Community Catalyst Launches Initiative to Build Community Power
Community Catalyst has launched a pilot program in six communities to develop a replicable model for building lasting community power. The initiative aims to create systemic change resistant to political and economic shifts.
The health advocacy organization Community Catalyst has announced a new initiative to develop a replicable model for building sustainable community power. The program will be piloted in six communities across the country, with the goal of creating lasting systemic change.
This effort seeks to address key challenges identified by the organization, including health disparities that disproportionately affect Black Americans and communities of color. It also aims to tackle the lack of integrated models for translating community influence into concrete, long-term improvements and to safeguard health equity gains from political backlash and institutional power shifts.
"This investment allows us to build something that lasts: community power strong enough to hold through any election result, any corporate board decision, and any special interest agenda," said Linda Goler Blount, President & CEO of Community Catalyst. The organization aims to answer a long-standing question within the advocacy movement about securing enduring progress.
The initiative builds on Community Catalyst's 25-year history of health advocacy and its previous work with the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. Past collaborations have focused on areas such as implementing the Affordable Care Act, improving community health, and increasing consumer voice in healthcare decision-making rooms.