Democracy in the Midwest: The Midwest Catalytic Collaborative

Over the last 8 months, we’ve seen communities and organizers in the Midwest withstand federal assaults by ICE and Border Patrol in Chicago, Minneapolis, and other cities. We’ve also seen resilience in June amid attacks on veteran voter-registration organizations in Ohio. We fully expect Midwestern communities to continue to be targeted in the lead-up to the 2026 Midterm elections.

Midwest resilience is partly the result of smart funding. A collective strategy by the Midwest Catalytic Collaborative put $1 million of unrestricted funding on the ground in January for community organizing– all before the crises hit. The influx is allowing groups across the region to advance grassroots agendas and protect against threats to democracy.

Please download the two MCC-published reports below.

Organizing to Protect Neighbors

Midwest Ecosystems

ABOUT THE MIDWEST CATALYTIC COLLABORATIVE (MCC)

The Midwest Catalytic Collaborative (MCC) on this simple but transformative theory of change: Funding organizing ecosystems is the key to building durable, multiracial coalitions capable of driving progressive change. We believe in:

» Ecosystems Over Silos. No single organization can solve the Midwest’s challenges alone. By funding ecosystems of aligned organizations, we create networks that collaborate, share resources, and amplify each other’s impact.
» Strategic Freedom. Providing reliable, multi-year funding allows leaders to innovate, experiment, and pursue bold, long-term strategies.
» Collaboration Over Competition. Baseline ecosystem funding fosters trust and reduces competition, creating the conditions for shared victories.

Our goal is to create a lean, adaptive funding collaborative anchored by a network of local and state-based advisors who can offer the most strategic guidance for investing in Midwest organizing. Further, our shared giving vehicles and strategies will allow individual funders to maximize their giving and provide a mechanism for tracking ecosystem impact.

For more information or to get involved, contact: Jay Travis, Needmor Fund: jtravis@needmorfund.org