ProGeorgia is a left-of-center nonprofit group that drives civic participation and voter engagement among traditionally left-of-center constituencies. The organization coordinates multiple local groups’ efforts and messaging in favor of left-of-center causes. ¹  Director Tamieka Atkins was one of several Georgia activists who received significant media attention after large turnout among minority groups aided Democratic candidate Joe Biden’s victory in the state during the 2020 presidential election. ²

Background and Affiliations

In 2011, a group of twelve left-wing nonprofits in Georgia that had all worked on voter engagement and turnout during the 2010 election season started making plans to combine into one organization. The next year, they officially established ProGeorgia. Over time, the number of participating groups grew to more than 30. This includes the Georgia branches of multiple national left-of-center groups, including the National Association of Working Women, the American Civil Liberties Union, Asian Americans Advancing Justice, Common Cause, the Community Voters Project, Faith in Public Life, the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, Women’s Action for New Directions, Higher Heights, the League of Women Voters, the National Asian Pacific American Women’s Forum, SPARK Reproductive Justice NOW, and Planned Parenthood. ³

ProGeorgia is part of the State Voices network,⁴ a left-of-center state-level policy advocacy coalition that has received funding from left-wing organizations including the Bohemian Foundation, Tides Foundation, and Open Society Foundations . ⁵

State Voices supports defunding law enforcement. In August of 2020, the group issued a statement declaring “Black August” a “time to commit to Black lives and rebellion” and calling  to defund police. ⁶ The statement closed with a quote from Joanne Chesimard, also known as Assata Shakur, a member of the Black Liberation Army extremist group who murdered New Jersey state trooper Werner Foerster in 1973, then fled to Cuba in 1979 after escaping from prison. ⁷

Voter Registration Activities

ProGeorgia claimed that it helped to register more than 83,000 voters in 2016 and more than 50,000 in 2018. In 2019, the group was on track to register at least 21,000 voters, and the group registered at least 20,000 voters in 2020. ⁸⁹

Leadership

ProGeorgia does not list its leadership on its website or provide any contact information other than a general information email. ¹⁰

Tamieka Atkins is the executive director of ProGeorgia. Atkins founded the Atlanta chapter of the National Domestic Workers Alliance and sat on the board of Atlanta Jobs with Justice, both of which are now part of the ProGeorgia coalition. She also worked as a board liaison at Amnesty International USA. Atkins has a bachelor’s degree in multicultural literature from Hunter College. As a student, she organized anti-law enforcement and anti-military protests. ¹¹

In the follow-up to the 2020 presidential election, publications such as The Hill and Time identified Atkins as a key activist responsible for increasing minority voter turnout in Georgia, along with former Georgia gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams. ¹²¹³

Financials

In 2015, ProGeorgia received more than $760,000 in contributions and grants, and distributed more than $260,000 in grants of their own. In 2016, the group received more than $2.1 million in revenue and distributed just over $910,000. ¹⁴ In 2017, the group received more than $2.3 million and distributed just over $1 million. In 2018, ProGeorgia received more than $4.6 million and distributed just over $1.7 million. ¹⁵

ProGeorgia solicits contributions through ActBlue Charities, a pass-through organization for donations to left-of-center causes. ¹⁶

In 2020, ProGeorgia received a $750,000 “Vote Your Voice” grant from the Southern Poverty Law Center, a left-wing legal and investigative group that targets organizations and activists on the right. The grant went towards a get-out-the-vote campaign and an unspecified “experiment” to improve voter engagement. ¹⁷

1.        About, ProGeorgia. Accessed November 16, 2020. https://progeorgia.org/about/
2. Anagha Srinkath, “Meet five women who helped get out the vote in Georgia with Stacey Abrams,” The Hill, November 6, 2020. Accessed November 20, 2020. https://thehill.com/changing-america/respect/diversity-inclusion/524881-meet-five-women-who-helped-get-out-the-vote-in
3.       Who We Are, ProGeorgia. Accessed November 16, 2020. https://progeorgia.org/who-we-are/
4.        Values. Voices. Votes., ProGeorgia. Accessed November 16, 2020. https://progeorgia.org
5.    Civic Representation, State Voices. Accessed November 12, 2020. https://www.statevoices.org/2016/10/20/civic-representation/
6.        Defund Police for Democracy, State Voices. Accessed November 16, 2020. https://www.statevoices.org/2020/08/05/defund-police-for-democracy/
7. Christina Carrega, “Assata Shakur, convicted of killing a police officer, still wanted by FBI 40 years after fleeing to Cuba,” ABC News, May 16, 2019. https://abcnews.go.com/US/assata-shakur-convicted-killing-police-officer-wanted-fbi/story?id=63076257
8.   Mark Niesse, “Voter registration surges in Georgia ahead of 2020 elections,” WSB-TV2, October 1, 2019. Accessed November 16, 2020. https://www.wsbtv.com/news/voter-registration-surges-in-georgia-ahead-of-2020-elections/992256476/
9.         Anna North, “Six Black women organizers on what happened in Georgia – and what comes next,” Vox, November 11, 2020. Accessed November 16, 2020. https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/opinion/six-black-women-organizers-on-what-happened-in-georgia-and-what-comes-next/ar-BB1aUmxA
10.           Contact Us, ProGeorgia. Accessed November 16, 2020. https://progeorgia.org/contact/
11.        Tamieka Atkins, Forward Together. Accessed November 16, 2020. https://forwardtogether.org/people/tamieka-atkins/
12.        Anagha Srikanth, “Meet five women who helped get out the vote in Georgia with Stacey Abrams,” The Hill, November 6, 2020. Accessed November 16, 2020. https://thehill.com/changing-america/respect/diversity-inclusion/524881-meet-five-women-who-helped-get-out-the-vote-in
13.         Olivia B. Waxman, “Stacey Abrams and Other Georgia Organizers Are Part of a Long – But Often Overlooked – Tradition of Black Women Working for the Vote,” TIME, November 10, 2020. Accessed November 16, 2020. https://time.com/5909556/stacey-abrams-history-black-women-voting/
14.      ProGeorgia State Table Inc., Internal Revenue Service, 2016. Accessed November 16, 2020. https://apps.irs.gov/pub/epostcard/cor/461064042_201612_990_2017121815033507.pdf
15. ProGeorgia State Table Inc., Internal Revenue Service, 2018. Accessed November 16, 2020. https://apps.irs.gov/pub/epostcard/cor/461064042_201812_990_2020010316995141.pdf
16.    Donate to ProGeorgia State Table, ActBlue. Accessed November 16, 2020. https://secure.actblue.com/donate/progeorgia-state-table-1
17.        Angela Tuck, “Vote Your Voice: In Georgia, grantee organizations fuel record registration and turnout,” Southern Poverty Law Center, October 28, 2020. Accessed November 16, 2020. https://www.splcenter.org/news/2020/10/28/vote-your-voice-georgia-grantee-organizations-fuel-record-registration-and-turnout