Who are you and why do you exist?
We’re a group of citizens in Austin, Texas who started meeting and organizing in February, 2025, alarmed by what was happening in our country.
We exist to weave together a community empowered to meet this moment. We are taking action together, sharing information and resources, and making resistance visible and fun.
You can learn more about our values, our goals, and our “secret sauce” here.
What are you trying to accomplish?
We’re working to …
- Connect like-minded neighbors and friends, giving us a place to share ideas, learn, and take action together.
- Look for ways to take action together, whether that means supporting our neighbors or protesting government-sponsored cruelty.
- “Let 1,000 Flowers Bloom” — Allow project ideas to generate organically, giving members multiple opportunities to use their time and energy creatively and productively. Want to host an empty chair town hall? A neighborhood clothing swap? We’re here for all of it.
- Keep building momentum. The 2025 elections revealed a deep and broad dissatisfaction with the direction our country is taking. We’ll keep inviting more of our neighbors to join us to …
- Build a better future together. Across our community, our state, and our nation, people are desperate for a positive and hopeful vision for our future. When we listen to each other and lean into points of connection and agreement, we can break out of the overtired culture war that only attempts to divide us.
What have you done together?
We have found ways to illustrate the power of collective action, like an empty chair town hall, a flash mob at the Capitol, and a candelaria-lit peace walk in a local park.
We have also taken direct action together, supporting local families affected by ICE activity with groceries and holiday gifts, raising thousands of dollars for our local food bank, and hosting local community-building events like documentary screenings and clothing swaps.
In 2026, we will also work to build our political power to effect change at the local, state, and federal level.
For a quick digest of what we accomplished in our first eight months, you can check out our video!
How are you different from other local political groups?
We aren’t affiliated with any political party, and we welcome anyone who wants to turn the page on the politics of greed, division, corruption, and cruelty.
Our goal is to harness the power of joy and community to achieve long-term social change.
What are you doing right now?
- Our FORWRD-To-Win group is planning a midterm-focused project for us.
- We’re planning an ambitious series of local events in 2026 to engage folks who tuned out politics long ago.
- We’re hosting local events — like a clothing swap and a bake sale — to support our vulnerable neighbors.
- We’re hosting a documentary series in 2026.
- We are always on the lookout for more project ideas, so if you have one, please reach out!
How can people get involved?
Sign up for our twice-monthly newsletters. That will get you an invitation to join our Signal group, and keep you up-to-date on our events and projects.
If you’d like to launch FORWRD in your community, we’re here to help. Get in touch with us and we’ll start planning together!
Why is your name FORWRD?
It was originally an acronym, standing for
Flock
Of
Reasonable
Women
Restoring
Democracy.
Our co-founder Melanie Mullan came up with it, providing the excellent metaphor of birds who “flock” together to protect themselves from threats.
Then DeDe Church pointed out that we could tell folks “it’s FORWARD without an A because we don’t have any assholes,” and that works, too.