Our Approach
GROWW’s approach to making change follows the lead from past movements that have shaped our country and world for the better.
Concerned about a local or state issue?
Talk with a GROWW Organizer on how we can tackle it together.
Ordinary, western Wisconsin people are the leaders on every GROWW project.
Leadership teams work with GROWW organizers to create their own strategies from these building blocks for success:
- We build community. Strong communities and intentional relationships are how we push back against the forces that divide us. From our annual Conversations the Connect, to each community event, to every one-on-one meeting we invest in our relationships so we can do more together.
- We listen. We don’t just talk about listening, we actually do it. Every year, we sit down with hundreds of people and knock on thousands of doors to have open and honest conversations, one on one, face to face. It’s not complicated: Instead of making assumptions about people in our community, we go directly to them and listen.
- We take the time to name our problems. You have to know why something is broken before you can fix it. GROWW members and organizers commit to understanding the community challenges we tackle together.
- We work together to strategize. In organizing, a strategy is not only about knowing what we want, like stopping a CAFO expansion, but also identifying who holds the strings and how to build enough power to get it by engaging more and more people in our community to join the fight.
- We elevate each other. We’re not a community of “volunteers,” we’re a community of leaders working together to get more and bigger things done for our communities. We invest in each other’s growth through support, encouragement, training, modeling, coaching, propositions, evaluating, and accountability.
- We’re here for the long run. Our homes and our roots are here in western Wisconsin. That means we’re here year round with the rest of our neighbors. We’re here to build something together, not to get something and leave.
- We make change. At the end of the day, all of us are here to see the results we want and need to get so that our families, loved ones, and our community can thrive. We don’t just listen, talk, and make plans. We roll up our sleeves and dig in. No one is going to swoop in and fix things for us. We have to do it ourselves.
