IAF Northwest is a regional network of broad-based community alliances in Washington, Oregon, Montana, Canada, New Zealand and Australia. Each alliance builds civic leadership, strengthens member organizations, and serves as a vehicle for members to create systemic change for the common good.
The Alliances create opportunities for people to connect and act powerfully and creatively as leaders – to bring about practical solutions to the challenges facing their families and communities.
Greater Edmonton Alliance for the Common Good(GEA) has been following the Wrestling with the Truth of Colonization framework, which has led them to working toward building relationships with local Indigenous communities and organizations. Through the relationships of member organizations, they were introduced to the Creating Hope Society (CHS), a Indigenous based organization that supports Indigenous children in foster care.
In April of this year, the Spokane Alliance held an Assembly asking municipalities to commit to allocating their federal relief dollars to stabilizing the childcare industry. The Cities of Spokane and Spokane Valley collectively committed to $4 M to support working families, the childcare workforce, and mental health in early learning. Spokane County has been slow to make a matching commitment, so the Alliance has taken action to create a public dialogue about the need for County leadership.
On August 2nd, Sydney Alliance hosted their Convention: Together with Dignity. The convention hosted leaders from across their numerous organizations to build power and a strategy for the next chapter of work for the common good!
At the end of June, the Metropolitan Alliance for the Common Good, based in Portland, Oregon, hosted its first bilingual training. The training was facilitated in both Spanish and English and simultaneously translated for the participants.
