People’s Action Institute

The People’s Action Institute’s predecessor organization, National People’s Action, became notorious for organizing protests at the private homes of corporate executives and politicians, a tactic covered by Nina Easton following a 2010 demonstration conducted jointly with the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) in a suburban neighborhood. The organization promotes a range of left-of-center policy positions, including government-controlled health care and ending the use of fuel energy sources.” ^{4 5}

Background

The People’s Action Institute was formed from three left-of-center community organization groups: National People’s Action, the Alliance for a Just Society, and the USAction Education Fund. ⁶

National People’s Action

National People’s Action was founded in the 1970s in Chicago by activist Gale Cincotta as the National Training and Information Center.⁷ Radical-left magazine Mother Jones summarized her position as: “If the enemies don’t want to negotiate, their whole lives become the battleground.”⁸ The organization claimed a key role in the passage of the Community Reinvestment Act, a controversial piece of housing legislation some blame for contributing to the 2008 financial crisis.⁹

The National Training and Information Center was implicated in a serious case of government grant maladministration in the early 2000s. The Department of Justice Office of the Inspector General investigation into over $3 million of NTIC grants identified lobbying law violations, inadequate oversight of sub-grantees, and inadequate cost controls.¹⁰ NTIC’s executive director at the time, Joseph Mariano, would plead guilty to charges related to the scheme.¹¹

In 2011, NTIC changed its official name to National People’s Action, shortly after longtime community organizer George Goehl was appointed executive director.¹² Under Goehl, NPA adopted the radical “Long-Term Agenda,” with its emphasis on “[winning] the battle of big ideas” for the far-left.¹³ NPA under Goehl was also involved in the secretive formation of the Democracy Initiative, an effort described as “the first time that a broad spectrum of groups have come together around a big agenda that impacts the state and national level” by a National Education Association official.¹⁴

Alliance for a Just Society

Alliance for a Just Society was founded as the Northwest Federation of Community Organizations in 1993. Headquartered in Seattle, the organization campaigned and organized for left-of-center agenda items, focusing on the states of the Pacific Northwest.¹⁵ The Alliance was chaired by LeeAnn Hall, a career liberal organizer.¹⁶

USAction Education Fund

USAction Education Fund was the 501(c)(3) arm of USAction, a left-of-center organizing coalition founded in 1999.¹⁷ The group merged with TrueMajority, a “Netroots” advocacy group created by Ben and Jerry’s founder Ben Cohen, in 2007.¹⁸

Merger

People’s Action Institute held its first united convention in 2016. In addition to NPA, Alliance for a Just Society, and USAction Education Fund, the Institute for America’s Future also merged into the new organization.¹⁹ George Goehl of NPA and LeeAnn Hall of Alliance for a Just Society were named co-executive directors of People’s Action Institute and the associated 501(c)(4) organization People’s Action.

Activities and Campaigns

People’s Action Institute has organized political issue campaigns, especially in blue cities and states. The organization supports campaigns on numerous left-of-center issues. For example, the People’s Action Institute has pushed for increased regulation of financial industries, increases in the minimum wage, and an aggressive environmentalist agenda. ²⁰

Following the 2016 election, the People’s Action Institute’s then-director George Goehl singled out rural districts that voted for Barack Obama in the 2008 and 2012 presidential elections but then flipped to voting for Donald Trump, identifying them as key areas for Democratic campaigning. He identified the “competition” to left-wing activism as “the alt-right, the Klan, and the Republican party.” He claimed that these counties could become Democratic majorities if far-left ideas were effectively communicated and advocated. ²¹

Opposition to Nuclear Energy

See also Opposition to Nuclear Energy

In May of 2021, People’s Action, the lobbying arm of the People’s Action Institute, was one of 715 groups and businesses listed as a co-signer on a letter to the leadership of the U.S. House and Senate that referred to nuclear energy as a “dirty” form of energy production and a “significant” source of pollution. The letter asked federal lawmakers to reduce carbon emissions by creating a “renewable electricity standard” that promoted production of weather dependent power sources such as wind turbines and solar panels, but did not promote low carbon natural gas and zero carbon nuclear energy. ²²

“Antidote to Authoritarianism” May 2023 Report

In May 2023, the People’s Action Institute, and the Democracy Fund, published a report titled, “The Antidote to Authoritarianism: How An Organizing Revival Can Build a Multiracial Pluralistic Democracy and an Inclusive Economy,” which calls for a change in, “organizing and philanthropy to stop the rise of authoritarianism and tackle intertwined crises from catastrophic climate change to runaway economic inequality.” ^{23 24}

