Action Packs

Community Organizing Action Pack

Community organizing is a long-term approach where the people affected by an issue are supported in identifying problems and taking action to achieve solutions. The organizer challenges those he or she works with to change the way things are—it is a means of achieving social change through collective action by changing the balance of power.

California Legislation Action Pack

One of the most important ways to speak out is to ask your state and local legislators to support effective policies to reduce alcohol problems. Learn more

Media Advocacy Action Pack

Unlike public relations and social marketing, media advocacy always promotes policy change. Once you've decided that Media Advocacy is for you, use your local newspapers, radio shows and other media to build support for alcohol policy change. Here are some ways to work with the press on your issue:

Speak to the media and build a relationship with your local reporters
Write a letters to the editor and op-eds
Call Radio talk shows

Community Organizing: Plan Worksheet

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1. Getting Started: The Assessment Phase

• Who (or what geographic area) do we want to organize?
• Why do we want to organize this group/area?
• What problems can we already identify?
• Who will be involved in the organizing effort?
• What do we know about our community/issue?
• What are strengths?
• What are weaknesses?
• Who do we already know that we can involve?
• What is our self-interest in wanting to organize this group?
• What is their self-interest in becoming involved? Why would it make sense for them to become involved?
• What are some of the end results we hope to achieve?
• What resources do we already have?
• What challenges and/or obstacles do we know about?
• What is everyone involved willing and able to contribute to this effort?

2. Outreach

• How will we conduct outreach?
• Who is responsible?
• When will outreach be done?
• What is our timeline for outreach?
• What will the focus of our outreach be? What will we ask people about? What do we hope to share with them?
• Do volunteers involved in outreach need training and practice?
• What do we want to happen after the initial outreach? (Form a group, increase involvement, have new set of issues identified, etc.)
• When is our goal to have our first meeting/event/action?
• How will we identify major issues?
• How will we facilitate developing an action plan with the group?
• What else do we need to know to work on this issue?

Last Updated ( Friday, 04 July 2008 12:55 )

Community Organizing: Holding Your First Community Meeting

Once you've done the groundwork to start your campaign, identified the community members, leaders and organizations who want to help your campaign address the problems in your community, then it's time to call a face-to-face meeting with your fellow activists to really get things done. The thought of holding a meeting can be overwhelming, but with a little forethought and organizing, it will be a valuable and effective way to reach your goals. Here are some items to consider:

Who: Review your one-on-ones and identify key people to recruit who are motivated by the issue. Recruit people who are interested in working on the issue and motivated to make something happen. Be strategic about who you invite, and keep first meetings to a small manageable number so you can make decisions and get things done.

When: Ask people when they can meet so you pick a time when your important leaders can attend. Use your own common sense about this. Lots of folks are going to have similar time constraints as you do. Think about evenings at a reasonable hour after people are likely to have eaten. Weekends can be freer as far as work commitments, but are more likely to be busy family times.

Where: If you want people to come, make it easy for them. Where are people in the community comfortable meeting? Think of available space. Ask the people you've met with for their suggestions about meeting places. Consider public spaces such as parks or libraries. If an agency offers space, consider whether everyone will feel welcome there.

How: Call everyone you plan to invite and invite them personally, and tell them why it is important that they be part of the team. For example, "It is really important that we have a parent on our team— we would love to have your perspective on our work."

Set an Agenda: Remember, "having a meeting" isn't your goal, but a step toward creating a plan of action to make your campaign a success. Before the meeting, set an agenda detailing the subjects you will cover, and approximately how much time you will spend on each item. This will help keep the meeting from wandering. Pass out a written agenda or write one large enough for all meeting attendee to see, so that everyone is aware of the direction of the meeting. Many organizers like to use a flip chart to post the agenda so it is easily visible for all attendees.

TIPS: How to Conduct the Meeting

As the meeting convener, you should start by thanking everyone for coming, introducing yourself and giving a brief background on why you are interested in this issue, then have the others do the same. Ask the group to select the issue(s) they want to discuss, then get the team members to prioritize the problem(s)/issue(s) to work on. You don't want to overwhelm folks, but share your knowledge with them. It is also helpful to pass out materials/brochures you found useful. Other suggestions:

- Sign-In. Make sure all attendees sign in, giving phone number, address and email. Not all folks who attend the first meeting are going to come back, but they can be called on to write letters, make phone calls or do other smaller tasks.

