Interested in learning about community safety? Register for one of our monthly training series!
What is the Get In Formation Training Series (G.I.F.T.S.)?
The Get In Formation Training Series (G.I.F.T.S.) is a chance for organizations to develop and deepen their safety and security infrastructure. Trainings happen virtually and at each level of the training series, organizations learn concrete strategies for identifying and addressing potential risks and developing safety structures that are scaled to the organization’s unique capacity, adaptive to changing conditions, and trauma-informed.
The Get In Formation Training Series (G.I.F.T.S.) is successive so each training is meant to build off of the last. Participants must complete 101 prior to attending 201; participants must complete 101 & 201 prior to completing 301. Participants who plan to attend the full series may do so over multiple months but must complete within 4 months or re-register.
Registration ends 24 hours prior to each training please register by Tuesday at 2pm EST.
NEW! VCW will be offering a quarterly 401 training on Digital Security
What are best practices to safeguard against digital safety threats? How can my organization build digital safety practices in a safe, non-intimidating environment? This training will focus on key concepts and frameworks in digital security, how to assess your organization’s digital security situation, and essential elements to implement for your group. Participants do not need to attend 101, 201, or 301 to attend this training. See below for dates.
Facilitated by Jack Aponte
| (G.I.F.T.S.) LEVELS & TOPICS | ||
| 101: Introduction to Safety and De-escalation (No Prerequisites) | 201: Safety for Direct Actions and Events (Prerequisite: MUST complete 101) | 301: Organizational Security Culture (Prerequisite: MUST complete 101 & 201) |
| What does progressive safety and security look like? BIPOC and other oppressed communities have long been developing safety strategies outside of the state. This training introduces security culture core principles, a piece of the long generation legacy of safety work. Organizations learn the basic components of de-escalation including assessing risk and practice foundational verbal de-escalation tactics. | How can my group create safer events? How do we create a security team and who should be on it? Community Safety and Security work is collective work. In this session organizations learn how to develop safety protocols for an action or event, including how to create a security team, differentiate team roles, and make team decisions. | How can my organization maintain or grow our security team? Where do we start with building an organizational security plan? How do we ensure the safety plans we make are implemented? This training focuses on tactics to build and maintain safety structures including growing capacity of a security or safety team. Participants learn strategies for building a security team, training practice, and how to start a security plan. |
Questions? Email: [email protected]
Who is this for?
At VCW, we believe that BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and People of Color) communities have created safety outside of the police and prisons for generations. The Get In Formation Training Series (G.I.F.T.S.) builds upon this long legacy by offering social justice organizations tools to develop and deepen their safety and security infrastructure. Our trainers have between 10 – 40 years of experience working directly on safety and security protocols, and all have experience coordinating community safety programs for communities that include BIPOC, LGBTQ people, women, immigrants, low-income people, people with disabilities, survivors of violence, and other marginalized communities.
How does it work?
The Get In Formation Training Series (G.I.F.T.S.) is a sequential virtual workshop where you can advance to the next level after completion of the previous training. To help with advance planning, the series is offered at the same date and time each month based on the following schedule:
- 101: 2nd Wednesday of the month – 2-4pm ET | 1-3pm CT | 12-2pm MT | 11am-1pm PT
- 201: 3rd Wednesday of the month – 2-4pm ET | 1-3pm CT | 12-2pm MT | 11am-1pm PT
- 301: 4th Wednesday of the month – 2-4pm ET | 1-3pm CT | 12-2pm MT | 11am-1pm PT
Attendees can go at their own pace – E.g., complete all 3 trainings as fast as 1 month, or up to 4 months.
