Collective Renaissance Georgia

Collective Renaissance Georgia hosts voter registration drives, conducts events focused on younger people, participates in job fairs, and uses community organizers throughout the state to further its efforts. The organization relies on social media, focus groups, and direct text communications to engage younger people and provide information on its efforts. ²

History

Collective Renaissance Georgia (CRG) was granted tax exempt status in 2010 as the “Collective Renaissance Guild.” ³ The CRG is a Black youth-led activist organization that hosts events and seeks to increase younger people’s power throughout Georgia. ¹

Activities

Collective Renaissance Georgia seeks to work beyond advocacy to create a culture of citizenship, education, and viewpoints among Black youth. ⁴ CRG seeks to advance left-of-center economic policy, criminal justice liberalization, and abortion access. ⁵ Collective Renaissance Georgia provides specific programs that are aimed to increase leadership development, civic education and engagement, and Black voter registration and mobilization. ⁶

Through the Integrated Voter Engagement program, staff and volunteers bring voter registration and engagement to places where young people live, gather, and work. ² Collective Renaissance Georgia has a research program that collects data on young people’s perceptions on voting and democracy and conducts focus groups to improve messaging seeking to increase activism and community organizing. ²

Collective Renaissance Georgia runs an all-year digital campaign that engages young voters, uses social media, and sends direct messages to over 1.2 million people. ² The goal of the digital engagement campaign is to both bring constant contact and bring young and older voters together in Black communities. ² Collective Renaissance Georgia engages with other like-minded groups in putting out a Georgia voter guide. ⁷

Collective Renaissance Georgia has hosted in-person social events to reach younger voters such as car and bike shows, roller-skating events, and voter registration events on college campuses. ⁸ Collective Renaissance Georgia also conducts programs to engage communities by supporting job fairs, toy drives, and back to school events to engage Black communities, further participation, and increase voter registration. ²

Finances

In 2021, nonprofit Collective Renaissance Georgia had net assets of $413,147. ⁹ According to the organization’s tax returns, in 2021 Collective Renaissance Georgia recorded $500,000 in revenue and $86,861 in expenses. ⁹ Prior to 2021, Collective Renaissance Georgia was not required to file reports with the Internal Revenue Service. ¹⁰ In 2023, the Southern Poverty Law Center awarded Collective Renaissance Georgia $300,000 to train community organizers in key counties in Georgia. ¹¹

Leadership

Camille Thompson has been executive director of Collective Renaissance Georgia since 2023 after working as a program director for a year. ¹² In 2021 through 2022, Thompson was a vaccine equity organizer for GOTVax. ¹² Thompson has worked as an intern for the Democratic National Committee, the left-of-center Democracy Alliance, and left-leaning group Blue Future. ¹²