Portland has lost organizers, public interest dropped, and the chapter came close to ending.
“We have struggled and almost broke.” -PDX Organizer
The chapter serves what organizers describe as a very liberal population in a blue bubble, and works to push that base toward meaningful action to dismantle authoritarianism and build true democracy.
The challenge is less persuasion than turning broad agreement into sustained participation, which is exactly the work that becomes more difficult to sustain when the people doing it are no longer participating.
How Trust Between Groups Became Part of their Solution
“We have struggled and almost broke, but then leaned into the activist mutual aid mindset after we realized all groups are facing this.” -PDX Organizer
“A willingness to truly come together and trust other organizations has been crucial in this process.” -PDX Organizer
Portland’s experience suggests a distinction other chapters might find useful, a chapter that reads shrinkage as failure has one obvious response: to work harder in isolation. However, a chapter that recognizes the contraction as widely shared has another option, pool what remains with groups nearby.
Portland calls this organizational mutual aid, and points to trust as what makes it possible. Shared statements between groups are common, shared capacity asks considerably more of a chapter.
Portland No Kings / 50501 describes itself as small but mighty, with a very small group of organizers and a deliberate focus on building connections with other groups. In practice:
- Portland works closely with another day-of group on march/rally logistics.
- A skill-share group is arranging training locations and dates while Portland provides the trainers.
- The chapter is working with Jobs with Justice and other local groups to put on a educational fair in the coming months.
Why Portland Is Making Election Defense a Priority
Portland’s main focus right now is election defense. And for Portland No Kings / 50501, this means more than just encouraging people to vote.
“In order to have democratic elections, we must be willing to fight for them,” -PDX Organizer. This includes protecting the election process, but also making sure communities are prepared to organize and respond when democracy is threatened.
For Portland, election defense can include protecting ballot boxes, registering voters, organizing strikes and boycotts, sharing skills and resources, getting involved in local politics, and building stronger community networks.
How Portland Made Organizing More Approachable
Portland’s recent Make America Fair was intended to make organizing and election defense easier to understand. Instead of relying on just speeches or traditional trainings, the chapter used games and other fun activities to introduce people to ideas like strikes, mutual aid, election protection, local political involvement, and community organizing.
The event also helped Portland connect people with other activist groups that were doing this work prior to No Kings / 50501. Rather than trying to bring every new volunteer into the chapter, organizers could help people find the group or project that best matched their interests.
Complicated topics can feel overwhelming to people who are new to organizing. Giving people a relaxed and interactive way to learn can make it easier to ask questions, participate, and figure out where they might want to get involved.
Recruiting doesn’t always have to mean recruiting for your own organization. Collaboration is also helping people find where they can be most useful, even if that leads them to another group. When organizations are willing to share people, skills, and opportunities instead of competing for them, the entire community becomes stronger.
What Portland Learned From Trying to Do Too Much
Portland organizers have also been open about what has not worked as well as they hoped.
Their first educational event in February included performances, tables, classes, food, and art installations. There was a lot happening at once.
“It was amazing,” the organizer said. “It also was too much!” -PDX Organizer
Some of the speakers and performances didn’t get the attendance organizers hoped for. Instead of giving up on educational events, the chapter decided to use that experience to make the next one better.
Their next educational event will be simpler, with more focus on a smaller number of carefully chosen classes.
When asked whether the chapter has tried ideas that did not work as expected, the response was met with:
“All the time! We are always pushing novel ideas, and learning as we go.”
The willingness to admit when something didn’t work is valuable. If chapters only talk about their biggest successes, other organizers never get to learn from the mistakes made along the way. Portland is showing that trying something, recognizing what was too much, and changing the next version is all part of organizing.
How Portland Keeps Volunteer Roles Accessible
When a organizing group is dealing with fewer volunteers, it helps to make participation flexible.
Portland gives volunteers a variety of different ways to contribute based on how much time, energy, or experience they might have. Consistent volunteer needs are shared in their chapter newsletter, and more urgent requests are posted on their social media. The chapter’s small leadership team also helps connect volunteers with the work where they can be most useful.
Make sure that volunteers who show up can find a realistic, meaningful way to help.
What Portland wants you to know
We asked what other organizers and chapters might apply from Portland’s experience:
“Just keep doing the work.”
“We are a group that lives in the in-between. We are told we are too liberal, too radical, too ineffective, too white. Some of that may be true, but the only way to prove our worth to others is with action.”
The chapter’s next priorities are an election defense educational fair and a set of free organizing toolkits now in development.
Something for your chapter to try this month: find a organization in your area working adjacent to yours and ask what they need that you can contribute.
Portland’s experience suggests that losing capacity doesn’t necessarily mean a chapter is failing but that rebuilding may begin by looking outward, not only by recruiting inward.