On September 25th, ONE Wake held a strategic retreat at Baptist Grove to chart the organization's path forward in its campaign for affordable housing in Wake County. The day-long gathering brought together over 50 leaders from member institutions to reflect on the organization's 2024 accomplishments—including securing $5.8 million in continued funding for the Cary Housing Fund, winning $70 million in commitments from Raleigh City Council candidates, and mobilizing over 1,000 leaders at a non-partisan assembly—and to strategize about building the power necessary to achieve concrete wins on land acquisition and financial resources for affordable housing.

The retreat centered on understanding and wielding power effectively, opening with Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s teaching that "power at its best is love implementing the demands of justice." Pastors and leaders reflected on how this spiritual grounding connects to organizing work, analyzing the organization's recent actions and the varied responses from elected officials. The group examined voting results from their July 12th action, where the Raleigh City Council voted 5-3 in favor of a $200 million affordable housing bond (with Mayor Cowell, Branch, and Silver voting no) and 2-3 against dedicating 100 acres of the Randleigh Tract for affordable housing; conversely, they voted unanimously to supporting meeting with ONE Wake regularly; leveraging relationships with corporations to meet with ONE Wake; and working with ONE Wake to maximize affordable housing on the DVM site.

Participants spent the afternoon in strategic planning sessions, breaking into teams focused on different aspects of the campaign: researching funding sources (including corporate and bond referendum), land acquisition strategies (such as the 100-acre request and DMV properties), municipality research, and base-building. After receiving training on power analysis and how to pass an affordable housing bond referendum, teams developed concrete next steps and timelines for advancing the campaign, committing to move ONE Wake from recognition by elected officials to securing deals and making them stick.

Throughout the day, the retreat featured presentations from key ONE Wake leaders. Rev. Donna Coltrane-Battle and Rev. Chalice Overy grounded the work in faith teachings, while Father Jemonde Taylor provided an overview of ONE Wake's structure and history of victories. Rev. Wesley Spears-Newsome shared insights from the Cary power analysis. Rev. Mycal Brickhouse made the case for building greater organizational power, and Rev. Battle outlined the proposed organizing strategy. Ivan Parra, Senior Lead Organizer for North Carolina IAF/United Power for Action, led training on bond referendum campaigns, and Dr. Rose Cornelius closed the retreat with a call for commitments and immediate next steps. For any follow-up or questions, contact Stephon Whitley, [email protected].

ONE Wake Organizational Chart: