Faith in Action

Faith in Action is a national network of progressive faith-based community organizations in the United States. The organization was founded in Oakland, California, in 1972 by Jesuit priest John Baumann as the Pacific Institute for Community Organization, commonly known as PICO. Its early work focused on neighborhood-based organizing, recruiting residents and families to address local social and economic problems. During the 1970s, however, economic disruption and changing neighborhood structures made the original neighborhood-centered model harder to sustain. After a 1984 staff retreat, the organization adopted a congregation-based organizing model. This approach built local power through churches and other faith communities, drawing on the organizing traditions of Black churches, Protestant social-gospel movements, socially engaged evangelical communities, and Catholic institutions. The change also made it easier for the network to expand outside California while maintaining local affiliate autonomy. PICO gradually broadened its national role. In 2004, the acronym was described as People Improving Communities through Organizing. In 2005, the organization became the PICO National Network, a name intended to emphasize its affiliated organizations, national strategy, training, and consulting functions. In May 2018, it officially adopted the name Faith in Action. Faith in Action advocates policies including full civic participation for undocumented immigrants and universal health care. Its organizing and public-policy work has also addressed education infrastructure, immigration reform, foreclosure prevention, post-Hurricane Katrina rebuilding, and the wider effects of economic inequality, racism, and discrimination. One notable California effort helped lead a $190 million public bond initiative for school infrastructure. Its New Voices Campaign, launched in 2004, sought to give low-income communities a stronger voice in national debates on immigration, health care, education, and Gulf Coast recovery. The organization operates as a network rather than a conventional consumer brand. Its principal offerings are organizing support, leadership development, training, consultation, coalition building, and national advocacy. The network is headquartered in Oakland and has additional offices in San Diego and Washington, D.C. Its stated vision is a society without economic oppression, racism, or discrimination, where people live in safe and healthy environments, are respected and included, and can influence decisions affecting their lives. Faith in Action has received support from philanthropic institutions including the Ford Foundation and Open Society Foundations. It was listed among the Democracy Alliance's recommended funding targets in 2015. MacKenzie Scott has also been identified as a major donor. No reliable financial totals, revenue figures, or current executive information are supplied in the reference material.

Faith in Action began in 1972 in Oakland, California, as the Pacific Institute for Community Organization, or PICO. It was founded by Fr. John Baumann, SJ, who had encountered Saul Alinsky's organizing ideas while working with community-organizing projects in Chicago during the late 1960s. The original organization worked with five neighborhood-based groups and recruited residents and families to address local concerns. The social and economic conditions of the 1970s weakened the viability of a purely neighborhood-based model. Communities were experiencing economic upheaval and social fragmentation, making it more difficult to build durable organizations around geographic boundaries alone. Following a staff retreat in 1984, PICO shifted toward congregation-based organizing. The revised model treated congregations as durable institutions through which residents could develop leadership, identify shared concerns, and pursue changes in public policy and community life. The organization's faith-based identity developed partly from its Northern California setting, where it could draw on several religious traditions. These included the social Christianity of historically Black churches, Protestant Social Gospel and Christian-realist traditions, socially engaged evangelical communities, and Catholic intellectual, working-class, and Hispanic cultural networks. This combination gave the organization a religiously grounded but politically broad framework for community organizing. As the network expanded beyond the West Coast, PICO increasingly provided national strategy, training, and consultation while allowing affiliated organizations to retain substantial local autonomy. In 2004, the acronym was explained as People Improving Communities through Organizing. In 2005, the organization adopted the name PICO National Network to underscore the role of its affiliates and its national-support function. The network's activities have included local organizing, public advocacy, leadership development, and issue campaigns. In California, the PICO California Project helped lead a $190 million public bond initiative for public-school infrastructure. The New Voices Campaign, launched in 2004, sought to increase the influence of low-income communities in national discussions involving immigration reform, health care, education, and rebuilding after Hurricane Katrina. In 2008, PICO planned a national advocacy effort directed at Congress, the Treasury Department, and the FDIC concerning homeowners threatened by foreclosure. Faith in Action's policy orientation includes support for full citizenship for undocumented immigrants and universal health care. Its broader stated vision is a society free from economic oppression, racism, and discrimination, in which people live in safe and healthy environments, are respected and included, and have agency over decisions that shape their lives. In May 2018, PICO National Network formally changed its name to Faith in Action. The new name made the organization's religious foundation more explicit while retaining its focus on community power and social change. The organization is headquartered in Oakland, with additional offices in San Diego and Washington, D.C. Its funding history includes support from the Ford Foundation and Open Society Foundations; it was also listed as a Democracy Alliance recommended funding target in 2015. MacKenzie Scott has been identified as a major donor. The available reference material does not establish a current chief executive, board leadership roster, annual budget, or detailed affiliate list.

