To pay online: https://www.iafnw.org/donate

Lodging: The Dumas Bay Centre includes private rooms for guests and catering for the event. For more information about the  accommodations and accessibility in the space you can go to their website or email [email protected].  If you are planning on arriving on Sunday May 12th in order to be ready for the training on Monday morning please email [email protected], rooms are available for no additional cost. 

Food and snacks: All food and snacks are covered in the cost of the training for residential registration. For individuals registering to commute to the training lunch and dinner will be provided with your training fee (no breakfast). After registering on this page you will be asked to fill out a form including dietary restrictions and accessibility information. 

About Regional Training

This training is organized by Sound Alliance and the IAF Northwest.

The training is intended for leaders and active members of IAF Affiliate organizations. It is ideal for leaders who have taken on – or hope to take on – a leadership role in your organization or a role in leading action. Leaders of institutions who are actively exploring membership in an IAF affiliate are also welcome to participate.

At this training we will focus in depth on core community organizing topics and skills including:

• Power – what is it, how we build it, and how we exercise it for the common good
• How to build strong Broad-Based Organizations
• Institutional Organizing – how it differs from other forms of organizing and why it’s critical for addressing the challenges our communities face
• Relational Meetings and House Meetings as the core skills for leaders in community organizing

About the Industrial Areas Foundation

For over 40 years the Industrial Areas Foundation (IAF) has been holding leadership training sessions for members of broad-based organizations across the US and more recently in Canada, Great Britain, Germany, Australia and Aotearoa New Zealand. These sessions provide a thorough introduction to the organizing practices and principles developed by Industrial Areas Foundation member organizations in its 80-year history.

The leaders and organizers of the Industrial Areas Foundation build organizations whose primary purpose is power – the ability to act – and whose goal is equitable social change. The IAF is non-ideological and strictly non-partisan, but proudly, publicly and persistently political. Through local affiliates, the IAF builds a political base among voluntary institutions that include religious congregations, labor unions, community organizations, and others. IAF leaders use that base to compete at times, to confront at times and to cooperate at times with public decisionmakers.

About lead Trainer David Barrow: 

David Barrow, Executive Officer & Lead Organizer NSW Communities Alliance
Supervisor Industrial Areas foundation Northwest

Over his 13 years at Sydney Alliance, David organized across issues, including housing, transport, employment, refugees, and energy. He has worked closely with faith groups, unions, schools, charities, and migrant communities to build power for the common good. David is currently working with the Hunter Community Alliance 3 days a week. David’s role as EO supports the governance and fundraising work of Sydney Alliance. David also mentors organizers in Alliance sister organizations in QLD and NZ-Aotearoa.

David plays a leadership role in the Uniting Church, is a board director of Uniting, the largest not-for-profit in NSW with over 9000 staff, David is a proud member of the Australian Services Union and member of the LGBTIQ community. Before the Alliance, he had organized for 7 years as the campus, state and then national student president of the National Union of Students.

During his tenure, alliance achievements include:
Belonging: Organizing the first asylum seeker support concessions for transport, technical education and early childhood education passed by a conservative government in Australia, raising $36M in emergency funding for temporary migrants in Sydney during the COVID-19 pandemic lockdowns.
Housing: Passing legislation for affordable housing across 33 city councils, key builds of 400 affordable homes in a traditionally conservative city council, 100 affordable housing units in a traditionally anti-development city council, statewide legislation against unfair renter evictions for over 600k people in Sydney.
Transport: Introducing a commuter safety, accessibility, cleanliness, ticketing, and provision standard.
Climate: $200M for solar for social housing and renters’ access, first low-income renewable energy support project introduced by a conservative government in Australia. Development of “Pasifika”, annual Pacific & Uniting Church led assembly with the Federal Climate & Energy Minister.
Walking with First Nations: scaled up “Walking Together” training, 400 Sydney Alliance leaders through training and then over 8000 trained nationwide ahead of the 2023 referendum.
Organizing money: Growing the financial base of $250k annual to $1.2M
Growth: built the NSW Community Alliance a framework for statewide power, increased membership by over 100% now totaling 66 financial members.
Training trained over 1700 leaders directly through foundations training and directly mentored over 380 diverse young leaders through the assistant organizers program.

What attendees say about IAF Regional Training

“I was incredibly impressed by the quality of the training. I gained a lot of insight into and new perspectives on the work we are doing in the Alliance. What really made the training most meaningful, however, were the other leaders I had the chance to meet, both from MACG and other IAF NW organizations. The stories of their struggles and successes are truly inspiring and I was humbled to be in their presence.”

Linda Boise Havurah Shalom, Portland MACG

“6-Day Training shook up some of my deep-seated assumptions about power and politics. I left more strategic, pragmatic, and effective - not only in my political and community engagement, but in my union and in my work.”

Dr Rosemary Hancock, National Tertiary Education Union

“The 6-Day Training uncovers some of the deep-seated values and assumptions that form the foundations of our society, and inform our own thinking.  Awareness of these issues creates the potential for change that would previously have been impossible … paradigm changing!”

Reverend Mike McGarrity, Mission Leader, Connect Community Church NSW

“I learned how to draw on the strength of my story to break down barriers and establish common ground with people from very different backgrounds. I use this skill in meetings with the union members I represent and find it very rewarding to be able to help others develop as leaders.”

Carolyn Pope United Food & Commercial Workers Local 21, Spokane Alliance

“I walked out of 6-Day Training with an acute sense of the power of relationships. I walked in good at them, I left understanding my power, my influence and how to be great at them. After 6-Day Training I felt a renewed sense of purpose in my own leadership and duty to act on it!”

Marcela Hart, Settlement Services International