United Today, Stronger Tomorrow

United Today, Stronger Tomorrow (UTST), is a four-year-old organizing initiative founded by Movement Leader Paul Getsos with support from Community Change, a national racial and economic justice organization. Launched during Covid to test a set of organizing hypotheses in moments of opportunity and crisis, UTST first worked to ensure public health measures were deployed effectively and equitably in rural and mostly conservative communities. We then turned our focus on government accountability and transparency to significantly improve the likelihood that federal funding targeted community-identified priorities, good jobs, and to speed a just and equitable transition to a new clean energy future. We are now poised to graduate from a “start-up” project to a longer term strategic organizing hub that runs campaigns, builds capacity in the field, and tests new and innovative organizing strategies, tools, and tactics, in the Upper Mid- and Mountain West.

Using an accountable, transparent government and strengthening Democracy frame, UTST organizes around community-identified priorities, decision-making transparency, and government and corporate accountability, all of which have been key to our ability to bring a wide array of stakeholders and constituents across the political spectrum into our work.

Our tested approach has earned the trust and confidence of the funding community, raising more than $3 million in grants and contracts from more than 20 partners, including foundations, individual donors, labor unions, faith institutions, local partners, intermediary organizations, and state agencies. The return on their investments include: $562 million in federal funds for community priorities across four states; $146 million for climate, water, and clean energy projects; pay increases for more than 8,000 workers; $18 billion for emissions reduction programs in rural communities; and an on-going relationship with the Biden Administration to help inform the successful rollout and implementation of federal funds flowing into our regions. We’ve activated 25,000 mostly small town- and rural-residing people with our campaigns; trained 200 community leaders; and built and/or are building three statewide labor, climate, clean energy, and community group coalitions in UT, MT, and Western IA.