Raben Impact is a project of the progressive incubation firm Resource Impact that provides support to left-progressive social policy movements. It is owned by the Raben Group, a progressive activist lobbying group formed by Robert Raben, a former deputy attorney general under President Bill Clinton. ¹ Raben Impact is led by Patty First, who is also an employee of the Raben Group. ²

Platform

Raben Impact is a platform where left-progressive social policy movements and leaders are analyzed, shared, and augmented. It seeks to support social change leaders and connect them with others to grow for the purpose of social impact. Raben Impact focuses on grassroots political mobilization of varied groups including black sororities and fraternities. It seeks to change the LGBT movement by pressuring their organizations to accept diversity, equity, justice, and inclusion. ³

Film Program

Raben Impact d seeks to leverage television shows and movies to drive left-progressive change. It has established partnerships with the American Film Institute and Media Impact Funders to create left-progressive documentaries on issues like race, climate change, police brutality, sexual assault and civil rights. Raben Impact’s goal with these films is to strengthen the progressive movement. ⁴ It credited the documentary 13^th with creating the conversation on structural racism and alleging the American prison system is a modern extension of slavery. ⁵

Patty First

Patty First is a co-founder of Raben Impact, and a lobbyist at the Raben Group. She is a progressive activist in women’s rights and immigration. Her political experience extends to serving as counsel to U.S. Senator Edward Kennedy (D-MA) and as a Deputy Assistant Attorney General in the Clinton administration under Janet Reno. ⁶

1. “What We Do.” What We Do. Raben Impact. Accessed April 28, 2020. https://www.rabenimpact.org/what-we-do-1/.
2. “Patty First.” The Raben Group. Accessed April 28, 2020. https://rabengroup.com/people/patty-first/.
3. Home Page. Raben Group. Accessed April 28, 2020. https://www.rabenimpact.org/.
4. “2017 AFI DOCS Impact Lab and Media Impact Festival.” Medium. Medium, December 19, 2017. https://medium.com/@Raben_Impact/2017-afi-docs-impact-lab-and-media-impact-festival-d4cbd73ab012.
5. Raben_Impact. “Film to Fuel Change.” Medium. Medium, October 12, 2017. https://medium.com/@Raben_Impact/film-to-fuel-change-f956bba397fa.
6. “Patty First.” The Raben Group. Accessed April 28, 2020. https://rabengroup.com/people/patty-first/.