Missouri Organizing and Voter Engagement Collaborative (MOVE) is a left-of-center voter mobilization group that coordinates with other left-leaning activist groups in Missouri.  Formerly known as the Missouri Progressive Voter Education Fund, MOVE is the Missouri branch of the national voter mobilization coalition State Voices. It is supported by the Action Network Fund. ¹

Background

In 2020 MOVE received a $35,000 grant from the Proteus Fund. ² MOVE is a member of the Missouri Organizing Collective along with PICO affiliate Communities Creating Opportunity, the Missouri branch of Jobs with Justice, and Gamaliel Foundation spinoffs Metropolitan Congregations United and Metro Organization for Racial and Economic Equity. ³

In 2018 MOVE donated nearly $200,000 in grants to eight different organizations, including the Organization for Black Struggle, the Missouri branch of Jobs with Justice, and the Missouri Rural Crisis Center. ⁴

People

Molly Fleming is the executive director of MOVE and its 501(c)(4) counterpart MOVE Action, as well as the former head of Communities Creating Opportunity. She previously led PICO’s campaign to place a cap on interest rates for payday loans in Kansas. ⁵

Cassandra Gould, president and board chair of MOVE, also works as the faith co-chair of the Missouri branch of Jobs with Justice.  She is the director of religious affairs and political action for the Missouri branch of the NAACP. ⁶

David Gerth, secretary of MOVE, is the executive director of the Gamaliel Foundation offshoot Metropolitan Congregations United and co-chair of the Gamaliel State Directors’ table. ⁷

Jamala Rogers (formerly Terry Massey) is a director at MOVE, and has worked as a columnist, speaker, and civil rights activist. Rogers is the co-founder of numerous civil rights activist groups including the Organization for Black Struggle, the St. Louis chapter of the Congress of African People, African Liberation Support Committee, and the National Black Political Assembly. Rogers is also the author of America is Ferguson: Roots of Rebellion. ⁸

Rhonda Perry is a director at MOVE, as well as a farmer, activist, and the program director of the Missouri Rural Crisis Center. ⁹

1. “Support MOVE: Help Us Move Missouri.” Action Network. Accessed September 20, 2021. https://actionnetwork.org/fundraising/support-move-help-us-move-missouri.
2. “Missouri Organizing and Voter Engagement Collaborative.” Proteus Fund. Accessed September 20, 2021. https://www.proteusfund.org/grant/missouriorganizingandvoterengagementcollaborative-2/.
3. “Introducing the Missouri Organizing Collaborative.” Funders for Justice. November 1, 2014. Accessed September 20, 2021. https://fundersforjustice.org/introducing-the-missouri-organizing-collaborative/.
4. “Missouri Organizing and Voter Education Collaborative.”  Intellispect. Accessed September 20, 2021. https://www.intellispect.co/organizations/431619531.
5. “Missouri Organizing and Voter Education Collaborative.” Guidestar. Accessed September 20, 2021. https://www.guidestar.org/profile/43-1619531?utm_term=&utm_campaign=Database+Campaign&utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&hsa_src=g&hsa_ad=352707660885&hsa_grp=63391970637&hsa_cam=1655225892&hsa_ver=3&hsa_net=adwords&hsa_mt=b&hsa_acc=7800317649&hsa_kw=&hsa_tgt=dsa-373533762883&gclid=CjwKCAjwhOyJBhA4EiwAEcJdcaCU318e2WLILUTcRk0ahVQh5tml6FL-YK5n8zo_fq2cCrXFFQcUsBoCNtEQAvD_BwE
6. “Our Staff and Board.” Missouri Faith Voices. Accessed September 20, 2021. http://www.missourifaithvoices.org/about-us/staff-and-board/
7. “Day 20-Rev. David Gerth.” Gamaliel.org. October 13, 2020. Accessed September 20, 2021. https://gamaliel.org/40-days-of-prayer/day-20/
8. “Jamala Rogers.” History Makers. October 16, 2007. Accessed September 20, 2021. https://www.thehistorymakers.org/biography/jamala-rogers-41
9. “Interview with Rhonda Perry of the Missouri Rural Crisis Center.” In Motion Magazine. January 24, 2006. Accessed September 20, 2021. https://inmotionmagazine.com/ra06/rperry_int05.html