About

The Houston in Action member organization network operates on the belief that we can do greater things together than we can apart and that the more influence our communities have over the systems and services that are meant to support us, the better able we are to lead the lives we want to live.

Houston in Action membership is made up of representatives of community-based organizations, grassroots leaders, academic and research institution staff, and philanthropic partners. We bring together community partners in the private and public sectors including government, health and business.

Houston in Action member organizations and staff operate with the belief that when we coordinate, share our respective wisdom and experience, share information and strategies, and common visions and values, we increase our collective power. We believe that our ability to influence public systems in service of our communities, and produce stronger, more inclusive, and equitable outcomes for those same systems and policies is rooted in our willingness to operate collectively while grounded locally in our experiences as members of the communities within which we work. Additionally, we break down barriers by facilitating access to funding for organizations of all sizes, especially for those who have not historically been favored by traditional funding structures. 

Houston in Action staff serve as conveners of our members and partners to coordinate and resource initiatives affecting large portions of the Houston region, particularly communities of color, low-income residents, and young people—our communities of focus. For these community-based campaigns, Houston in Action facilitates the sharing of strategies, systems, tools, and both monetary and non-monetary resources around shared goals. 

Our approach to facilitation and connection is rooted in racial justice and equity for historically excluded groups, many of whom comprise our leadership. We acknowledge that structural racism is at the core of why our Communities of Focus have historically faced barriers to civic participation. 

Outside of these campaigns and initiatives, Houston in Action members work with long-term vision to create policies that create new access and break down past barriers to the public systems and services that are meant to support our communities of focus. Our focus is long-term, with an emphasis on creating long-lasting infrastructure, and examining, and acting on, root causes for systems change.

Fundamental to our approach is our investment in community organizing. We believe that the better equipped community groups are to organize around the issues that matter most to them, the better positioned they are to create the lives they want for themselves. In the short-term we are working to lay the groundwork for systems and policy changes, e.g., increased: collaboration among partners, access to data, and narrative influence. Intermediate goals include fundamental changes to core institutions, e.g., engagement in other jurisdictions in Texas and buy-in to the process. Long term goals include changes in the target population, e.g., equitable representation in local government, visible and sustainable community voice, and increased civic engagement across communities.