Closure will not impact nonprofit’s work to build the reproductive justice movement

Collective Power for Reproductive Justice is deeply saddened by Hampshire College’s announcement last week that it will close permanently at the end of 2026. Coming just days after we hosted 400 young people and organizers on Hampshire’s campus for our annual activist conference with support from scores of Hampshire students, staff, and faculty, the news underscores the loss of a rare and generative space for connection, creativity, and action.

Collective Power was founded at Hampshire College in 1981 as the Civil Liberties and Public Policy program (CLPP). The Hampshire community served as our incubator and organizational home for 38 years—from 1981 to 2019. With its focus on experimental learning, creative thinking, and social justice, Hampshire College invited radical, cutting-edge work that doesn’t often fit neatly within traditional academic settings, making Hampshire the ideal home for our growing organization focused on bringing young people into the reproductive justice movement.

Hampshire College faculty, staff, students and alumni have made invaluable contributions to Collective Power’s programs, working with us hand-in-hand to build the reproductive justice movement. Student organizers shaped our conference and campus-based programming into dynamic spaces that have incubated countless reproductive and social justice projects. Staff provided essential services that made our day-to-day work and convenings possible. And our former long-time director and Senior Faculty Advisor Marlene Gerber Fried, a deeply respected and beloved member of the college community, served as interim president in 2010-2011, and as faculty for 34 years until her retirement in 2022.

The Hampshire community challenged and nurtured our political frameworks. In turn, we provided a political home and programs for students, faculty, and community organizers throughout the Five Colleges passionate about reproductive health, rights, and justice. Collective Power spearheaded the founding of the Five College Reproductive Health, Rights and Justice Certificate in 2015, the first of its kind for undergraduates. 

While Hampshire’s closing breaks our hearts, it does not impact Collective Power’s stability, finances, programs or staffing. In 2019, Collective Power separated from Hampshire College becoming an independent nonprofit, and in 2025 gained its own 501(c)(3) status. Our work—training, educating, and supporting new activists and leaders for reproductive justice—has only grown stronger in recent years. We will continue working nationally to combat the growing attacks on civil rights and justice while honoring our roots in our local community, providing support and programming to students in the Five College Consortium.

After four decades of hosting our annual Collective Power conference on Hampshire’s campus, Collective Power will also begin exploring new locations and models for this powerful event. We are committed to continuing to offer accessible spaces to grow and learn that lift up cutting-edge issues in reproductive justice, provide opportunities for youth leadership, and build community across social justice movements.

Since 2019, we have rented office space at Hampshire College, and we are beginning our search for a new administrative home. Beginning now, please use our P.O. Box for any correspondence, mail, and gifts. 

Collective Power for Reproductive Justice
PO Box 323
Hadley, MA 01035

Hampshire will always be with us, as the center of our origin story. We are deeply grateful for its decades of support and hold in our hearts the many alumni, students, faculty and staff who are impacted by its closing.

Visit this website for more information about supporting Hampshire College workers affected by the closure, including how to donate to their emergency relief fund, and follow @HampshireWorkersForJustClosure on Instagram for updates.