Institute for Policy Studies (IPS)
IPS is a progressive think tank dedicated to building a more equitable, ecologically sustainable, and peaceful society. In partnership with dynamic social movements, we turn transformative policy ideas into action.
At IPS, our work is centered in our vision: we believe everyone has a right to thrive on a planet where all communities are equitable, democratic, peaceful, and sustainable. Our intersecting programs and initiatives, led by a diverse group of expert staff and associate fellows, are helping to shape progressive movements toward this vision.
Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC)
The SPLC is dedicated to fighting hate and bigotry and to seeking justice for the most vulnerable members of our society. Using litigation, education, and other forms of advocacy, the SPLC works toward the day when the ideals of equal justice and equal opportunity will be a reality.
Civil rights lawyers Morris Dees and Joseph Levin Jr. founded the SPLC in 1971 to ensure that the promise of the civil rights movement became a reality for all. Since then, we’ve won numerous landmark legal victories on behalf of the exploited, the powerless and the forgotten.
Our lawsuits have toppled institutional racism and stamped out remnants of Jim Crow segregation; destroyed some of the nation’s most violent white supremacist groups; and protected the civil rights of children, women, the disabled, immigrants and migrant workers, the LGBT community, prisoners, and many others who faced discrimination, abuse or exploitation.
Our Intelligence Project is internationally known for tracking and exposing the activities of hate groups and other domestic extremists.
Our Teaching Tolerance program produces and distributes – free of charge – anti-bias documentary films, books, lesson plans and other materials that reduce prejudice and promote educational equity in our nation’s schools.
We also built and maintain the Civil Rights Memorial and its interpretive center, the Civil Rights Memorial Center, in Montgomery, Alabama, the birthplace of the modern civil rights movement.
We’re based in Montgomery and have offices in Atlanta, Miami, New Orleans, and Jackson, Miss.
Girls Group
Mission
Girls Group empowers young women in middle school and high school to achieve emotional and economic self-sufficiency by graduating from high school and becoming first-generation college graduates. Girls Group provides year round programming and mentoring to develop character, leadership, self-confidence, and social consciousness, including the desire and ability to mentor others.
Values
Girls Group mentors and participants create a positive, affirming atmosphere where young women work towards their goals of achievement and economic independence. Girls Group helps young women to find their voice, define their goals and dreams, and establish support networks to move forward in the world with pride and self-confidence. Girls Group provides daily support to the young women as they finish high school, avoid drug and alcohol abuse, delay pregnancy, and build safe and healthy relationships.
Girls Group Participants
Girls Group serves 140 middle school and 150 high school students. Girls Group also serves 110 high school graduates, who are first-generation college students and/or are on their journey to economic and emotional self-sufficiency. Girls Group participants are committed to graduating from high school, not fighting in school, delaying pregnancy, and abstaining from drugs and alcohol. Girls Group participants plan for college by attending college tours, working on applications and essays with Girls Group mentors, and improving their academic performance.
SOS Community Services
SOS promotes housing stability and family self-sufficiency through collaboration, care and respect.
SOS Community Services is a community-based nonprofit. We are dedicated to preventing and ending family homelessness in Washtenaw County through partnerships with caring individuals, local businesses and organizations, social service agencies and professionals.
We provide integrated services to homeless families, children and youth. And we directly serve 7,000 people annually, including families, individuals, and children, with comprehensive services that move them from homelessness to self-sufficiency and permanent, stable housing.