Our Work

A2 works alongside our members to build power, strengthen organizational capacity, and advance solutions to the environmental challenges facing their communities. Through community organizing, capacity building, policy and advocacy, and communications, we provide the resources, foster the exchange of knowledge and expertise, and make the connections our members need to confront the root causes of environmental harm, protect their communities, and work toward lasting changes in the policies and systems that shape their lives.

Community Organizing

A2 helps member organizations turn local concerns into effective, community-led campaigns. We organize with members to develop local leadership, build collective power, forge strong relationships across communities, and turn community priorities into sustained campaigns for change. Through State Organizing Committees in six states, we bring members together to build durable statewide organizing tables and lead campaigns on environmental and climate issues impacting their quality of life. Our Community Organizing Institute strengthens this work by developing core organizing skills, creating opportunities for peer learning, and connecting organizers across the A2 network.

Capacity Building

A2 helps small, frontline organizations build the skills, resources, relationships, and organizational strength they need to sustain their work and act effectively with and on behalf of their communities. Members have access to trainings, peer learning, monthly topical member forums, funding alerts, proposal-development support, resource libraries, and connections to scientists, engineers, legal professionals, academic partners, and other technical experts. We help organizations strengthen their foundations, find and pursue funding, access expertise they might not otherwise have, respond to emerging challenges, and build the capacity to sustain effective campaigns over the long term.

Policy and Research

A2 connects research, policy expertise, and grassroots organizing to help members understand the forces driving environmental harm and take action on the policies and decisions affecting their communities. We translate complex research, policy, and regulatory issues into accessible information, tools, and strategies, while bringing frontline knowledge and experience into broader policy conversations. We also help members develop and coordinate advocacy campaigns, share strategies across states, and connect their local efforts to broader opportunities for collective action. By connecting community leaders with researchers, advocates, policymakers, and other experts, A2 helps members advance practical solutions to environmental challenges and work toward lasting changes in the policies and systems that shape their communities.

Communications

A2 helps frontline communities tell their own stories, share their expertise, and reach wider audiences. Through journalism, photography, newsletters, podcasts, digital media, and strategic communications, we create platforms for members to share their knowledge and experience, document environmental challenges, and shape the public conversation around the issues they are organizing to address. Initiatives including The A2 Times, CameraWorks, and In Times Like These amplify local leadership and connect community struggles to broader conversations about environmental, climate, and social justice.