The Arena Power Building Retreat
Learning from the Cycle and Laying the Foundation for Victory
A Space to Reflect and Rebuild
Join us for the Arena Power Building Retreat: Learning from the Cycle and Laying the Foundation for Victory, a three day virtual gathering taking place Friday, April 25 through Sunday, April 27.
We’re bringing together a group of sharp, creative strategists from across the Arena community to reflect on the 2024 election cycle, unpack what worked (and what didn’t), and begin building a shared vision for what comes next. Through deep-dive conversations, campaign case studies, and cross-organizational collaboration, we’ll develop actionable strategies to carry into the fights ahead.
This retreat is for experienced campaign and movement staff ready to ask big questions and get into the details—especially if you’re eager to understand how staff skills shaped campaign outcomes, reimagine how we run campaigns, and problem-solve around common implementation blockers. After the retreat, Team Arena will synthesize takeaways into a set of recommendations for campaigns and advocacy organizations to take forward.
Applications are now closed
What to expect
At the Arena Power Building Retreat, you’ll have the opportunity to work with a group of like-minded political professionals to reflect on last cycle and brainstorm responsive programs for the challenges ahead. The event takes place over three days, with approximately three hours of programming on the first day, and approximately seven hours of programming on the second and third days.
Here is a quick overview of how we’ll spend our time together. If accepted, you’ll receive a detailed agenda.
- Friday Evening: Welcome, introductions, and norm-setting.
- Saturday: A plenary session followed by breakout conversations to identify lessons learned and gaps from the last cycle.
- Sunday: A plenary session, followed by collaborative problem-solving sessions centered around issues we identified on Saturday. We’ll develop concrete recommendations and then end with time to share ideas and next steps.
FAQ
The Arena Power Building Retreat will be held online via Zoom from April 25 – 27.
If you were a campaign staffer, movement organizer, or worked at an advocacy organization during the 2024 cycle (or all of the above), you should apply! This will be a highly collaborative gathering, with deep discussion, brainstorming, and strategy-building. If you’re willing to engage in robust and meaningful conversation in both large and small groups, this is for you.
There is no mandatory registration fee, but we encourage all participants to make a sliding-scale contribution to Arena at registration. This money will help Arena offset the costs of this retreat and subsidize future Arena Academy scholarships.
The event takes place over three days, with approximately three hours of programming on the first day, and approximately seven hours of programming on the second and third days.
Day two and three will have at least two short breaks, a lunch break, and optional social events in the evenings. However, the Arena Power Build Retreat will take up most of the day, and you should expect to take off work and free your weekend days during this event.
Team Arena will synthesize takeaways into a set of recommendations for campaigns and advocacy organizations to take forward.
We did something similar after the 2020 Election Cycle, when we conducted research on what campaigns can do to be more inclusive, equitable, and welcoming to BIPOC. You can review that work here and here.
This retreat is intended for people who have worked at least three months on a campaign or at a movement or advocacy organization during the 2024 election cycle. If you do not meet this criteria, please stay tuned for our next Arena Academy, where we accept applicants from all backgrounds and experience levels. You can sign up to receive updates here: https://arena.run/academy
Yes! It is important to us that we have a diverse range of voices and perspectives in the room. In the application, we’ll ask you if there is anyone you’d like to refer to attend the retreat.
This will be a highly collaborative gathering, with deep discussion, brainstorming, and strategy-building sessions that build on themselves. Because we hope to have meaningful conversations and actionable plans, we ask that you attend the full retreat.
We encourage you to wear Zoom-appropriate casual attire that you will be comfortable sitting in most of the day.
We are committed to supporting all participants in their learning experience. If you need a disability accommodation or support of any kind, please email training@arena.run.