The People’s Action Institute is a community organizing group formed from the merger of several advocacy organizations in 2016 including the National People’s Action, Alliance for a Just Society, and USAction Education Fund, three left-of-center community organizing groups. ¹

People’s Action Institute (and its 501(c)(4) affiliate People’s Action) are promoted on the website of left-wing donor organization Democracy Alliance.² Before the merger, National People’s Action presented a “Long-Term Agenda to the New Economy” which pointed to a series of “structural transformations.”³

People’s Action Institute’s predecessor organizations, most notably National People’s Action (NPA), were criticized for their tactics. NPA became notorious for demonstrating against private residences and events, especially after a 2010 demonstration with the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) in a suburban neighborhood that was covered by centrist pundit Nina Easton.⁴

Background

People’s Action Institute was formed from three progressive community organization groups: National People’s Action, Alliance for a Just Society, and USAction Education Fund.

National People’s Action

National People’s Action was founded in the 1970s in Chicago by progressive activist Gale Cincotta as the National Training and Information Center.⁵ Cincotta’s aggression was extreme. Progressive magazine Mother Jones summarized her position as: “If the enemies don’t want to negotiate, their whole lives become the battleground.”⁶ 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.⁷

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, found inadequate oversight of sub-grantees, and inadequate cost controls.⁸ NTIC’s executive director at the time, Joseph Mariano, would plead guilty to charges related to the scheme.⁹

In 2011, NTIC changed its official name to National People’s Action, shortly after longtime community organizer George Goehl was appointed executive director.¹⁰ Under Goehl, NPA adopted the radical “Long-Term Agenda,” with its emphasis on “[winning] the battle of big ideas” for the far-left.¹¹ 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.¹²

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 various progressive agenda items, focusing on the states of the Pacific Northwest.¹³ The Alliance was chaired by LeeAnn Hall, a career liberal organizer.¹⁴

USAction Education Fund

USAction Education Fund was the 501(c)(3) arm of USAction, a progressive organizing coalition founded in 1999.¹⁵ The group merged with TrueMajority, a “Netroots” advocacy group created by Ben and Jerry’s founder Ben Cohen, in 2007.¹⁶

Merger and People’s Action Institute

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.¹⁷ 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.

Campaigns

As a community organizing group, People’s Action Institute is notable for organizing political issue campaigns, especially in blue cities and states. The organization supports campaigns on numerous left-wing 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. ¹⁸

Following the 2016 election, 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 strategic progressive Democratic campaigning.¹⁹ He identified the alt-right, Ku Klux Klan, and the Republican party as their biggest competitors in these areas, and claimed that these counties could become Democratic majorities if progressive ideas were effectively communicated and advocated for.

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.²⁰ 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.²¹

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.²²²³ It also advocates for the Green New Deal and seeks to implement democratic socialist policies at a global level.

Related Organizations

People’s Action Institute and its predecessor organization National People’s Action consist of a coalition of local organizing and pressure groups. The local organizations are independently organized.

According to the website of People’s Action, the associated 501(c)(4) of People’s Action Institute, the following organizations are “member organizations” of People’s Action or People’s Action Institute:²⁴

• Living United for Change in Arizona (LUCHA)
• People Organized for West Side Renewal (POWER)
• Colorado People’s Alliance (formerly Rights for All People & Colorado Progressive Coalition)
• Connecticut Citizen Action Group
• 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 (Organizing neighborhoods for Equality: Northside)
• The People’s Lobby
• Southsiders Organized for Unity and Liberation (SOUL)
• Iowa Citizens for Community Improvement
• Sunflower Community Action
• Maine People’s Alliance
• Progressive Maryland
• Neighbor to Neighbor Massachusetts
• Michigan Citizen Action
• Michigan United
• TakeAction Minnesota
• Indian People’s Action
• Montana Organizing Project
• Progressive Leadership Alliance of Nevada (PLAN)
• New Hampshire Citizens Alliance
• Rights and Democracy
• New Jersey Citizen Action
• New Jersey Organizing Project
• Southwest Organizing Project
• Citizen Action of New York
• Community Voices Heard
• Good Old Lower East Side
• 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 (formerly Oregon Action & Center for Intercultural Organizing)
• Keystone Progress
• Tennessee Citizen Action
• Rights and Democracy
• Virginia Organizing
• OneAmerica
• Washington Community Action Network
• Our Children Our Future
• West Virginia Citizen Action Group
• Citizen Action of Wisconsin

Funding

No tax records are currently available for People’s Action Institute as an independent organization, as it took its present organizational status in 2016.  Funding streams to the predecessor organizations can be analyzed, and show support from major progressive foundations and labor unions. People’s Action Institute does not appear to disclose its donors on its website or the website of its associated 501(c)(4) entity People’s Action.

