Executive Summary

Founded in 2000, ISAIAH is committed to building a multiracial democracy and a caring economy in Minnesota that is rooted in and accountable to the power of the state’s diverse communities. At the heart of our work, we develop people to be leaders in public life. ISAIAH’s diverse institutional members –  childcare centers, mosques, Black barbershops and beauty shops, Christian congregations – and our more than 9,000 trained leaders, work constantly toward building collective voice and power through active participation in civic life, including getting out to vote, setting public agendas, and leveraging grassroots and elite power to advance equitable and inclusive policies. We know we’re successful when people show up. We track both the “scale” of participants, and more importantly, their development as leaders who can move others towards action and participation. That’s how we’ve won housing protections in rural Minnesota towns, 100% clean energy in Minnesota, statewide paid family and medical leave, major investments in the caring economy, expanded voting rights, and more.

ISAIAH provides a vehicle for marginalized communities to take an active role in Minnesota’s public life. We construct skilled grassroots networks in the Somali Muslim community, African-American communities, rural and small town communities, and working-class and downwardly mobile white communities. As we advance a shared agenda, an inclusive democracy, and an economy where all Minnesotans can thrive, we also engage communities to amplify a narrative that rejects divide and conquer politics and inspires Minnesotans to support and advance the vision of a multiracial democracy.

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