- Select a Facilitator. The facilitator is the person who runs the meeting, and also works to ensure that all people feel comfortable participating. This can be you, but doesn't have to be. Work with the facilitator to train and support them so they are comfortable with this role and have the skills to run the meeting effectively.

- Note Taker. Make sure that someone (other than the facilitator) takes notes of the key points at the meeting— particularly any "to do" items assigned to attendees— then emails the meeting notes to all folks in the group a few days after the meeting. This will keep the people who were not able to attend up to date, and remind attendees of the tasks they agreed to take on. "To do" tasks or main points can also be written on a flip chart at the end of the meeting, so everyone has a reminder of their volunteer responsibilities.

- Timekeeper. Find a volunteer to ensure that the agenda is followed in a timely manner. This job is important; you risk losing people if meetings go on too long.

- Supplies. Have pens and paper available for attendees, and something large enough for notes for the whole group — a blackboard, a flip chart, etc.

- Snacks. Have some light snacks — chips, soda, etc., particularly if it's at a time when people may be hungry (like after work, but before dinner). Don't spend your time making fancy foods; store-bought snacks will do the trick.

TIPS: Concluding the Meeting

- Follow-up. The work doesn't end when the meeting ends, it really just begins. Before the next meeting, work should be started on accomplishing your developed plan of action. Most participants should be given tasks to accomplish before the next meeting. Don't take on all the tasks yourself, but make sure that attendees are comfortable with their assignments - you don't want to scare anyone away.

- Set the next meeting. Pick a date, time and place while you are all together so that everyone knows when and where you'll be meeting next.

Last Updated ( Friday, 04 July 2008 12:54 )

Community Organizing: Assessment

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Before you begin conducting one-on-ones, it is important to be familiar with your community you will be organizing in. You need to learn about your neighborhood or community's resources and strengths, as well as its needs. In some cases, you may already be quite familiar with the area you will be working in. Even if you know your community well, the community assessment is a useful and required first step to your work — it helps to think constructively about the current state of your community.

The following links contain questions to serve as a guide to assess your community:

The community/neighborhood
Resources: Organizations
Resources: Facilities
Law enforcement
Business community
Liquor outlets and advertising
Write it up

The community/neighborhood

• If you have more than one community, how are your communities different? What are some of the unique and distinguishing characteristics of your community?
• What newspapers serve your communities? Do they serve just your communities, or others? Are any control community areas covered by the papers? How often do they publish? Where are they available, etc.? Is there anything unique about them or do they serve a specific audience (are they primarily an advertising vehicle, or do they serve a specific population or have other special characteristics)?

Resources: Organizations
• What are the existing youth organizations in the community? (Park and recreational programs, Boys & Girls Clubs, Girl/Boy Scouts, Police Athletic leagues, 4-H, YMCA/YWCA, etc.)
• What faith-based organizations serve the community? What programs do they offer? Youth groups, parent groups, etc.
• What other organizations are there in the community? (Community/neighborhood organizations, parent groups, citizen groups?)
• What kinds of fraternal and business organizations exist in the community? (Lions Clubs, VFW's, Chambers of Commerce, Business associations, etc.)
• Are there other community organizations? (Public health groups/agencies, prevention coalitions, etc.)

Resources: Facilities

• What facilities exist in the community that can be resources?
• What parks are in your communities, and do they have facilities the community can use?
• Are there buildings that can be used for public meetings and activities, where you may be able to hold meetings?

Law enforcement

• Who are the law enforcers in your community?
• Are there active block clubs in your communities?
• Are police visible in the community and/or school? Do they patrol on foot, by car, on bike?
• Where are the nearest police stations/offices in your communities?

Business community

• Describe the business community in your area? Are there adequate shopping opportunities within the community? What kinds of businesses exist?
. Malls?
. Grocery stores?
. Convenience stores?
. Is there a downtown?
. Are there movie theaters?
. Arcades?
. Other?
. Which of these do kids go to?

