"Catholic congregations and leaders ...were central in the push for payday lending reform in nearby Arlington. Father Daniel Kelley of St. Joseph Catholic Church was particularly influential. In addition, the Texas Catholic Conference, the public policy voice of Texas' Catholic bishops, worked directly on payday lending reform at the state and local level, and also participated in Dallas Area Interfaith and Faith Leaders for Fair Lending.

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Fierce winter rains were not enough to stop over 300 leaders of Marin Organizing Committe from convening to discuss the dual threats many immigrants face: deportation and loss of housing.

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Omaha Together One Community (OTOC) leaders and Nebraska allies convened at the Capitol to call on their congressional representatives to replace the Affordable Care Act before repealing it. Said Mary Spurgeon, "to repeal the ACA without an as-good-as-or-better plan immediately replacing it would be an immoral act against both individual well-being and the common good of this nation."

Referencing Catholic Social Teaching, the Methodist Book of Discipline and Lutheran social statements, Spurgeon announced that OTOC "does not care who is named after," it just needs to be in place before withdrawing currently available healthcare options.

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When Archbishop Emeritus Patrick Flores died, stories about his life and legacy as the first Mexican-American Catholic bishop quickly surfaced.

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Following almost nine weeks of pressure from Spokane Alliance members and allies, the Spokane Public Schools (SPS) school board unanimously voted to make a public statement on recent school bullying that included four key points leaders advocated for: reaffirmation of the district's commitment to respect all students; commitment to swift enforcement of harassment, intimidation and bullying; contact information for those needing to report incidents; and the context of the divisive year in politics.

Leaders testifying at the school board meeting were supported by dozens of parents and community leaders inspiring one leader to say, "It makes me want to cry to see so many people standing up together for children - as I've stood alone with parents so often with no resolution."

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When new dormitory construction stalled for four years, 25 abandoned homes on campus at Jackson State University became host to activity negatively impacting neighbors, including St. Mark's Episcopal Church next door. Leaders began talking to congregants and neighbors and together, with other institutions of Working Together Jackson, are now demanding that in the absence of moving forward with the development, that at minimum the university foundation should pay for the demolition of the abandoned housing and replace it with green space.

Said Rev. Luther Ott of St. Marks, " "Those of us who live and work in inner cities know abandoned houses are not abandoned....It's only a matter of time until we're going to a funeral."

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As the City of San Antonio's first ever housing bond moved forward, COPS / Metro Alliance leaders pressed for accountability, arguing that the current structure of the bond excludes the concerns of long-time residents of San Antonio. Leaders are fighting so that some funding can be directed to the rehabilitation of aging homes, multi-family housing that includes a mix of market, workforce and affordable rental rates, as well as guidelines to address questions of what kinds of developers and developments get funded. Leaders challenged the mayor and city council to gather stakeholders to address these issues before the proposal goes to the voters.

Within hours, in response, the City Council voted to create an oversight committee to track development of the housing bond.

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Before a packed audience of 200 health care leaders and Dr. Mitch Katz, Director of the LA County Department of Health, One LA celebrated the milestone enrollment of 146,000 Los Angeles residents into My Health LA, 8,000 of whom were enrolled by One LA leaders themselves at their institutions. My Health LA is a program One LA leaders compelled the County to create to cover undocumented residents and leaders ultimately secured an additional $6 million in funding and negotiated an agreement from LA County to conduct healthcare enrollment at One LA member institutions. 350 trained leaders held over 100 events to enroll the 8,000 residents.

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When Pope Francis announced the new bishop of the Catholic Diocese of Dallas, Bishop Edward Burns, DAI expressed eagerness to work with him. Said lead organizer Josephine Lopez-Paul, "His attention and care to the immigrant community will be very critical. Farrell focused on building bridges between communities, and we need that to continue."

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On a bitterly cold December evening in Denver, over 100 leaders from 19 diverse institutions gathered at Cleaves Memorial CME Church to pledge their time, money and talent to a new IAF presence in Colorado. Leaders from synagogues, labor unions, neighborhood associations and mainline denominations came together to share stories and build momentum for 2017. Institutions committed to investing nearly $60,000 for the new year and to sending 65 leaders to an upcoming leadership training at Regis University.