• 2018

  Rebranded as Faith in Action

  [1]Faith in Actionen.wikipedia.org

  PICO National Network officially changed its name to Faith in Action in May 2018.

• 2005

  PICO National Network name adopted

  [1]Faith in Actionen.wikipedia.org

  The organization renamed itself PICO National Network to emphasize its affiliates and its national strategy, training, and consultation role.

• 2004

  PICO acronym broadened

  [1]Faith in Actionen.wikipedia.org

  The organization characterized PICO as standing for People Improving Communities through Organizing as its network expanded nationally.

• 1984

  Shift to congregation-based organizing

  [1]Faith in Actionen.wikipedia.org

  Following a staff retreat, PICO moved from a primarily neighborhood-based model toward organizing through congregations and faith communities.

• 1972

  Pacific Institute for Community Organization is founded

  [1]Faith in Actionen.wikipedia.org

  Fr. John Baumann, SJ, founded the organization in Oakland, California, as the Pacific Institute for Community Organization, commonly abbreviated PICO.

A progressive, faith-rooted community-organizing network that converts the relationships and moral authority of congregations into local and national civic action.

• Professional and nonprofit services

  Community-organizing network support

  Faith in Action supports affiliated faith-based community organizations with national strategy, organizing resources, consultation, and coordination. The network model is designed to preserve local autonomy while helping affiliates connect local campaigns to broader national priorities.

• Training and capacity building

  Leadership and organizing training

  Training is a central part of the network's role. Faith in Action develops leaders among congregants, residents, and community partners, helping them identify shared issues, build coalitions, and engage public institutions through organized civic action.

• Advocacy

  National advocacy campaigns

  The organization coordinates or supports campaigns involving immigration, health care, education, housing stability, racial justice, and economic inequality. Its approach emphasizes participation by low-income communities and people directly affected by public policy.

• 2008Foreclosure prevention advocacy

  United States

  PICO planned a Washington, D.C., advocacy meeting with affiliates focused on urging Congress, the Treasury Department, and the FDIC to help people retain homes threatened by foreclosure.

  Source
• 2004New Voices Campaign

  United States

  The campaign sought to increase the influence of low-income communities in national debates concerning immigration reform, health care, education, and rebuilding the Gulf Coast after Hurricane Katrina.

  Source
• PICO California school infrastructure bond initiative

  California, United States

  The PICO California Project helped lead a $190 million public bond initiative intended to fund public-school infrastructure.

  Source

• 2018

  Rebranded as Faith in ActionStrategy

  Background

  The organization sought a public identity that more directly expressed its faith-based organizing approach.

  Action taken

  PICO National Network officially changed its name to Faith in Action in May 2018.

  Aftermath

  The organization continued operating as a national network of progressive faith-based community organizations under the Faith in Action name.

  Source

• 2005

  Renamed PICO National NetworkStrategy

  Background

  PICO had expanded beyond its original regional base and was increasingly functioning as a national network supporting autonomous affiliates.

  Action taken

  The organization adopted the name PICO National Network to highlight its national strategy, training, consultation, and affiliate-support functions.

  Aftermath

  The name remained in use until the organization adopted Faith in Action in 2018.

  Source

• 1984

  Adopted a congregation-based organizing strategyStrategy

  Background

  The organization concluded that social and economic changes had made its earlier neighborhood-based organizing model less viable.

  Action taken

  PICO shifted toward organizing through congregations and faith communities, using them as durable institutions for leadership development and collective action.

  Aftermath

  The change supported the organization's faith-based identity and helped it expand beyond the West Coast.

  Source

1. 1Faith in Actionen.wikipedia.org
2. 2Faith in Action official websitepiconetwork.org