📚 Time for Templates & 2026 Strategic Planning

Welcome Back! 👋🏼

Our annual ritual of releasing new strategic planning templates is here with an extra spice of security! Scroll to find a variety of resources for your organizing, comms, social, email, and more to download and start using today. Read on for more...

Help Us Extend Our Impact

Mastodon • BlueSky • YouTube • Podcast • Signal • Real Time News

In Case You Missed It: 🎨 What's It Called? | a robot’s poem in 2047 • 🎙️ Winterizing Your Organizing with Taryn Talley

Secure Planning is Here!

Are you tired of Google spying on your strategic planning? Worried about who’s watching your private fundraising campaign documents?

Well, secure planning is here! I’m so pleased to share our latest line of 2026 Planning Templates for your organizing and communications needs, now built with secure planning in mind. Our document and spreadsheet templates can all be accessed as Proton documents which adds end-to-end encryption to your collaborative planning. Now you can rest easy knowing that your team can collaborate together, but Mr. Musk or Zuckerberg aren’t watching your every move. As a spreadsheet dork, I’m beyond excited to now have secure data analysis at my fingertips.

Still on Google or Microsoft? That’s okay! We’re all about a harm reduction strategy when it comes to privacy. Choose your template based on the platforms you typically use.

• Proton (secure collaboration)
• Google (unsecure collaboration)
• Microsoft (unsecure local files)

You can always upload the Microsoft files to another source like Canva, Cryptpad or LibreOffice if you don’t see your planning app of choice.

Proton Doc (Secure Version)

• 2026 Organizational Strategy / Business Plan Template (Doc)
• 2026 Communications Plan Template (Doc)
• 2026 Communications Project Brief Template (Doc)
• 2026 Social Media Strategy & Calendar_Secure Template (Spreadsheet)
• 2026 Email Campaign Planning_Secure Template (Spreadsheet)
• 2026 Digital Advertising Plan Document_Secure Templates (Spreadsheet)

Google Templates (Unsecure)

• 2025 Organizational Strategy / Business Plan Template (Doc)
• 2025 Communications Plan Template (Doc)
• 2025 Communications Project Brief TEMPLATE (Doc)
• 2026 Digital Advertising Planner (Spreadsheet)
• 2026 Email Campaign Planning Template (Spreadsheet)
• 2025 Foundational Comms Plan Slide Template (Slides)
• 2025 Measurement & Analytics Report Template (Slides)
• 2025 Measurement Plan Slide Templates (Slides)
• 2026 Social Media Planning Template (Spreadsheet)

Microsoft Office Version (Unsecure)

• Download all Microsoft versions directly from the Proton Drive Resource Hub

🌺 [Unlocked] Flowering Member Zone

🤩 Thank You, Flowering Members!

A big thank you to our Fruitful and Flowering Members who make it possible to release more for the whole community!

We are not, nor have ever been funded so it’s pretty hard to defund us, but we do need funding to keep going! Consider joining today for a full year of support in a turbulent 2026 or send us a support that goes back into the community.

I’m very excited for the growth we have planned next year to ensure our resources and support meet you where you are, while keeping you and your work secure.

1. New Video Channel Hub for quick tips and full workshops
2. Private Resource Hub
3. Easier access to our Full Suite of Our Workshop Videos
4. Easy opportunities to promote & share your work!
5. Audio callouts to share your work and events on the roots of change podcast
6. Lots of Bay Area organizing & training opportunities!

Explore more of our existing perks on the dedicated 🌺 Welcome Flowering Members Page.

If you’re a Fruitful member, don’t forget that you can book a 1-hour working session of your choice on the 🍓 Welcome Fruitful Members Page.

And that's a wrap on this YEAR’S newsletter! We hope you found our ongoing digests, podcasts, & resources helpful in your work. If you have any topics you want covered or have any questions, please reach out and let me know.

In Solidarity,
Sam Chavez (she/they/he)
the roots of change agency founder

🌱 about the roots of change agency

The Roots of Change Agency was founded to support nonprofits, campaigns, and activists to avoid burnout and tell empathetic stories to cultivate connections that empower social change. We were founded in 2020. Learn more.

• 🌺 Flowering Member Zone & Resources
• ♻️ Submit a Resource / Event
• 🙋🏽‍♂️ Send us a Question for future newsletters
• 🎙️ Listen to the private podcast feed
• 🗞️ View Newsletter Archive