Liquor outlets and advertising

• How prevalent is alcohol in your communities? How available? Are there a lot of stores? Is there a lot of advertising? Are there billboards? Lots of storefront advertising? Promotions in area stores?
• What evidence do you see of alcohol use and attitudes in the community? Is there public drinking, and if so, in what context? Is the area around bars and outlets well maintained or disorderly? Is there trash around outlets? Do areas where liquor is available seem well cared for?

Write it up

Prepare a short report of your findings in your community assessment including your perceptions of your communities and the areas around your schools.

Last Updated ( Friday, 04 July 2008 12:57 )

Community Organizing: One-on-Ones

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A one-on-one is a personal conversation with an individual community member to learn about his/her concerns, level of interest and commitment for an issue, and the resources the person has to offer. At the same time, the organizer can introduce the issues of the project/organization, and increase the level of awareness of the issue or problem. One-on-ones should take place in a quiet setting and last 30 minutes to an hour, during which time the organizer and the community member should develop a level of trust with one another. The community member will do most of the talking in a one-on-one, while the organizer asks questions to clarify points and learn more detail.

Why conduct a one-on-one instead of making a presentation to a large group?
Who do you conduct a one-on-one with?
How does an organizer find the people to conduct one-on-ones with?
Where does a one-on-one take place?
What does an organizer ask in one-on-ones?
How is the one-on-one different from an interview?
How important is it to document your one-on-ones?
Is the community organizer the only person who can do one-on-ones?

Why conduct a one-on-one instead of making a presentation to a large group?

The organizer must learn what community members' concerns are, and find out what they identify as problems, not tell the community what the problem is. Presentations by their nature do not encourage discussion, participation, or feedback. Some people may be uncomfortable expressing an opinion in a group or meeting. That is why an organizer meets first with people individually.

Who do you conduct a one-on-one with?

The organizer needs to talk to as many people as possible at the beginning and throughout a project. In order to have a broad base of support and determine people's real concerns, it is important to make contact with a representative sample of the community. It is important not to miss any groups or sectors in the community, or they will not have ownership of the issue, and the organizer will not know what their concerns are.

How does an organizer find the people to conduct one-on-ones with?

One-on-ones should start with someone the organizer knows, or knows of. Some things you should do include:

Contact that person and ask to sit down and visit with her or him.
Brainstorm about who are the stakeholders around your issue/organization.
Ask to meet with their staff and/or board members.
Every one-on-one should lead to future contacts. Ask for names of other people who may care about the issue.

Where does a one-on-one take place?

A one-on-one should take place somewhere that both parties feel comfortable and will not be interrupted. If possible, it is a good idea to go to the office or home of the person you are interviewing. The organizer should offer to go somewhere convenient for the person being interviewed.

What does an organizer ask in a one-on-one?

Find out about the person you are interviewing. Some questions you should ask:

What kind of information will be useful to the issue your
organization is working on?
How long have they lived in the community?
Have they been or are they involved in other organizations that have/are addressing similar issues?
What do they think of these organizations?
What would they like to see happen in their neighborhood?
Has this issue affected them?
What way would they consider being involved?
Do they have special interests or skills they could contribute?
Are there other people they would suggest that you talk to?

Remember to ask open-ended questions.

Closed-ended : "Do you think we have a crime problem in this neighborhood?"

Open-ended : "What do you think about the safety of this neighborhood?"

Closed-ended : "Are you in favor of mandatory compliance checks?"

Open-ended : "What kind of concerns do you have about young people being able to buy beer at establishments that sell alcohol?"

How is the one-on-one different from an interview?

Many of us have conducted interviews in our work. We may have called them "key informant interviews" or surveys. A one-on-one is neither of these. A one-on-one is an active discussion and exchange. The organizer is not just gathering information, data, or statistics to put into a report. The organizer is forming opinions and evaluating the person during the one-on-one, whereas someone conducting a survey has a neutral role. The one-on-one is the basis for developing a relationship between the organizer and the individual being interviewed. One-on-ones are conducted to identify and create a base of active supporters for your issue and to determine who can contribute at what levels. The organizer identifies the people who will be involved in the organizing effort through the one-on-one process.

