Skip to footer

Our Integrated Vision of Thriving

As our communities work together toward systems change, our guiding principles serve as the compass that directs our efforts. These principles embody our core values, beliefs, and mission, and they guide our decision-making as we strive toward our vision. By using these principles as our north star, we can ensure that our work is always aligned with our commitment to people-led transformation.

In a just society, people have equal access to the economic means necessary to lead meaningful, self-determined lives.

We work alongside our community members to address financial needs, improve health, and develop individual leadership. Together, we build the collective power to advance inclusive economic and political systems — advocating for policies and practices that end the extraction of resources and labor from people and the planet.

We recognize that in Miami-Dade County, our communities most disproportionately impacted by inequity are Black, Indigenous, immigrant, women, and people of marginalized genders. We especially honor and affirm these communities in our work, which is led by their wisdom.

People should have access to the necessary means to participate meaningfully in decisions that affect their lives.

We carry out state and local policy campaigns that are people-centered and address issues which directly impact our communities. We prioritize community input and control in government processes, and create our own avenues for community to influence government when its processes are insufficient.

Economic justice means that people and communities own and decide together how to manage our collective needs and assets — from housing and energy to economic development. Through enterprises and real estate that are cooperatively owned and managed (democratic ownership), our communities can engage in place-making, ensure environmental responsibility, and keep capital circulating locally.

A just and equitable society requires people-led processes that are built off, and shoulder-to-shoulder with, existing organizing efforts in a community.

We work to build power among underinvested communities across Miami-Dade County, reinforcing existing solidarities and expanding opportunities for united efforts. Doing so builds the grassroots power and influence needed to transform the systems and power structures impacting our communities, while rejecting divisions that allow extractive policies and practices to take root.

We approach our work with cultural humility, respecting the past, honoring local and cultural histories, and acknowledging the inherent expertise of people on the frontlines as we shape the future. We will be present and center joy, building accountable, mutually beneficial relationships with our communities.