Novedades

From day one, Poder NC didn’t want to do politics as usual. We believed that millions of young Latinxs deserved more than an outreach program that treated them like a transaction, that they could be the architects of a new political future. After all, our state has innovated things that seemed unimaginable like putting people in the sky, believing that we could ascend and fly, too; we are a state that birthed student activism that transformed our nation. Through art, storytelling, and cultura, we proved that cultural organizing has the power to excite and transform hearts and minds, making civic participation not just a duty, but a celebration of who we are. 

After six incredible years, Poder NC will be closing its doors at the end of 2025. Everything has a life cycle, and organizations are no different. While this marks the end of Poder NC as an entity, the power we’ve built together with nuestra gente endures. The organizing skills, political consciousness, and community connections forged through our work continue as building blocks for building people power across North Carolina.

This decision didn’t come easily. We did everything we could to keep Poder alive—fundraising around the clock, exploring leadership transitions, working with consultants to reimagine our structure, adjusting our programs to meet the moment, and pursuing every possible avenue to sustain this work. We have come to a point where we are choosing to close with care and intention, rather than continuing to struggle through adverse conditions that inhibit us from doing the audacious work we’ve been known for. We want our community to know that we fought valiantly to keep our doors open, but—like too many other organizations across our state and nation—we faced the perfect storm: systemic dysfunction, a political climate anchored by fear, and—despite the best of intentions—a bureaucratic and risk-averse culture of philanthropy that makes bold approaches like ours challenging to fund.

We acknowledge and deeply thank the community members, partners, staff, friends, and funders who were in the trenches with us, doing everything in their power to keep the organization going.

As we reflect on the past 6 years, we have so much to be proud of:

• Our Youth Summits in 2020 and 2023 created space for young people to deepen their organizing skills and grow in their leadership journey. 
• Three iterations of our People Power School from 2021-2023 gave attendees an insider’s look at our civic structure, and how we can strategically direct our energy through cogovernance.
• At our two Ballots y Belleza events in 2024, we created dynamic spaces filled with bright warm colors, flowers, joy, and dozens of Black and brown beauty service providers, as the backdrop for registered voters to come and learn about their ballot from a Poder ambassador, and then receive a free beauty service before going to vote early with confidence. 
• We shifted the culture around young people voting to a celebratory rite of passage through our 2022 digital ad, which we created as evergreen content and is in use this year to encourage municipal electoral participation.
• Our 2024 Early Voting Bus Tour, 2022 Abrazo de Poder events, and our 2020 Parties at the Polls brought that same celebratory energy to voters of all ages, through games, live music, and comida from small business owners.
• Also in 2024, we produced two telenovela-style digital ads that pushed the boundaries of electoral communications; “Alexia the Voter” told the story of a young woman who finds her voice and steps into her power in both her personal and political life. “Love is a Choice” offered an intimate portrait of a young couple navigating challenging decisions around pregnancy, while they watch the erosion of reproductive rights nationwide. The second ad won a Reed Award, and the two ads together made 1.5 million impressions on voters in North Carolina alone.
• Over the course of three election cycles, we produced 20 original political mailers; everything from Lotería cards, superhero posters, to a 4-part comic telling the story of how we the people wield the power to shape all three  branches of government. 

The highlight reel above leaves out so much more important work produced by our past and present staff, interns, fellows, members, and volunteers: countless pieces of social media content providing engaging and accessible political education; over a dozen Social Hours and other community events inviting people to find and claim their political home; and hundreds of thousands of phone calls and texts sent during elections. 

Together, we proved that culturally rooted organizing isn’t optional for social justice movements—it’s essential. Because of nuestra gente–our community, our base–Poder NC’s work reached millions of voters, including those outside of our state! Every time our people showed up, we sowed seeds of hope together.

Earlier this year we shared the wisdom of Mariame Kaba who imparted: “Hope is a discipline.” Indeed it is, and hope is a practice, too. We practice hope by being courageous enough to face the truth, retaining our political imagination, and doing the painstaking work of power-building, even through hellish conditions and against all odds. And, above all, we practice hope by leaning on one another and choosing to be in community.   

Our state still needs organizers and leaders who understand that civic engagement must honor our cultures while advancing a progressive agenda for our people. We hope that everyone who has been a part of Poder NC carries this work forward by supporting values-aligned organizations in our state, and by imagining political power beyond our status quo structures.

Here’s what you can expect in the coming weeks: We will host a final celebration of our Poder on Sunday, November 9th, at the restaurant Centro in downtown Raleigh. RSVP here. All supporters of our work are invited to join us, as we mark this transition as we always have: in community, with joy and celebration. Also in the coming weeks, our executive leadership team (forever and affectionately known as our HBICs) will share their Lessons in Leadership as a Love Letter to North Carolina.

We are forever grateful to those that chose to build people power with us. You believed in our vision, and now we believe in you to carry Poder’s mission forward. There is still so much work to be done—but we know you will keep showing up, organizing, and demanding the dignity and representation we all deserve.

Con mucho, mucho amor y gratitud,

The Poder NC Team