Toronto In recent years, ACORN has held regular meetings for several days among the directors of all the major affiliates, spending more than the equivalent of $400,000 USD annually. The meetings have traditionally had two major themes. Within a far-flung global federation, these sessions allow for coordination on common events, sharing on campaigns, and development of common programs on training, leadership development, communications, and even fundraising. The second focus is harder to give a simple name. In many work settings this focus would be called cross-training. In ACORN’s context this is especially important in a federation where each director’s primary focus and fundamental responsibility lies with the development and success of their individual organization, its members, and program. This cross-training allows the directors to more intimately understand and contribute to the success of each other’s organizations of course, but, more importantly, allows them, meeting after meeting, to learn more about ACORN itself and all of the entities in the family of organizations involving research, media, training, publications and more. This kind of cross-training, if you will, also serves well in preparation for successions and transitions.
Most of the multi-day meetings have been held in the New Orleans area with one attempt in Katmandu and an add-on in the Netherlands and now this meeting, currently in Toronto, home of the largest affiliate, ACORN Canada. It’s a small group. The director from India was unable to get a visa. Scheduling conflicts meant that France and the Louisiana affiliate were also only present for several hours of the meeting by Zoom. Everyone’s participation was key for discussions of the coming actions in solidarity for our work in India involving the controversial, scandal-ridden operations of the Adani Group, run by Asia’s second-richest billionaire now indicted in the USA for bribery, securities fraud, and potentially sanctions violations involving Iran. The action will coincide with the 55th anniversary of ACORN, so we’re hoping to have actions in most of the cities where ACORN organizes for the first time.
An outsider or non-organizer would think the discussions on actions, issues, and campaigns would be the most extensive and engaging for the directors. They would be wrong. The deepest holes the directors dived into with enthusiasm on the first day of meetings involved structural and cultural issues. How well were affiliates representing ACORN from participation to branding and communications? Where was the model being extended, where were the affiliates more hybrids, and was that working? How was the structure advancing and supporting the distinctive ACORN organizing culture? What were the best ways and means for us to support existing affiliates and expand in Europe and Africa, and what kind of structure would work for those objectives, how would it be staffed, and how would it be funded, until the membership dues could kick in and take over? How well were we integrating the labor structures with the community structures and merging the membership and issues? Where was growth we needed to encourage, and where did we need to cut our losses?
Many of these questions are eventually leadership and governance decisions that determine the future of the organization, but this is the spadework and struggle that it takes to do our jobs in preparation for their debates and final determinations. At the end of the day, if it worked well and was a good day, it’s exhausting and exhilarating, and something none present would trade for anything. That’s the goal, and it’s our job to achieve it, making it an honor and a privilege to just be in the room where this kind of magic is conjured.