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What does it mean to be a member of The Metropolitan Organization?


Membership in the Metropolitan Organization (TMO) provides institutions the opportunity to be part of a broad-based, non-partisan organization of dues-paying member congregations and non-profits committed to building relational power for sustainable social and economic change in their community. This is done through institution-based leadership development, the building of relationships within and between institutions, the identification of and research on issues of mutual self-interest and disciplined, organized action. TMO is affiliated with the Industrial Areas Foundation (IAF), the nation’s oldest and largest organizing and leadership development network.

To be a member of TMO, an institution:

  1. Pays Dues- TMO supports itself with the dues of member institutions, guaranteeing maximum ownership, self-determination, and sustainability. TMO member institutions pay 1% of their operating budget in dues. If a congregation wants to join the organization, but cannot begin at 1%, they can begin at a lower level and work to 1% over a two year period.  There is a minimum dues pledge of $1500 and a maximum of $15,000 per year. Institutions with atypical budget structures can negotiate a membership dues structure that is different from the 1% standard. Dues are negotiated with potential member institutions and institutions make annual dues pledges to the organization.
  2. Develops an Organizing Team- The Organizing Team is made up of a group of key, diverse leaders who act to connect the organizing to the central mission of the institution, develop strategies to identify and develop leaders within the institution, and maintain ownership for the organizing through negotiating dues. The Organizing Team also represents the institutions' interests to the larger organization (TMO) and communicates and negotiates the initiatives of the larger organization back to their local constituents.
  3. Actively participates in TMO actions- This could include institutional representation on the TMO Executive committee, in regional strategy teams or issue action teams, as well as participation in trainings, conferences, or seminars at the local, regional, or national level.

TMO member organizations receive:

  1. Standing in a broader organization which takes institutional life seriously and seeks to both strengthen the life of the institution and to successfully bring it into action around its own interests, together with others in the broader power organization. 
  2. The talent and time of professional organizers to assist in: identification and development of new leaders, leadership training and institutional development; strategic planning; issue identification, research and effective action; as well as thoughtful evaluation and reflection.
  3. Access to high-quality training and development opportunities within the institutuion as well as at the local, regional, and national levels.
  4. Participation in seminars with practitioners and academic from diverse disciplines across the region, state, and country on topics such as: economics, theology, current issues in public debate, issues affecting the mission and meaning of religious and civic institutuions in a democracy, etc.
  5. Representation on TMO's decision-making bodies.

Developing the TMO Action Agenda

Each member institution negotiates about and engages in action around issues according to its own mission, identity, and interests. Leaders in each institution engage in relational meetings, house meetings, and trainings to identify issues of concern to their institution. Through their Organizing Team they communicate their interests to the broader organization and, either within their institution or togther with others who share their interests; they take part in research actions and engage in public action on those issues. Organizing Team leaders from each institution participate in TMO organizational meetings to communicate their issues to the larger body and develop the organization-wide action agenda.

 

  

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