Foundations that have announced making grants to People’s Action Institute as a unified organization include the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, the Marguerite Casey Foundation, the Compton Foundation, and the Hidden Leaf Foundation.²⁵

People’s Action Institute’s predecessor organizations received substantial contributions from progressive 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.²⁶ 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 $100,000.²⁷ 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. USAction Education fund also received major support from donor-advised funds, including the Boston Foundation and the Fidelity Investments Charitable Gift Fund.²⁸

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 Alliance for a Just Society for “political activities” in 2015.²⁹

People

Sulma Arias

Sulma Arias is the current executive director of People’s Action Institute as well as its 501(c)(4) group People’s Action, as of February 2022. ³⁰ Arias previously served as the “lead for immigration and worker justice” ³¹ for the National People’s Action until the merger in 2016 that created the People’s Action. Prior to this, she helped organize several grassroots campaigns, including Community Change and Sunflower Community Action, with focus on areas including healthcare and “worker justice.” ³²

George Goehl

George Goehl was one of the previous co-executive directors of People’s Action and People’s Action Institute alongside LeeAnn Hall. Goehl previously worked for PAI’s predecessor organization, the National People’s Action. He was a protégé of NPA co-founder Shel Trapp, and worked a first stint an NPA-affiliated group.³³ He joined NPA proper in 1996, before leaving to join the Center for Community Change in 2004.³⁴ Goehl served as executive director of NPA from 2007 through the People’s Action Institute merger. As of February 2022, he is no longer serves as executive director of either organization. ^{35 36}

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.³⁷ On numerous occasions, Goehl and NPA advocated “progressive populism.”³⁸ In addition, Goehl was identified as a leader in organizing opposition to the administration of President Donald Trump.³⁹

LeeAnn Hall

LeeAnn Hall was also one of the co-executive director of People’s Action Institute and People’s Action prior to Arias, as of February 2022. She was previously leader of the Alliance for a Just Society (formerly known as the Northwest Federation of Community Organizations).⁴⁰ She additionally serves on the board of Race Forward, publisher of the progressive web-magazine Colorlines.⁴¹

Robert Kraig

Robert Kraig serves as the treasurer of People’s Action Institute. He is also the executive director of the Milwaukee-based Citizen Action of Wisconsin, and is on the board of In These Times. Kraig, in an article for In These Times, was critical of elected Democrats for being too moderate. Kraig argued that all political actors (Wall Street, the media, voters, etc.) need to become more accepting of progressive ideas so politicians can be comfortable enough to enact progressive policies. He argued that this can be accomplished through aggressive campaigning for progressive ideas, and that these campaigns will only be successful if they receive sufficient funding.⁴²

