We help social justice movements win!

I can’t imagine how we would be organising today without the enthusiasm, support, and wisdom of Dan and George. NEON is the glue that holds our movement together. Without it we would not have the structure and community that we need to think systemically about where we are all going together. The team's support and training has been incredibly useful for taking me and my fellow Rethinking Economics organisers from enthused campaigners to organisation builders and to give us a role in contributing to a wider movement. But more than the individual impact they've had on each of us, I don't think a progressive movement would be possible without the invitation NEON has extended to each of our organisations to connect and be movement-generous.

NEON is the anchor our progressive movements need right now. Rather than doubling down on our work and seeking a greater impact by raising our voice even louder, it has invited us to stop and reflect on how we communicate with our audiences and how we frame our messages; on who we work with and what makes for healthy (and unhealthy) power dynamics in those relationships. It has encouraged us to think about what forms of leadership are needed in organisations that aspire to bring about widespread social change. It has brought together people and groups who share a common agenda about the future, to discuss not only how we win individual campaigns, but also how we shift power in our communities and societies over the next decade. It’s a wide-ranging long-term resource for the work we do, and a precious community to be part of.

NEON taught me everything from what is a theory of change, to how to be interviewed on Newsnight, and what is the life cycle of an organisation. Over the last 4yrs I’ve been on most of NEON’s programmes: Campaign Lab, the Spokesperson Network, an Action Learning group, and organisation building training with Carlos Savaadra. All of them have been transformational to my learning and development and allowed me to develop my leadership, strategy and ability to build Positive Money from a small group into a thriving 8 person pressure group on the national stage, one of the only organisations to arise from the 2008 crash. It’s so important that we invest in these skills and the networks which build the ideas, advice and support. They’re playing an absolutely vital role building New Economy leaders.

The media training had a huge impact on my professional life. I came with only a few local radio station interviews under my belt, I left feeling I could (and subsequently did) take on any media opportunity. The difference between my baseline video and my subsequent media opportunities is remarkable. I am more focused, friendly and articulate. The monthly meet ups have been extremely useful too. Getting better at media appearances is an ongoing process and the continued support has helped me develop my skills.

Since joining NEON, I have met such amazing people, passionate in making a difference and not driven by self-interest. People have shared their expertise helping develop particular areas of our organisation, as well as attend our events and share their knowledge and resources. It was through NEON, that now we have office space and a small team of people working on one of our projects. It has really helped us develop and I am sure, we as an organisation, will keep getting stronger with the help of such wonderful people from NEON.

I've been involved with the New Economy Organisers Network since its inception, as a proponent of the concept, an advisor to the early steering group and as an active participant in many of its initiatives. I can say without reservation that it has exceeded my expectations. A recent personal example of the pivotal role NEON plays in supporting on the ground struggles is the Bridges Not Walls action held to mark Donald Trump's inauguration on 20th January. Putting the action together on such a tight timeframe necessarily meant relying on personal networks, we could see early on that we were mostly gaining traction amongst other white environmentalists - people we were known to and had worked with us before. But ultimately we were able to break out of that niche successfully - thanks almost exclusively to contacts made through NEON and the Campaign Lab. The spokesperson network then also put capacity behind briefing, training and preparing our key spokesperson, while Migrants Organise's CEO did a fantastic job as her understudy. Essentially the power and impact came through the diversity of its participants, which would have been impossible without NEON's deep structural support.

The media training NEON gave to End Deportations has been pivotal. We saw people develop into confident, powerful, spokespeople for the movement in just two afternoon sessions and we saw people with lived experience being able to share their testimony one of the world’s leading news portals. NEON's support in developing our key messaging, training our spokespeople and liaising with a range of outlets including Vice, the Guardian, Channel 4 and beyond has enabled us to start changing the debate on migration, re-framing the issues in powerful ways and giving us the confidence to communicate those messages clearly and confidently.

We are in the process of cementing community organising as a core area of our work at LAWRS, improving the channels through which we involve women with lived experiences in our policy and campaigning work. NEON has greatly helped us in this process of developing a model that works for us and for the women in our community. Through our one-to-one sessions, we have been able to develop a clear Theory of Change that takes into account not only the specific needs and aspirations of our beneficiaries, but also the operating environment of a charity providing highly demanded services. These sessions, combined with the training opportunities provided by the programme, have greatly increased our confidence and ability to maintain a space led by the women themselves.

You are put together in a room with an extremely diverse group of inspiring people, all doing amazing things - it's impossible not to come out believing a better world IS possible. The course itself is so clearly presented everything feels obvious from the beginning, yet you know it wasn't, that you have acquired something important, something that was lacking to your thinking and that you'll be able to apply - whether you work independently, for a grassroots group or an international NGO. You learn a common language that provides you with greater clarity of mind.