Virginia Organizing, formerly known as the Virginia Organizing Project, is a political advocacy organization in the state of Virginia. While Virginia Organizing calls itself “non-partisan,”  the group receives major funding from left-of-center organizations like Charles Stewart Mott Foundation, Johnson Family Foundation, and Surdna Foundation. ¹

Virginia Organizing is comprised of fifteen regional chapters that coordinate civic engagement, and direct action on both local and state levels. ² Virginia Organizing, and all of its chapters, support the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare), tax increases on Virginians, an aggressive interpretation of LGBT rights, and liberal expansionist immigration reform, among other left-of-center issues. ³

While Virginia Organizing maintains a small staff, in past years, two employees, John P. Myers and Amy Kostant, were each paid six-figure salaries. ⁴ Amy Kostant is the founder of Science Communication Network, ⁵ a partner organization of Virginia Organizing. ⁶

Virginia Organizing has over a dozen partner organizations, and VO collects donations for many of these groups, some of which do not have their own non-profit status. ⁷

Activities

Virginia Organizing states that it is “dedicated to challenging injustice by empowering people in local communities to address issues that affect the quality of their lives.” ⁸ The organization supports the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare), progressive tax reform in Virginia, LGBT rights, and immigration reform, among other issues. ⁹

Virginia Organizing is comprised of fifteen regional chapters that coordinate civic engagement, and direct action on both local and state levels. ¹⁰

Virginia Organizing encourages individual citizens to join regional chapters, write letters to editors and elected officials, sign petitions, participate in VO organizing events, and donate to the organization. ¹¹

Financial Activities

Virginia Organizing collects donations on behalf of its partner organizations like Alliance of Nurses for Healthy Environments, Center for Sustainable Communities, and Virginia Coalition of Latino Organizations (VACOLAO), as well as for non-partner activist organizations like Protect Our Water, Heritage, Rights (POWHR). ¹²

According to Virginia Organizing’s 2018 tax returns, the organization paid two employees who do not appear on Virginia Organizing’s website. John P. Myers was paid $158,974, and Amy Kostant was paid $161,000. ¹³ Both Myers and Kostant were also paid for tax years 2016, and 2017, each listed as a “highest compensated” employee for those years. ¹⁴

Amy Kostant is the former program director at Environmental Media Services and founder of Science Communication Network. Kostant is a former public information specialist at the Massachusetts Department of Public Health, and former director of communications for Green Seal. ¹⁵ Science Communication Network is a partner organization of Virginia Organizing. ¹⁶

People

Executive director Brian Johns formerly worked as the organizing director for Virginia Organizing, and was a community organizer with labor unions in Pennsylvania. ¹⁷

Regional organizer Joe Szakos was the founding executive director of Virginia Organizing until 2017 as well as the founding coordinator of Kentuckians For The Commonwealth. Szakos is the co-author of We Make Change: Community Organizers Talk About What They Do—and Why. ¹⁸

Regional organizer Meghan McNamara is a community and labor organizer, who formerly worked on liberal social and economic policy campaigns in Washington DC, Chicago, and Virginia. McNamara is the former Richmond Canvass Director for MoveOn.org during the 2008 elections. ¹⁹

Other regional organizers include Addie Alexander, Amanda Dameron, Andrae Hash, Ciera Killen, Isabel Castillo, Jorge Mendez, Susan Stancill, Tony Jones, and Willie Justis. ²⁰

Board of Directors

Chairperson D. Ladelle Mcwhorter has been with Virginia Organizing for over 20 years, working on campaigns that include Medicaid expansion and environmentalist issues. ²¹

Denise Smith serves on Virginia Organizing’s State Governing Board and Tax Reform Committee. ²²

Janice Johnson is a former chairperson, and treasurer of the board. ²³

Other board members include Duane Edwards, treasurer; Ebony Guy; Emma Hale; Lily Hungarland, secretary; and Sandra Cook. ²⁴

