Who is the Latino Congress?

The Latino Congress is a nonpartisan broad-based network of grassroots organizations who come together to build collective power to ensure the fair treatment and equal opportunities of immigrants since 2002.

The Latino Congress is affiliated with the Industrial Areas Foundation (IAF), the nation's largest and longest-standing network of local faith and community-based organizations.  The IAF created the modern model of faith- and broad-based organizing and is widely recognized as having the strongest track record in the nation for citizen leadership development and for helping congregations and other civic organizations act on their missions to achieve lasting change in the world.

What does Latino Congress do?

The Latino Congress builds relations across the lines than often divide our community.  Fosters capacity in the Latino community through leadership development, and generates spaces for the immigrants to come together and participate in common agendas of change in a collective and disciplined action at a local, state and federal level.

Want to become a Member?

NCCLO welcomes and seeks new grassroots member congregations, community centers and other organizations that are ready to challenge their members in an effort to build new relationships, work and become leaders of NCCLO, and assume greater power and significance in the public arena of North Carolina. If your congregation or institution is interested in joining or learning more about the NC Congress of Latino Organizations, the staff would be happy to meet with you to present the process of participation. Call 919.403.7082 for more information.

The Congress of Latino Organizations works to develop Latino leaders throughout North Carolina, so they can be prepared to act on issues affecting them at a local, state, and federal level.

RELATIONS ACROSS LINES

Relational organizing is the foundation of all of our work. Relational organizing requires developing relationships of trust among a diverse array of institutions and their leaders.

This model of broad-based organizing has been developed by the Industrial Areas Foundation (IAF) over the last sixty years, and engages leaders in a cycle of organizing that incorporates:

• identifying and developing leaders within and across member institutions;
• building relationships among leaders of diverse backgrounds, both one-on-one (individual meetings), and in larger groups
• discerning the issues that motivate broad participation and can lead to successful action within each member organization
• engaging in strategic action around issues that have been identified, researched, and negotiated within and between member institutions
• reflecting and evaluating during every step of the cycle to ensure that leaders deepen their understanding of their experience, and continue to improve their organizing skills

LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT

The NCCLO is committed to the nurturing of local leadership, the strengthening of grassroots organizations and the active participation of organizations and their leaders creating solutions to their own problems. 

The staff and consultants of the Congress provide the leaders of member and allied organizations with access to training opportunities to increase their capacity to affect change in their communities.

ORGANIZING CAPACITY

The provision of capacity building takes place through:

1) regional and statewide academies where leaders obtain and practice organizational development and community organizing skills;

2) On site technical assistance tailored to the specific needs of the organization

COMMON AGENDA OF CHANGE

Research actions to understand issues and potential solutions.   We do power analysis so we identify targets, allies and resources.   The common agenda of change develops the action and formulates demands.

COLLECTIVE ACTION

To get recognition from people or institutions that hold power, and get a specific reaction to our action.   A collective action, develops leaders. 

CIVIC ENGAGEMENT

The Latino Congress was conceived over 16 years ago as part of the community organizing effort that generated the Latino Community Credit Union, a financial institution created in response to an intense wave of crime in Durham. The credit union first opened in Durham after large mobilizations in response to  violent crimes and home inations against unbanked Latinos. The blending of community organizing and financial services proved to be a strong way to build collective power. The unprecedented growth of the credit union in Durham (400 members a month), and the need for financial services across the state generated the vision for expansion. The Latino Congress was then envisioned as the statewide field of membership of the credit union. After its initial organizing drive the Latino Congress became an independent organization. NCCLO functions today as an independent non-partisan organization.      

Over the past 12 years, The Latino Congress has demonstrated an ability to effectively organize Latinos across the state through deep relationships of trust with key leaders and institutions, as well as our longevity in this work. NCCLO is currently positioned as a strong grassroots statewide organized network focused on leadership development, civic engagement and direct public action. We support Latino leaders in learning about the political and economic reality of the state, and in acting together for change it. In this model, our grassroots networks function as hubs for leaders to multiply the impact of our civic engagement strategy. Together we have organized several public discipline actions with decision makers averaging turnout of 500-1,500 delegates of the Congress of Latino Organizations.  

In 2016, Latino Congress implemented an ambitious civic engagement strategy including the registration of new Latino voters, voter education contacts in person, by mail, and by phone, and GOTV. We held trainings across nine counties. The Latino Congress sponsored a 1,200 person statewide, nonpartisan gathering with candidates for governor and attorney general. In 2017, leaders of the Congress held public negotiations with the newly elected governor, the attorney general, the secretary of health and human services as well as with several police chiefs ad sheriffs across the state.

The North Carolina Congress of Latino Organizations (NCCLO) is a nonpartisan broad-based network of grassroots organizations who came together since 2002, to build collective power to ensure the fair treatment and equal opportunities of immigrants.

During the last 16 years, NCCLO has organized eight collective public actions with average participation at each of 1,000+ leaders from across the state. The actions are public negotiations with decision makers at different levels which have focused on farmworker rights, immigration reform, access to health care and education, among others.

NCCLO has trained over 1,000 leaders in community organizing in North Carolina.

NCCLO/IAF COMMUNITY ORGANIZING MODEL

The Latino Congress builds relations across the lines than often divides our community.  Fosters capacity in the Latino community through leadership development, and generates spaces for the immigrants to come together and participate in common agendas of change in a collective and disciplined action at a local, state and federal level.

Call to action! Join us in building power to demand for:

• Stop the practice of the Sheriff and/or Police, of honoring ICE detainers requests
• Stop checkpoints that leads to deportations
• Driving License for safer
• Affordable Housing
• Bilingual staff at health and education public services
• Universal pre-k
• School Safety

Industrial Areas Foundation (IAF)

The Latino Congress is affiliated with the Industrial Areas Foundation (IAF), the nation's largest and longest-standing network of local faith and community-based organizations. The IAF created the modern model of faith- and broad-based organizing and is widely recognized as having the strongest track record in the nation for citizen leadership development and for helping congregations and other civic organizations act on their missions to achieve lasting change in the world.