1. “Our History.” People’s Action. July 28, 2016. Accessed March 13, 2017. https://peoplesaction.org/about/history/
2. “People’s Action.” Democracy Alliance. Accessed March 13, 2017. http://democracyalliance.org/organization/peoples-action/
3. National People’s Action. “Long-Term Agenda to the New Economy.” Accessed March 13, 2017. http://npa-us.org/files/long_term_agenda_0.pdf
4. Easton, Nina. “What’s really behind SEIU’s Bank of America protests?” What’s really behind SEIU’s Bank of America protests – May. 19, 2010. May 19, 2010. Accessed March 13, 2017. http://archive.fortune.com/2010/05/19/news/companies/SEIU_Bank_of_America_protest.fortune/index.htm
5. Martin, Douglas. “Gale Cincotta, 72, Opponent Of Biased Banking Policies.” The New York Times. August 17, 2001. Accessed March 13, 2017. http://www.nytimes.com/2001/08/17/us/gale-cincotta-72-opponent-of-biased-banking-policies.html
6. Conroy, John. “Blackjacking the City Redliners.” Mother Jones. Accessed November 1978. http://books.google.com/books?id=5eYDAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA11&lpg=PA11&dq=%22galecincotta%22&source=bl&ots=h2qm2lqsXc&sig=84ZoqTVujWW69QrVvXkPbFUu8fY&hl=en&sa=X&ei=1nFBVOCgBZHisASYooCgCA&ved=0CDYQ6AEwBTgU#v=onepage&q=%22gale%20cincotta%22&f=false   
7. Tuccille, J.D. “Study Says Community Reinvestment Act Induced Banks To Take Bad Risks.” Reason.com. December 21, 2012. Accessed March 13, 2017. http://reason.com/blog/2012/12/21/study-says-community-reinvestment-act-in
8. “OIG Audit Report GR-50-08-005.” Community Justice Empowerment Project Grant Administered by the National Training and Information Center, Chicago, Illinois, Grant Number 2000-DD-VX-0014. March 2008. Accessed March 13, 2017. https://oig.justice.gov/grants/g5008005.htm
9. Center for Organizational Research and Education. “National People’s Action.” Activist Facts. 2017. Accessed March 14, 2017. https://www.activistfacts.com/organizations/national-peoples-action/
10. National People’s Action (People’s Action Institute), Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax (IRS Form 990), 2011
11. Moberg, David. “New Rules for Radicals.” In These Times. February 12, 2014. Accessed March 14, 2017. http://inthesetimes.com/article/16144/new_rules_for_radicals
12. Kroll, Andy. “Revealed: The Massive New Liberal Plan to Remake American Politics.” Mother Jones. January 9, 2013. Accessed March 14, 2017. http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2013/01/democracy-initiative-campaign-finance-filibuster-sierra-club-greenpeace-naacp
13. Charles Stewart Mott Foundation. “Alliance for a Just Society, General Purposes.” Mott Foundation. Accessed March 15, 2017. https://www.mott.org/grants/alliance-for-a-just-society-general-purposes-199800168/
14. “LeeAnn Hall.” Alliance for a Just Society. March 30, 2016. Accessed March 15, 2017. http://allianceforajustsociety.org/authors/leeann-hall/
15. “History & Achievements.” USAction. Accessed March 15, 2017. http://usaction.org/about-us/history-achievements/
16. Grist Staff. “Ben Cohen, ice cream maven and TrueMajority founder, answers questions.” Grist. June 14, 2004. Accessed March 15, 2017. http://grist.org/article/cohen/full/
17. Zuckett, Gary. “USAction Merger Builds Power for Justice.” Capital Eye, September 2016. Accessed March 15, 2017. http://wvcag.org/blog/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/September-2016-Newsletter-Web-Color.pdf
18. See “People’s Action Institute: ‘Trump and Goldman Sachs Cabinet Prepare to Strip-Mine the Pocketbooks of Everyday People'” ENews Park Forest. February 03, 2017. Accessed March 16, 2017. https://enewspf.com/2017/02/03/peoples-action-institute-trump-goldman-sachs-cabinet-prepare-strip-mine-pocketbooks-everyday-people/ ;  People’s Action. “Major Climate March in Communities Nationwide on April 29.” Common Dreams. January 26, 2017. Accessed March 16, 2017. http://www.commondreams.org/newswire/2017/01/26/major-climate-march-communities-nationwide-april-29 ; and Chinitz, Julie. “The Real Living Wage? $17.28 an Hour — at Least.” Truthout. October 31, 2016. Accessed March 16, 2017. http://www.truth-out.org/news/item/38186-the-real-living-wage-17-28-an-hour-at-least
19. Hayes, Chris. “Organizing in Trump Country with George Goehl: Podcast & Transcript.” NBCNews.com. NBCUniversal News Group, January 8, 2019. https://www.nbcnews.com/think/opinion/organizing-trump-country-george-goehl-podcast-transcript-ncna956386.
