RIsing Alliance
We’re a political home for people and institutions who want to bet on Rhode Island's future and bolster democracy. We bring donors and doer’s together around a shared strategy where investments are coordinated over time and leveraged with other funders. In the long run, we seek to modernize our democratic system to expand who votes, who runs and who governs. Together, these investments aim to open the door to policies that serve a younger, more diverse and prosperous Rhode Island.
We join 36 other state focused giving circles working to build progressive political and civic homes for more Americans.
We aspire to invest in ways that have positioned states like Minnesota, New Mexico, Colorado and Washington to catalyze political inclusion and hope.
This video from the Movement Voter Project showcases one example of how long-term investment and collaboration ladders up to wins for every day, working class people.
Our first investment: Advancing model legislation to protect all Rhode Islanders
Rhode Island is one of the first states in the nation to allow people whose federal constitutional rights are violated to demand protection and sue for damages, which is not possible without this new law. RIsing Alliance’s early, flexible support gave LCRI-AF the capacity to organize, lobby, and build the coalition needed to get the bill passed.
~Kevin Love Hubbard, Executive Director, Lawyers’ Committee for RI
We supported the Lawyers’ Committee for Rhode Island Action Fund, which conducts legislative and grassroots advocacy aligned with the mission of the Lawyers’ Committee for Rhode Island. LCRI is a nonprofit law firm that uses the law to protect people, groups, and institutions in Rhode Island from illegality by the federal government. The Action Fund helps turns that legal expertise into state policy.
In 2026, with our support, LCRI-AF successfully advocated for a new state law to help Rhode Islanders protect their federal constitutional rights, and advanced legislation prohibiting the routine use of masks by law enforcement operating in the state.
Together, RIsing Alliance and LCRI-AF are building durable advocacy capacity so Rhode Island can respond quickly when existing law does not provide adequate protection.
Board
We’re a start up and volunteer-led effort committed to identifying others interested in building for the future. Reach out if you’d like to learn about getting involved.
Paula Hodges
Paula Hodges lives in the Elmhurst neighborhood of Providence. She’s a political strategist, entrepreneur, and organizer.
In her daily work she coaches and supports 36 other state donor alliances through the national network Committee on States. In 2018 she founded the NH Progress Alliance, New England’s first pooled fund donor alliance.
In Rhode Island, she helped flip the politics on abortion rights, served on the Economic Progress Institute Board and facilitated the Women’s Policy Institute at Women’s Fund RI.
She runs Anchor Strategies, a consultancy for nonprofit strategy, development and governance and is proud to call Rhode Island her chosen home.
Tara McGowan
Tara McGowan lives in Portsmouth. She is the founder and publisher of COURIER, a national news network reaching tens of millions of Americans with fact-based, pro-democracy journalism across twenty states.
Prior to founding COURIER, Tara led some of the largest digital advertising and marketing programs supporting democratic causes and candidates in U.S. politics, including at ACRONYM, Priorities USA, NextGen Climate, and as a digital strategist on President Obama’s 2012 re-election campaign. She studied journalism and political science at NYU and began her career reporting and producing long-form journalism for both 60 Minutes and PBS Frontline.
Zack Mezera
Zack Mezera is a graduate student at Harvard Divinity School, while also developing political tech tools to increase movement alignment and election success.
Zack is a veteran of various Rhode Island political and organizing projects including the Working Families Party, the Providence Student Union, and numerous electoral campaigns.
Zack lives in the Elmhurst neighborhood of Providence with his spouse, baby, and dog Scoop the Dog.