The Advocacy Academy Project
An Incubator for Change
Research and experience has shown that community and faith-based organizations are the most trusted and respected institutions of long standing in the community. Individual community activists are afforded an equal level of trust. Because of their passion for service, these institutions and individuals demonstrate the greatest potential for impact on issues and services affecting local communities.
The mission of the Advocacy Academy Project is to ensure that the voices of good cause advocates have an impact on issues, policies, and community-based services. Training is tailored to fit the needs of the participants no matter their location. Lurie Daniel Favors, Executive Director of the Center for Law and Social Justice at Medgar Evers College and host for Sirius XM Lurie Daniel Favors Show says, “This course empowers those who are closest to the problem to be the change you want to see”.
The Vision
Celeste Morris, President of MorrisAllsop Public Affairs and founder of the Academy, had worked in community, government, and political arenas for over 4 decades. Morris says “When I worked at the NYS capital as the chief of staff for a state senator, lobbyists for wealthy corporations and financial institutions, representatives from labor unions, government relations specialists from large non-profits visited us frequently to gain support and funding for their issues. Only infrequently were we visited by representatives of community and faith-based groups. Those visits concerned only a limited number of issues presented in awkward ways. Sometimes the issues should have been addressed at a different legislative level. Our elected and government leaders and interested community members need to hear louder more consistent voices from organization leaders, staff, and service recipients. They need to see and hear directly from the individuals doing the work or experiencing the issue. In this way, attention can focus on the myriads of real unmet needs.
The Advocacy Academy Project (the Academy or AAP) was born out of what she saw as an extreme need to equip grassroots and community-based leaders to directly address and take action on the concerns and challenges faced in the everyday lives of community individuals.
Bridging the Gap: The Implementation
Alumni have implemented dozens of projects at locations across the country. They include: support for the families of children suffering from cancer, advocacy and legislation to benefit the natural hair care industry, funding an African burial ground, parent/child education project, voter registration and engagement, fighting the criminalization of the acts committed by mentally disturbed individuals while advocating for treatment, health care insurance for nursing students, home-ownership preservation, funding for a boiler in a shelter for homeless women, farming as a next step for recently released offenders, community coalition building, implementation of community-based alternatives to family court matters, and removal of the Confederate Memorial Day from a county's holiday schedule.
Training for Action
AAP classes have been hosted and funded by the Center for Law and Social Justice at Medgar Evers College, FPWA, Murphy Institute at CUNY, and the NYC Department of Health. Hundreds of community and faith leaders have graduated from the Academy and have used the knowledge and skills gained to make their voices heard to create change in parts of the United States from Hawaii to Florida, Michigan to Buffalo, and back to Brooklyn, NYC where the project began.
They gain skills in research, communication, government organization, government relations, marketing, public speaking, starting a non-profit organization, and more.
Join Us
The Advocacy Academy Project is more than a training program; it's a movement for change. Needed now more than ever. Join us in amplifying voices, empowering leaders, and transforming communities.
For Students: To join our mailing list and receive information about upcoming cohorts and events send an email to info@clsj.org.
For sponsoring organizations: Let’s explore how we can partner with your organization to fund the program and expand the movement to create change.
Together, we can make a lasting impact.