Upcoming Dates 2025 (Twenty-Twenty Five)
January
101: Jan 8 (Eighth), 2-4 pm EST || Two to Four pm EST
201: Jan 15 (Fifteenth), 2-4 pm EST || Two to Four pm EST
301: Jan 22 (Twenty-Second), 2-4 pm EST || Two to Four pm EST
401: Jan 29 (Twenty-Ninth), 2-4 pm EST || Two to Four pm EST
Spanish Interpretation Available || Interpretación en español disponible
February
101: Feb 12 (Twelfth), 2-4 pm EST || Two to Four pm EST
201: Feb 19 (Nineteenth), 2-4 pm EST || Two to Four pm EST
301: Feb 26 (Twenty-Sixth), 2-4 pm EST || Two to Four pm EST
March
101: March 12 (Twelfth), 6-8 pm EST || Six to Eight pm EST
201: March 19 (Nineteenth), 6-8 pm EST || Six to Eight pm EST
301: March 26 (Twenty-Sixth), 6-8 pm EST || Six to Eight pm EST
April
101: April 9 (Ninth), 2-4 pm EST || Two to Four pm EST
201: April 16 (Sixteenth), 2-4 pm EST || Two to Four pm EST
301: April 23 (Twenty-Third), 2-4 pm EST || Two to Four pm EST
401: April 30 (Thirtieth), 2-4 pm EST || Two to Four pm EST
Spanish Interpretation Available || Interpretación en español disponible
May
101: May 14 (Fourteenth), 2-4 pm EST || Two to Four pm EST
201: May 21 (Twenty-First), 2-4 pm EST || Two to Four pm EST
301: May 28 (Twenty-Eighth), 2-4 pm EST || Two to Four pm EST
June
101: June 11 (Eleventh), 2-4 pm EST || Two to Four pm EST
201: June 18 (Eighteenth), 2-4 pm EST || Two to Four pm EST
301: June 25 (Twenty-Fifth), 2-4 pm EST || Two to Four pm EST
July
101: July 9 (Ninth), 2-4 pm EST || Two to Four pm EST
201: July 16 (Sixteenth), 2-4 pm EST || Two to Four pm EST
301: July 23 (Twenty-Third), 2-4 pm EST || Two to Four pm EST
Spanish Interpretation Available || Interpretación en español disponible
August
101: Aug 11 (Eleventh), 2-4 pm EST || Two to Four pm EST
201: Aug 18 (Eighteenth), 2-4 pm EST || Two to Four pm EST
301: Aug 25 (Twenty-Fifth), 2-4 pm EST || Two to Four pm EST
September
101: Sept 10 (Tenth), 2-4 pm EST || Two to Four pm EST
201: Sept 17 (Seventeenth), 2-4 pm EST || Two to Four pm EST
301: Sept 24 (Twenty-Fourth), 2-4 pm EST || Two to Four pm EST
Spanish Interpretation Available || Interpretación en español disponible
October
101: Oct 8 (Eighth), 6-8 pm EST || Six to Eight pm EST
201: Oct 15 (Fifteenth), 6-8 pm EST || Six to Eight pm EST
301: Oct 22 (Twenty-Second), 6-8 pm EST || Six to Eight pm EST
401: Oct 29 (Twenty-Ninth), 6-8 pm EST || Six to Eight pm EST
November
101: Nov 5 (Fifth), 2-4 pm EST || Two to Four pm EST
201: Nov 12 (Twelfth), 2-4 pm EST || Two to Four pm EST
301: Nov 19 (Nineteenth), 2-4 pm EST || Two to Four pm EST
Spanish Interpretation Available || Interpretación en español disponible
December
101: Dec 3 (Third), 2-4 pm EST || Two to Four pm EST
201: Dec 10 (Tenth), 2-4 pm EST || Two to Four pm EST
301: Dec 17 (Seventeenth), 2-4 pm EST || Two to Four pm EST
How much does it cost?
$200 for 1 training (up to 5 participants from your organization)
$500 for 101, 201, and 301 trainings (up to 5 participants from your organizations) – save $100!
$700 for 101, 201, 301, and 401 (Digital Security) trainings (up to 5 participants from your organizations) – save $100!
If a funder is supporting your participation, the cost will be waived.
Solidarity Scholarship
In order to make our trainings as accessible as possible Vision Change Win offers 10 scholarships each month to BIPOC, low-income folks, Immigrants, Queer or Trans folks, Disabled folks or other marginalized communities. These slots are first come first serve, participants only need to indicate in the registration form they are applying for a solidarity seat. We encourage participants applying for a Solidarity Scholarship to apply early as seats go quickly.
Register an Entire Team
Want to register more than 5 people from your team? We offer special bulk pricing for teams who want to all go through the series. You will have 3 months to complete the series. If you need more time, you can get an extension.
- 6 – 20 people | 3% discount
- 20 – 29 people | 5% discount
- 30-39 people | 10% discount
- 40-49 people | 15% discount
E-mail [email protected] with your organization name and number of people you want to register to request bulk pricing. Within 2 business days, we will send you an invoice; once it’s paid, we will send you a link to share with your staff to register themselves for workshops.
How do I register?
This registration link will collect information & payment.
- Name of organization & details about mission, constituency, etc.
- Names of all training participants from your organization (up to 5 people per organization, email [email protected] for more than 5 people)
- Contact information
- Brief description of your goals for attending the training series
- Payment information or the name of the funder supporting your participation
- If you are registering your entire team, choose “bulk pricing” and we will reach out to you to collect payment.
After your registration has been received and vetted, you will receive the training information overview and link for the video conference.
What happens after I complete the series and want to learn more?
If you complete one workshop or the entire series, you will get access to VCW’s weekly virtual community safety office hours where you can book a time to speak one-on-one with one of our community safety practitioners to ask questions from the trainings and/or troubleshoot issues.
The training series is meant to provide a solid introductory foundation for community safety and security work. For more in-depth training and capacity-building, we recommend attending our Community Safety & Security School, which is a 9-month organizational cohort training and implementation program.