How do you channel the inherent power in our communities into real political action? SCOPE’s proactive agenda for change starts with the premise that those most impacted by the problems and conditions facing South L.A. must be at the center of change.

We equip low-income residents of color from over 300 families with the leadership skills needed to talk to their neighbors and the tools to identify solutions our communities need. Member structures like our Leadership Team and Neighborhood Education Teams support our neighborhood-level organizing strategy through ongoing leadership development of members to engage community and build power block by block. Our leaders take action by driving campaigns, talking to decision-makers, collecting data that can be used to strengthen policy and voter education efforts—and, most importantly, by talking to everyday people in their homes, schools, churches, and businesses about the issues that matter to South L.A. right now.

Building Power at the Ballot Box

SCOPE has a long history of combining community organizing and mass-based civic engagement to scale up our efforts and win progressive local and state policies. As the flagship anchor organization for California Calls, a statewide coalition of 31 community based organizations, SCOPE laid the groundwork in 2012 for the campaign supporting Proposition 30, a tax measure which increased funding for public education. Two years later, SCOPE mobilized thousands of voters to pass Proposition 47, a groundbreaking measure which reclassified certain crimes as misdemeanors, giving those unfairly targeted by our justice system a second chance at opportunity. In the fall of 2016, SCOPE members’ voter engagement work in South LA contributed to the passage of Measure JJJ and Measure HHH, which will address affordable housing, jobs, and homelessness issues in our city. SCOPE continues to use both neighborhood and ballot organizing to build power for South L.A. communities.

Schools and Communities First

In 2014, SCOPE, through California Calls, launched a multi-year campaign to reform tax policy in our state. We envision a just tax system that benefits communities not corporations, and that channels tax revenues into vital public services like schools, parks, and job creation pathways.

With more than 30 community groups, labor unions, faith-based organizations, and California Calls, SCOPE is poised to fight for our state’s future by closing commercial property tax loopholes established by Proposition 13. Closing corporate loopholes in Proposition 13 would push our state towards a tax system that makes it fair for communities to thrive.

Mobilizing 1 Million Voters

As part of California Calls, we are recruiting 1 million voters across the state who are ready to rebuild our communities and fight for the services Californians need. The Million Voters Project aims to strategically transform the electorate by outreaching to African-Americans, Latinos, Asian Pacific Islanders, immigrants, faith-based constituencies, young voters and poor and working class communities. To this end, SCOPE is growing our base of over 50,000 supportive voters to build the power needed to improve the quality of life for South L.A. and communities like it across California. Sign up and join our movement at We Are California.