Creating Neighborhood Leaders

SCOPE began 20 years ago by trying things a little differently: rather than offering the community solutions to its problems, we’ve asked community members to speak for themselves through a leadership program that guides them to develop their voices and creates forums where those voices can be heard.

SCOPE’s leaders take action by heading up our campaigns, engaging the media, collecting data that can be used to strengthen policy and voter education drives—and, most important, by talking to people just like them in their homes, schools, churches, and businesses about the issues that matter to them right now.

For example, our leaders understand that job-training programs don’t work if mothers can’t afford childcare or if our public transportation system is failing because they live and work under these same conditions. That’s why they’re best equipped to make sure elected officials understand them, too.

But our leadership development program isn’t about leveraging political clout; it’s about building political consciousness on a grassroots level. When our leaders knock on their neighbors’ doors, they’re flexing real power by strengthening our voter base, instilling faith in the process—and inspiring new folks to become leaders, too.