The Urban League of Philadelphia (ULP) is a historic civil rights organization dedicated to empowering African Americans and other underserved communities through advocacy, economic development, and civic engagement. As economic disparities in Philadelphia persist—particularly among Black and Brown residents—ULP is seeking to launch a grassroots-driven civic engagement and policy advocacy campaign aimed at advancing economic justice across three priority areas: youth opportunity, reentry support, and equitable small business development. 

This project offers graduate students the opportunity to co-create an actionable civic engagement strategy rooted in local realities and driven by data, partnerships, and community voice. The resulting campaign framework will serve as a cornerstone of ULP’s policy and public engagement work in the 2025–2026 election cycle and beyond. 

 

1.     Conduct a local policy landscape analysis focused on barriers and opportunities in youth employment, reentry services, and small business support for Black Philadelphians. 

2.     Facilitate stakeholder engagement through interviews and listening sessions with youth leaders, returning citizens, entrepreneurs, and community-based organizations. 

3.     Analyze recent and upcoming legislation or city initiatives that impact equitable economic opportunity, including budget allocations and recovery investments. 

4.     Design a civic engagement and advocacy strategy tailored to mobilizing impacted communities, increasing voter education and turnout, and influencing local policy. 

5.     Develop a campaign toolkit for ULP to deploy during key public awareness moments, including issue briefs, social media messaging, community organizing strategies, and evaluation metrics. 

 Success will be defined by the production of a comprehensive, stakeholder-informed civic advocacy strategy and campaign toolkit. Recommendations should reflect an understanding of Philadelphia’s policy ecosystem, ULP’s mission and programs, and the lived experiences of target communities. Deliverables will be evaluated based on their feasibility, clarity, impact potential, and alignment with ULP’s long-term strategic priorities.