20. Salazar, Sofia, and Negin Owliaei. “Justice Is Global.” Inequality.org, May 1, 2019. https://inequality.org/great-divide/justice-is-global/.
21. The Movement We Need: Progressive Internationalism (3/5). YouTube. YouTube, 2019. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vJYg7i0Ywb0.
22. Salazar, Sofia, and Negin Owliaei. “Justice Is Global.” Inequality.org, May 1, 2019. https://inequality.org/great-divide/justice-is-global/.
23. Neoliberalism: A Quick History (2/5). YouTube. YouTube, 2019. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KO4is3n7gJE&list=PLxr3Y4IsI0Tl-crhyu-QGNgdrt3BUfJAC.
24. “Affiliates.” People’s Action. February 09, 2017. Accessed March 16, 2017. https://peoplesaction.org/affiliates/
25. See “Communities for Family Unity.” W.K. Kellogg Foundation. 2016. Accessed March 17, 2017. https://www.wkkf.org/grants/grant/2016/11/communities-for-family-unity-p3035353 ; “People’s Action Institute: Uniting to Build an America that Works for All of Us: Introducing People’s Action.” Marguerite Casey Foundation. 2017. Accessed March 17, 2017. http://caseygrants.org/grantees/peoples-action-institute-uniting-to-build-an-america-that-works-for-all-of-us-introducing-peoples-action/ ; “Leadership Grant Highlights.” Compton Foundation. Accessed March 17, 2017. https://www.comptonfoundation.org/grants-awarded/grant-highlights/leadership-grant-highlights/ ; and “LISTS OF GRANT RECIPIENTS Annotated List of 2016 Grantees.” Hidden Leaf Foundation. Accessed March 17, 2017. http://hiddenleaf.org/grantmaking/lists-of-grant-recipients/annotated-list-of-2009-grantees/
26. Data compiled by FoundationSearch.com subscription service, a project of Metasoft Systems, Inc., from forms filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Queries conducted March 17, 2017.
27. Data compiled by FoundationSearch.com subscription service, a project of Metasoft Systems, Inc., from forms filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Queries conducted March 17, 2017.
28. Data compiled by FoundationSearch.com subscription service, a project of Metasoft Systems, Inc., from forms filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Queries conducted March 17, 2017.
29. Service Employees International Union Local 775, Department of Labor Annual Report (Form LM-2), 2015, Schedule 16.
30. “PEOPLE’S ACTION WELCOMES NEW EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR: SULMA ARIAS.” People’s Action, Accessed February 6, 2023. https://peoplesaction.org/2022/02/peoples-action-welcomes-new-executive-director-sulma-arias/
31. “Sulma Arias.” People’s Action, Accessed February 6, 2023. https://peoplesaction.org/about/sulma-arias-executive-director/
32. “Sulma Arias.” People’s Action, Accessed February 6, 2023. https://peoplesaction.org/about/sulma-arias-executive-director/
33. Center for Organizational Research and Education. “George Goehl.” Activist Facts. Accessed March 24, 2017. https://www.activistfacts.com/person/george-goehl/
34. “George Goehl.” BillMoyers.com. March 29, 2012. Accessed March 24, 2017. http://billmoyers.com/guest/george-goehl/
35. “George Goehl.” People’s Action, Accessed February 6, 2023. https://peoplesaction.org/about/george-goehl-executive-director/
36. “PEOPLE’S ACTION WELCOMES NEW EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR: SULMA ARIAS.” People’s Action, Accessed February 6, 2023. https://peoplesaction.org/2022/02/peoples-action-welcomes-new-executive-director-sulma-arias/
37. Center for Organizational Research and Education. “George Goehl.” Activist Facts. Accessed March 24, 2017. https://www.activistfacts.com/person/george-goehl/
38. Edwards, Haley Sweetland. “Chicago Mayor’s Race Reverberates Nationally.” Time. March 30, 2015. Accessed March 24, 2017. http://time.com/3764074/chuy-garcia-hillary-clinton/
39. Gabbatt, Adam. “Activism in the age of Trump: meet the leaders of the grassroots resistance.” The Guardian. January 19, 2017. Accessed March 24, 2017. https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2017/jan/19/anti-trump-activists-protest-grassroots-leaders
40. “LeeAnn Hall.” Alliance for a Just Society. March 30, 2016. Accessed March 24, 2017. http://allianceforajustsociety.org/authors/leeann-hall/
41. “LeeAnn Hall.” Alliance for a Just Society. March 30, 2016. Accessed March 24, 2017. http://allianceforajustsociety.org/authors/leeann-hall/
42. Kraig, Robert. “A Recipe for Making Change in Biden’s Washington.” In These Times, January 24, 2021. https://inthesetimes.com/article/biden-grassroots-pressure-roosevelt-governing-progressive-strategy.