Former members of the board include Vice-Chairperson Debra Grant, Marty Jackson, and Natasha D’Souza. ²⁵

1. “Who is Virginia Organizing.” Virginia Organizing, 2019. Accessed April 4, 2020. https://virginia-organizing.org/who-is-virginia-organizing/.
2. “The Chapters.” Virginia Organizing, 2019. Accessed April 4, 2020. https://virginia-organizing.org/the-chapters/.
3. “The Issues.” Virginia Organizing, 2019. Accessed April 4, 2020. https://virginia-organizing.org/the-issues/.
4. Virginia Organizing Inc, Return of Organization Exempt From Income Tax (Form 990), 2018, Part VII, Section A, Line 1a.
5. “Amy Kostant.” Science Communication Network, 2020. Accessed April 4, 2020. http://sciencecommunicationnetwork.org/amy-kostant/.
6. “Community Partners.” Virginia Organizing, 2019. Accessed April 4, 2020. https://virginia-organizing.org/community-partners/.
7. “Virginia Organizing: Donate.” Network For Good. Accessed April 4, 2020. https://donatenow.networkforgood.org/1388125.
8. “Who is Virginia Organizing.” Virginia Organizing, 2019. Accessed April 4, 2020. https://virginia-organizing.org/who-is-virginia-organizing/.
9. “The Issues.” Virginia Organizing, 2019. Accessed April 4, 2020. https://virginia-organizing.org/the-issues/.
10. “The Chapters.” Virginia Organizing, 2019. Accessed April 4, 2020. https://virginia-organizing.org/the-chapters/.
11. “Take Action.” Virginia Organizing, 2019. Accessed April 6, 2020.  https://virginia-organizing.org/take-action/.
12. “Virginia Organizing: Donate.” Network For Good. Accessed April 4, 2020. https://donatenow.networkforgood.org/1388125.
13. Virginia Organizing Inc, Return of Organization Exempt From Income Tax (Form 990), 2018, Part VII, Section A, Line 1a.
14. Virginia Organizing Inc, Return of Organization Exempt From Income Tax (Form 990), 2017, Part VII, Section A, Line 1a; Virginia Organizing Inc, Return of Organization Exempt From Income Tax (Form 990), 2016, Part VII, Section A, Line 1a.
15. “Amy Kostant.” Science Communication Network, 2020. Accessed April 4, 2020. http://sciencecommunicationnetwork.org/amy-kostant/.
16. “Community Partners.” Virginia Organizing, 2019. Accessed April 4, 2020. https://virginia-organizing.org/community-partners/.
17. “Brian Johns.” Virginia Organizing, 2019. Accessed April 4, 2020. https://virginia-organizing.org/brian-johns/.
18. “Jos Szakos.” Virginia Organizing, 2019. Accessed April 4, 2020. https://virginia-organizing.org/joe-szakos/.
19. “Meghan McNamara, Portsmouth/Eastern Shore Organizer.” Virginia Organizing, 2019. Accessed April 4, 2020. https://virginia-organizing.org/meghan-mcnamara-portsmoutheastern-shore-organizer/.
20. “Staff.” Virginia Organizing, 2019. Accessed April 4, 2020. https://virginia-organizing.org/staff/.
21. “D. Ladelle McWhorter.” Virginia Organizing, 2019. Accessed April 4, 2020. https://virginia-organizing.org/d-ladelle-mcwhorter/.
22. “Denise Smith.” Virginia Organizing, 2019. Accessed April 4, 2020. https://virginia-organizing.org/denise-smith/.
23. “Janice Jay Johnson.” Virginia Organizing, 2019. Accessed April 4, 2020. https://virginia-organizing.org/janice-jay-johnson/.
24. “Board Members.” Virginia Organizing, 2019. Accessed April 4, 2020. https://virginia-organizing.org/board-members/.
25. Virginia Organizing Inc, Return of Organization Exempt From Income Tax (Form 990), 2018, Part VII, Section A, Line 1a.