Training for Social Action Trainers (TSAT)

This intensive workshop covers fundamentals of experiential education and dynamic facilitation, designed for all experience levels – from brand new activists seeking skills to seasoned organizers and trainers honing their craft. The TSAT is for those using training and group facilitation to build grassroots organizations, social justice movements, and political power in communities. Given high demand, we have limited spots for folks working in government agencies, higher education, or service-providing organizations.

People of color who attend the Training for Social Action Trainers are eligible to apply for the Judith C. Jones Fellowship for Trainers of Color.

Training and facilitation skills are vital to successful organizing and movement building. People with these skills support groups by developing new leaders, transferring knowledge between generations, increasing participation among members, educating and engaging constituents, supporting meetings and decision making, navigating conflict, and supporting successful, creative and disciplined actions. Yet, people who play the role of educator, trainer or facilitator rarely get an opportunity to hone their skills among other trainers. Few organizations commit the time to helping their leaders learn the craft of training. With this in mind, The Training for Social Action Trainers (TSAT) is designed to give people the opportunity to develop a stronger sense of the training tools, approaches and choices that will work for them to be most powerful and useful in their trainer role.

WORKSHOP FEE This workshop costs $200-$700 US, sliding scale based on income. The fee includes over 23 hours of training, meals during workshop hours, and simple lodging for people who request it. To determine your fee, use the chart below.

If your income is…	$15,000	$15,001 – $25,000	$25,001 – $35,000	$35,001 – $45,000	$45,001 – $55,000	over $55,000
You Pay…	$200	$270	$350	$425	$550	$650

If you are being sent by an organization with an annual budget over $200,000, the fee is $700 US.

As a participant, you will...

Gain greater awareness about yourself and your strengths as a facilitator
Learn new training tools that are easily adapted, principles of workshop design, skills for working with diversity, and a better understanding of how to use experiential education methods effectively
Get a chance to take risks, experiment, and refine skills in a supportive environment
Receive personal guidance from experienced trainers in a small group setting
Meet and learn from peer trainers and facilitators

Who should attend this workshop?

We prioritize applicants from organizations and groups actively building social justice movements and political power in their communities. We accept applications from diverse movement roles – volunteer activists, rank and file leaders, staff organizers, cultural workers, spiritual leaders, artists – and invite applications from both new facilitators and experienced trainers.

Generally, we have limited spots for folks doing social service providing, working for government agencies, based in higher education, or folks not affiliated with an organization, campaign, or coalition.

If you’re not sure if this workshop is right for you, feel free to be in touch before you submit an application.

Workshop Format

The workshop begins with dinner and registration at 6PM Day One and runs until 6PM Day Three. The workshop hours for each day are as follows:

Day One, start 6:00 PM, end between 9:00-10:00 PM, dinner provided
Day Two, (8:00 or 9:00 AM breakfast) start 9:00 or 10:00 AM, end between 9:00-10:00 PM, lunch and dinner provided
Day Three, (8:00 or 9:00 AM breakfast) start 9:00 or 10:00AM, end by 6:00 PM, lunch and afternoon snacks provided.

Though the hours of this workshop are long, we’ve found that our training style helps keep people engaged, alert and energized through the time. We also provide breaks within our agenda and encourage participants to take care of themselves so that they can stay fully present. Please contact us if you have questions or concerns about the long hours of this workshop.

The workshop is designed as an experiential package with each session building on the previous one. Therefore, we do not allow partial attendance. You must commit to taking the entire workshop, if you are accepted.

We do not share agendas beforehand. The central components of this workshop include: creating safety and cohesion to support learning; using experiential activities to elicit the wisdom of the group; working with diversity within groups; and using principles of design that support stronger workshops. The workshop is highly participatory, practice-based, rigorous, and fun. As participants stretch themselves to become better trainers, strong emotions can surface. We do our best to support participants to take care of themselves and get the most learning out of challenging moments.

Application and Acceptance Process

We aim to confirm participants at least a month before the training. We’re mindful that folks coming from out of town need time to book travel, and we’ll follow up as soon as possible about the acceptance process. Please don’t book travel or accommodations until we confirm registration. We’re committed to accepting a diverse group for each training and to supporting folks with less access to resources to attend. People of color, working class folks, and folks from less-resourced organizations are encouraged to apply. We also aim to accept people with specific groups, projects, or organizations back home to apply what they learn.

If you’d prefer to apply by phone instead of online, there is a phone number included in the application.

Judith C. Jones Fellowship for Trainers of Color

Graduates of Training for Social Action Trainers who identity as people of color are eligible to apply for our Judith C. Jones Fellowship for Trainers of Color. Learn more about the Fellowship, here.