The People’s Action Institute’s executive director commented on the report by stating, ““Community organizing is the solution, and for it to work, it must be fundamental to what we do, not just a tactic or short-term strategy. This white paper outlines the shifts and investments we need to make it work.”²³ The report continued by interviewing the heads of 27 academic, philanthropic, and organizing groups for recommendations on achieving this goal, which include increased collaboration between philanthropies and organizing groups, with a specific focus on addressing “the root causes of racial inequity: structural racism, corporate power, and concentrated wealth.” [/note] ²⁴

Shuya Ohno, director of the Democracy Fund’s Just and Inclusive Society project, commented on the report by stating, “In this moment of national uncertainty and discontent, this report is a clarion call for funders to get up out of our comfort zone and change things up, roll up our sleeves and work together so we can get America moving toward becoming a just, fair, inclusive, and more perfect democracy.” ^{23 25} The report also lists the names of several organizations and projects that endorsed the report. These include 22nd Century Initiative, The Action Lab, The Center for Popular Democracy, Community Change, Faith In Action, Gamaliel, Midwest Academy, National Committee for Responsive Philanthropy, National Domestic Workers Alliance, Native Organizers Alliance, Power Switch Action, Social & Economic Justice Leaders Project, and the Working Families Party. ²⁴

The report also listed the names of several organizations and projects that endorsed the report. These include the 22nd Century Initiative, The Action Lab, the Center for Popular Democracy, Community Change, Faith In Action, Gamaliel, the Midwest Academy, the National Committee for Responsive Philanthropy, the National Domestic Workers Alliance, the Native Organizers Alliance, Power Switch Action, the Social and Economic Justice Leaders Project, and the Working Families Party. ²⁶

2024 Election

On July 25, 2024, People’s Action, the 501(c)(4) affiliate of People’s Action Institute, endorsed then-Vice President Kamala Harris for president following then-President Joe Biden’s withdrawal from the race. The endorsement was issued alongside the Working Families Party and the Center for Popular Democracy Action Fund. People’s Action simultaneously announced an independent expenditure program deploying its network of 38 state-based member organizations in 29 states, including battleground states such as North Carolina, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin, to conduct what it described as “deep canvassing” on Vice President Harris’s behalf. The organization described deep canvassing as involving “candid, two-way conversations where canvassers ask voters to share their relevant, emotionally significant experiences and reflect on them aloud,” contrasting it with traditional door-to-door canvassing. People’s Action claimed its deep canvassing in the 2020 cycle had produced a “3.1% overall decrease in Trump’s voter margin” and was “102 times more effective per person than the average presidential persuasion program,” citing internal academic research. ^{27 28}

Response to Second Trump Administration

Following Donald Trump’s return to the presidency in January 2025, the People’s Action Institute organized a sustained campaign of opposition. In February 2025, members of the People’s Action Institute’s member organizations held a press conference on Capitol Hill with legislators from the Congressional Progressive Caucus to denounce proposed Republican tax cuts, framing them as benefiting the wealthy at the expense of working people. The organization also launched its “Care Over Cost” campaign, which organized people denied coverage by private health insurers, including a January 2026 rally in front of the New York Stock Exchange targeting UnitedHealth Group on the day it announced its earnings. ²⁹

In 2025, the People’s Action Institute campaigned against the Republican budget reconciliation bill, which the organization and allied groups characterized as devastating to Medicaid and other safety-net programs. The reconciliation bill, which President Trump signed into law on July 4, 2025 as the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act,” included cuts to Medicaid and other spending that People’s Action characterized as an attack on working families. The organization mobilized its member network to lobby the U.S. Congress against the bill, with member organizations holding events in key congressional districts ahead of the vote. ^{29 30}

#NoKings Protests

In June 2025, People’s Action Institute participated in organizing or supporting protests branded under the “#NoKings” banner, a national day of demonstrations positioned as a defense of democratic norms against Donald Trump. These events were part of a larger mobilization involving over 70 Democratic Party affiliates and allied organizations across at least 19 U.S. states and multiple international locations, according to publicly available event listings on Mobilize.us, a Democratic Party-aligned organizing platform. ^{31 32} 

Justice is Global

Justice is Global is a project of People’s Action Institute. It organizes campaigns that advocate for global-level action against a rise of “right-wing nationalism” and inequality that it claims is a result of capitalism.³³ It advocates for “progressive internationalism” as a solution. It describes progressive internationalism as a system that allows working people the world over to collectively demand policies that eliminate poverty and implement solutions to all social issues, at the cost of business owners.³⁴

Justice is Global utilizes education workshops which teach people that global neoliberalism, a capitalist system that increases inequality through deregulation, has emerged and has resulted in a rise of right-wing nationalism and environmental consequences.³³³⁵ It also advocates for the Green New Deal and seeks to implement democratic socialist policies at a global level.

Related Organizations

As of 2017, People’s Action and the People’s Action Institute listed the following as member organizations spanning 29 states: Living United for Change in Arizona (LUCHA); People Organized for West Side Renewal (POWER); the Colorado People’s Alliance; the Connecticut Citizen Action Group; the Florida Consumer Action Network; Idaho Community Action Network; United Vision for Idaho; Citizen Action/Illinois; Illinois People’s Action; Jane Addams Senior Caucus; ONE Northside; The People’s Lobby; Southsiders Organized for Unity and Liberation (SOUL); Iowa Citizens for Community Improvement; Sunflower Community Action; the Maine People’s Alliance; Progressive Maryland; Neighbor to Neighbor Massachusetts; Michigan Citizen Action; Michigan Uniteda; TakeAction Minnesota; Indian People’s Action; the Montana Organizing Project; the Progressive Leadership Alliance of Nevada (PLAN); the New Hampshire Citizens Alliance; Rights and Democracy; New Jersey Citizen Action; the New Jersey Organizing Project; the Southwest Organizing Project; Citizen Action of New York; Community Voices Heard; Good Old Lower East Side; the Northwest Bronx Community and Clergy Coalition; People United for Sustainable Housing (PUSH) Buffalo; Voices of Community Advocates and Leaders (VOCAL-NY); Communities United for Action (CUFA); Progress Ohio; Unite Oregon; Keystone Progress; Tennessee Citizen Action; Virginia Organizing; OneAmerica; the Washington Community Action Network; Our Children Our Future; the West Virginia Citizen Action Group; and Citizen Action of Wisconsin.32

Funding

Predecessor Funding

Foundations that have announced making grants to People’s Action Institute include the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, the Marguerite Casey Foundation, the Compton Foundation, and the Hidden Leaf Foundation.³⁶

The People’s Action Institute’s predecessor organizations received contributions from left-of-center foundations. The Foundation to Promote Open Society, the Ford Foundation, the Arca Foundation, the Public Welfare Foundation, the Surdna Foundation, and the New World Foundation all gave National People’s Action a grant exceeding $100,000 in past years.³⁷ Open Society, Ford, Kellogg, and Surdna also substantially contributed to Alliance for a Just Society; they were joined by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the Proteus Fund in contributing over $100,000. ³⁷ The USAction Education Fund received support from the Stoneman Family Foundation, the Tides Foundation, the Jennifer and Jonathan Allan Soros Foundation, the Nathan Cummings Foundation, and the Colombe Foundation. The USAction Education fund also received major support from donor-advised funds, including the Boston Foundation and the Fidelity Investments Charitable Gift Fund.³⁷

The predecessor organizations also received support from organized labor unions. The Seattle local union of the Service Employees International Union, SEIU 775NW, paid $450,000 to the Alliance for a Just Society for “political activities” in 2015. ³⁸

People

Sulma Arias

As of 2026, Sulma Arias is the executive director of People’s Action Institute as well as its sister organization People’s Action.^{39 40} Arias previously worked as the “lead for immigration and worker justice” ⁴¹ for National People’s Action until the merger in 2016 that created People’s Action. Prior to this, she helped organize several grassroots campaigns, including Community Change and Sunflower Community Action, with focus on areas including health care and “worker justice.” ⁴¹

George Goehl

George Goehl was one of the previous co-executive directors of People’s Action and the People’s Action Institute alongside LeeAnn Hall prior to Arias assuming the role in 2022. Goehl previously worked for the People Action Institute’s predecessor organization, National People’s Action. He was a protégé of NPA co-founder Shel Trapp, and worked a first stint at an NPA-affiliated group.⁴² He joined NPA proper in 1996, before leaving to join the Center for Community Change in 2004.⁴³ Goehl served as the executive director of NPA from 2007 through the People’s Action Institute merger. As of February 2022, he was no longer executive director of either organization.  ^{44 40}

During his time as NPA’s executive director, he faced criticism for NPA’s strong-arm tactics and its leadership of the controversial Occupy Movement.⁴² On numerous occasions, Goehl and NPA advocated “progressive populism.”⁴⁵ In addition, Goehl was identified as a leader in organizing opposition to the administration of President Donald Trump.⁴⁶