members to be effective, active, civic leaders. MACG has trained over 2000 people since its founding in 2002.

MACG is non-partisan and non-profit, supported by the dues of our member organizations, individual donors, and foundation grants.

MACG's Three Primary Goals

• Effective everyday civic leaders with the skills and confidence to advocate on their own behalf on issues of their choosing
• Strong member organizations that apply the tools and practices of relational community organizing internally
• Thriving communities working for the common good through collective action

MACG’s members gain access to an organizing philosophy and practices developed and tested over the last 75 years. They have the opportunity to further their community leadership skills and mix with other civic leaders from around the region and country by participating in regional and national intensive trainings.

MACG Accomplishments

MACG Action Teams
 

Upcoming MACG Events

May Leadership Training

Friday, May 15, 7:00 PM - 9:00 PM
Saturday, May 16, 9:30 AM - 4:30 PM

Venue: St. Andrew Catholic Church in Portland, OR

RSVP

Zenith Energy Informational Event

Saturday, May 24 at 7:00 PM

Venue: Havurah Shalom in Portland

RSVP

Co-sponsored by the MACG Climate Action Team and Havurah Shalom’s Climate Action team.

What Makes MACG Different

MACG’s methods of community broad-based organizing are all about developing and building relationships among diverse everyday leaders across our member organizations, and uniting them to act powerfully together for the change we want.

MACG emphasizes in-person face-to-face meetings, in order to build relationships that create the capacity in a community for leadership development, citizen-led action and strong relationships across the lines that often divide our communities.

MACG acts on big problems by breaking them down into issues that are concrete and winnable by listening to the personal stories of members, and identifying common issues to act on. MACG finds leaders with the appetite and energy to lead effective campaigns for change.

There are lots of community groups out there. What characteristics set MACG apart?

Working with MACG, volunteer leaders experience and gain

• A proven, disciplined method on how to take effective action on their problems and values.
• A set of tried and tested skills and practices to be effective civic leaders (e.g. creating testimony for public hearings, conducting a power analysis, developing campaigns, etc.).
• Confidence from receiving mentorship and support when practicing these skills in public settings.
• Leading successful campaigns in solidarity with others.
   

The Tri-County community gains

• Positive changes on community issues, improving quality of life for everyone.
• A variety of diverse voices lifted from our broad-based alliance coming together over issues they have in common.
• Strengthened democracy through developed everyday leaders participating in civic life.
• A stronger community fabric through re-invigorated member organizations.

MACG’s Unique Strengths

• The specific IAF organizing methodology developed over 75 years, providing a blueprint in how to build everyday leaders for community action.
• The ability to reliably turn out a large number of people to public events and actions due to our relational organizing model.
• A lasting coalition built on reciprocity, connecting member organizations for the long-term and spanning different issues.
• Campaigns are led entirely by our volunteer leaders - everything from research to action planning. This allows MACG to have a small staff and a big impact.
• MACG campaigns are discerned from issues our members are experiencing in their own lives. This bottom-up approach leaves leaders energized to create changes that affect their families and communities.