Strong SacTown — a Local Conversation in Sacramento, California — was a small, struggling group when it began in February 2023. Leadership responsibilities fell on just a few shoulders. Attendance at meetings was inconsistent. People would show up once and never return.
Fast forward to today: Strong SacTown has a six-person leadership team. Its monthly meetings regularly have 15-60 attendees, and its regular social events draw dozens of attendees as well. At least one member of the group is present at most city workshops, council meetings, or advocacy opportunities. Often, there’s more than one member in attendance. Through continuous outreach, education, and growth, Strong SacTown is gradually changing the culture in Sacramento.
How did the group turn things around? According to Alyssa Lee, one of the leaders of Strong SacTown, it all comes down to relationships. “You can’t build people up without building a relationship with them,” she says.
Alyssa has a decade of experience in coaching young leaders and organizing campaigns. That experience has shown her that people stay involved in a group when they feel they are learning, making a difference, and being part of a meaningful community.
It also taught her that a leader’s job isn’t to have everything figured out. Rather, it’s to identify group members’ existing abilities and then empower them to act on those abilities in a way that helps the group and the community as a whole.
With these insights, she developed a simple but powerful approach to activating community members: Get to know each person, understand what motivates them, and then make the right asks — requests that match their skills and interests.
This approach turned Strong SacTown from a struggling group to a powerhouse for local change. Learn how to do the same in a virtual workshop with Alyssa at noon on October 30.
