How Reclaim Works
Members
Reclaim is member-led and member-funded. We have a pay what you can afford dues structure, nobody is turned away for money, and no outside donor gets a say in who we back or what we're allowed to say about them.
Members vote on endorsements. Members elect every leader in this organization and can run for any of those seats. Members decide which fights we take.
Working Groups
Working Groups promote member engagement in support of administrative, research, infrastructure, mobilization, or other operations of Reclaim Philadelphia. They are driven by volunteers and report to the Citywide Committee.
Neighborhood Chapters
A chapter picks the fights that matter on its own blocks, canvasses its own divisions, and elects representatives to the Citywide Committee. This is the unit Reclaim is actually built out of, which is deliberate. The people deciding what a neighborhood focuses on should be the people who live in it.
Chapters meet regularly and meetings are open to anybody, member or not.
Citywide Committee
The Citywide Committee steers the organization. It's made up of representatives elected by each neighborhood chapter, eligible caucuses, and at-large representatives elected by the full membership.
Elections run every summer. Any member can nominate themselves or a neighbor.
Caucuses
Caucuses are interest-based groups that often focus on organizing around policy advocacy. Each one exists because members wanted to organize on it and did the work to start it. Caucuses set their own campaigns, build their own coalitions, and bring their work to the membership.
New caucuses can form when enough members want one.
Staff
Staff carry out what members decide, support chapters and caucuses, and keep the organization functioning between meetings.
The size of the staff is decided by the citywide committee and can grow or shrink based on active campaigns and financial realities.
Annual Convention
Once a year the whole membership gathers to set direction, vote on the things that shape the organization, and elect leadership.
It's the highest decision-making body in Reclaim, and every dues-paying member has a vote in it.
Endorsements
When Reclaim endorses a candidate or ballot initiative, not only do they make our popular election ballot guide that over 150,000 Philadelphians viewed last election cycle, but they receive the full weight of our support including our people power. An official endorsement requires a majority vote from the members.