Headwaters FAQ

What is Headwaters?

Like the headwaters of a river system, Convergence Headwaters members are the source of everything we do. Formations organizing and mobilizing mass bases of people, from independent political organizations to tenant unions, feed our readership as well as our team of volunteer editors and contributors, and always have.

Convergence Headwaters members are movement and civil society organizations who value the work we do to publish strategic and tactical insights for today’s political terrain. By becoming a member, your organization gains exclusive benefits while helping keep Convergence Magazine independent, movement-accountable, and sustainable.

The work of Convergence has always been to bring diverse streams of movement work, across issue areas, geography, and organizing models, into conversation so we can sharpen our collective analysis and practice. Headwaters is a way that we’re creating a more intentional mutual relationship between the organizations that are building a real movement for multi-racial democracy and the online hub for building practical and analytical skills for grassroots power.

What does my organization get?

There are three tiers of membership in Headwaters.

All members get a base set of benefits, in addition to knowing you’re contributing to vital movement infrastructure!

• Members-only events, like special training opportunities with our contributors. Examples of past trainings include Donor Organizing 101 with Haley Bash and Surround Sound Communications with Ritti Singh.

• Monthly office hours with Managing Editor Akin Olla and Publisher Cayden Mak. Come soft-pitch article ideas and put our heads together on understanding the conjuncture and sharpening our shared strategies.

• Quarterly Headwaters newsletter for members only.

• Quarterly episode sponsorship on Block & Build. These sponsorships are done in the style of NPR episode underwriting, where the host reads your message. We recommend using this to share new projects, reports, and campaigns with a community of likeminded organizers!

Headwaters Builder Benefits

In addition to the base benefits, the next tier up receives:

• Quarterly footer advertising feature in the Convergence newsletter.
• Pilots of political education programming for member organizations.

Headwaters Champion Benefits

In addition to base and Builder benefits, the next tier up also receives:

• Virtual editorial team drop ins to staff or membership meetings to discuss the current political conditions or things we’re learning.

Does being a Headwaters member increase my chances of getting a pitch accepted?

Nope. We apply the same standards and guidelines for pitches from writers regardless of their organizational affiliation. You can read about our standards and guidelines here.

What does it cost?

We want to keep Headwaters affordable for organizations while sustaining our publishing. The current sliding scale schedule is below:

Budget Size	Base Membership	Builder Membership	Champion Membership
Under $750k	$100/mo	$150/mo	$200/mo
$750k-$1.5m	$150/mo	$250/mo	$350/mo
$1.5m-$2m	$200/mo	$350/mo	$500/mo
$2m+	$250/mo	$450/mo	$750/mo

What if my organization can’t afford these rates?

If your organization is interested in membership but wants to negotiate pricing, drop us a line and let us know what would be feasible for your team! We want to make membership accessible for all types and sizes of organizations, and our interest in starting this program is to help resource our independent media work while bringing organizations in alignment closer to one another.

How do we pay our membership?

You can opt to pay by credit or debit card monthly, or we can generate a quarterly or annual invoice; you can make this selection when you complete the interest form. Membership starts on the day your first monthly payment or invoice is paid.

We don’t offer partial term refunds once a payment is made, but you can cancel anytime, and membership will be valid until the end of the term (one month, three months, one year) from the date your last payment clears.

How do I get started?

Head over here and fill out the interest form. We’ll be in touch soon about next steps.