On Working Groups

Have an idea for a project, group or initiative and need help getting it off the ground? Or maybe you need some extra support for your existing work?

Apply to become a working group of OPIRG Kingston!

Working groups are groups/projects that are supported by OPIRG, while remaining autonomous and separate. This gives groups freedom to work in the way that is best for them, but also the support that it takes to carry out their initiative. 

About Working Groups

OPIRG Kingston has a working group system wherein we partner with specific community-based groups/projects whose work broadly aligns with our social and environmental justice mandate to offer various supports while maintaining autonomy and separation in operation, governance, and function. Many important Queen’s University and Kingston community groups such as Loving Spoonful, ReelOut Queer Film Festival, and Queen’s Backing Action on the Climate Crisis began as OPIRG Kingston working groups. However, many more of our working groups have been based around a campaign or a response to pressing issues in our communities such as Queen’s Against Killer Coke, Queen’s Black History Month, and the Free School. Our working groups have ranged from short-term campaigns and projects, to multi-year, multi-partner efforts.

Working groups are volunteer-run, and are generally focused on a specific issue pertaining to social and/or environmental justice. Working groups can receive support from OPIRG Kingston including, but not limited to: limited funding, access to off-campus meeting space, help with promotion, training and skill development, and assistance organizing.

Although OPIRG Kingston works closely with the Queen’s University community, we strive to blend student organizing with community activism to address broader issues of social and environmental change beyond the university campus. As a result, we encourage applications from working groups with a broad vision, especially those who come from marginalized communities.

Click the button below to learn more about our past and present working groups!

Learn More

 

Application PROCESS

OPIRG Kingston accepts applications for working groups on a rolling basis. Please email kingston.pirg@gmail.com with your answers to the questions listed below. Groups will be contacted by a member of the OPIRG Kingston Board of Directors for a meeting and a follow up discussion to finalize a working group proposal.

Working group proposals will then be considered by the Board at their next meeting and their decision communicated shortly after.

What OPIRG Kingston can do for working groups

  • Support from OPIRG Kingston, including assistance when available from staff, volunteers and our Board
  • Workshops, training, and skill development opportunities for activists
  • Provide off-campus space, pending availability, for events or meetings
  • A small amount of funding

What OPIRG Kingston Expects from working groups

  • To operate on a basis of reciprocity with OPIRG Kingston and our working groups
  • To engage with, support, and participate in, when possible, OPIRG programming and campaigns (such as, Alt-Frosh or our annual general meeting)
  • To operate within an anti-oppressive framework, or a willingness to integrate and grow an anti-oppressive framework into the work of your group
  • To work with a non-hierarchical and consensus-based decision making framework

APPLICATION QUESTIONS:

contact Details
  1. Name of proposed Working Group
  2. Proposed Working Group email address
  3. Name of contact person
  4. Contact phone number
  5. Contact email
About the Proposed Working Group
  1. Has this group been funded by OPIRG Kingston in the past? Y/N
  2. Is this group currently funded by other sources? Y/N  If yes, what are your fundraising sources?
  3. Is this group affiliated with other organizations and/or groups on Queen’s campus, in the greater Kingston community, nationally, or internationally? Y/N If yes, which one(s)?
  4. Please provide a description of your group.
  5. How many members does your group have, and what are their roles? If you are starting a new group, please indicate your visions for engaging volunteers.
OPIRG Kingston and Your Proposed Working Group
  1. Please outline some of the goals of your proposed Working Group and how it relates to OPIRG Kingston and our mandate.
  2. How do you visualize OPIRG supporting your Working Group?
  3. What workshops and/or training would your group be interested in attending, or helping OPIRG organize?
  4. Is your group affiliated with, or does your group explicitly support or endorse, any political party? If so, please explain.
  5. OPIRG Kingston supports work that seeks to challenge systems of oppression and build communities of resistance while operating in a non-hierarchical and consensus-based framework. We recognize that this work can be accomplished through a wide variety of ways. Does your group agree to operate in a non-hierarchical manner and within a consensus-based framework? Y/N