The Community Alliance of Lane County is delighted to share our new mission and vision with the greater community.

This moment has been nearly two years in the making. Throughout this process, CALC staff, board members, and community members have explored who we are, what we value, and what value we want to help create. Through those conversations, we established a set of shared values that continue to serve as our corner stone.

With these values as our foundation we kept asking ourselves, and our community partners, an important question: How can CALC best live these values while carrying forward our legacy of social justice and community organizing?

The answer emerged through an ongoing and deeply collaborative process. We are so thankful for the countless individuals who engaged with us throughout this process. A special thank you to Banyan Consulting for helping us navigate and nurture this work.

As we began putting words to our shared purpose, something powerful happened: we found ourselves feeling both excited and relieved. The language that was coming up resonated deeply with our goals and hopes for the future. Most importantly, we recognized a strong sense of alignment across the people who make up our organization and our broader community.

It’s with great excitement that we share with you, our new mission and vision:

Mission: We cultivate and strengthen historically underserved community organizers and leaders in Lane County.

Vision: We envision community organizers who are supported and successful in advancing a just and equitable world.

These statements represent more than some new language. They reflect an evolution in how CALC understands and carries forward its work. CALC has long been a seedbed for organizers, solidarity, and movement building. For 60 years, this organization has helped people find one another, develop their voices, build relationships, and take collective action for their community. So, in many ways, this new direction feels less like starting over and more like growing from our roots.

One way we are putting this vision into practice is through Casa de la Unidad, where we are cultivating spaces for organizers from underrepresented communities to access organizing roles, build relationships, and find community. This is one part of our continued commitment to nurturing the people, relationships, and movements that make lasting change possible.

This is just the beginning. There are many ways to be a part of CALC’s new chapter whether you want to volunteer, participate in an event or program, connect with other organizers, or join the board of directors. We would love to have you with us as we keep this work moving forward and growing strong.

Please consider getting involved with CALC and/or donating to support our new goals.