How important is it to document your one-on-ones?

It is very important to document your one-on-ones! You will need to create mailing and phone lists, so you can contact people in the future. Establish a simple filing system, Rolodex, or computer database to record names, addresses, phone numbers, organizational affiliations, and other important information about the people you have talked to.

Is the community organizer the only person who can do one-on-ones?

No! While an organization's paid community organizer may conduct more one-on-ones, it is preferable to have volunteers and community members involved in the process. This allows the group to reach more people, and expands the leadership of the group. Community organizing is about getting "real people" involved and mobilized, not creating staff driven initiatives. Elected officials should be able to clearly see that the base of the group's power is the citizens, not the paid staff person.

Role Play Exercise for One-on-ones:

Use this exercise to practice a one-on-one interview. Use an issue you know you will be working on. You can ask your partner in this exercise to be him/herself, or to act like someone you will need to interview in your work.

What will your issue be for the one-on-one?

______________________________________

Who are you going to interview?

______________________________________

What is their affiliation/position/etc.?

______________________________________

Develop a list of questions that you plan to ask:

Introduction:

Evaluation: Help each other evaluate your role-play to identify strengths and areas of improvement.

What went well?

What could have gone better?

Did you find out the self-interest of the person you spoke with?

Did you learn how s/he would be willing to get involved?

Were there things that should have been asked?

Were there things that could have been left out?

How did it feel to conduct the one-on-one?

How did it feel to be the person interviewed?

Sample Outline for a One-on-One

Setting up the One-on-One

"Hi, this is Jane Organizer. I've just been hired at the Your-County-Public-Health-Department to work on problems related to youth and alcohol. Look at some environmental strategies (link to definition: those that seek to change the context in which the agent (alcohol) and host (the individual) operate to each other so, that there is either no interaction or the interaction does not cause harm ) to reduce access to alcohol. First thing you should do is talk to people who have expertise and concerns about youth drinking and alcohol sales, to get a better understanding of the community's concerns. For instance, say something like, "your name came up as someone who would be good to talk to, and I was wondering if you would be willing to spend a little time with me to share what you know?"

The Sample One-on-One

Hi. Thanks so much for meeting with me today. What I'd like to do is give you a quick overview of our project and what I've been hired to do, and then ask you some questions about your experiences on the issue. Does that sound OK?

Give brief project overview.

Tell me a little about your organization, and what its role has been on teen drinking.

Have you done anything using environmental strategies ? (link to definition)

What has the history of such efforts been in the county?

Who has been involved?

How have elected officials been involved? Law enforcement? Other key groups?

What do you see as some of the barriers to getting ordinances/policies passed in the county/city?

What do you see as some of the opportunities that exist right now?

What do you think is possible?

What do you wish was possible?

Would you be able to (insert desired action based on what you've been learning in the conversation: research an issue, serve on a committee, make a presentation, send me a copy of your newsletter)? Can I add you to our mailing list?

Can you give me the names of some other people you think it would be good for me to talk to?

Last Updated ( Friday, 04 July 2008 12:57 )

Community Organizing: Doorknocking

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In some communities or for some issues, doorknocking may be an effective outreach tool. Doorknocking is just what the name implies: going door-to-door to talk to members of the community. This is especially effective when you are working in a well-defined geographic area that is a manageable size. Doorknocking is a way to meet people who might not come to community meetings or events, learn more about average community members' concerns, and introduce yourself and the project to the community. For neighborhood organizing, doorknocking is essential.

Why is doorknocking effective?

Doorknocking is effective because it is personal, one-on-one contact with a community member. People living in the area are likely to be personally impacted by the issue or initiative you are discussing. They may be less likely to be people you may encounter in your initial one-on-ones. While they may care about their neighborhood, they may not be involved in committees or organizations. By going door to door, you have an opportunity to reach "average people" and create a connection.

Ten Steps for effective doorknocking

• Identify the goal of your doorknocking
• Identify the geographic area
• Determine who will go doorknocking
• Ensure proper safety for your volunteers
• Notify the community
• Provide a clipboard
• Develop a flier or a brochure
• Doorknockers should wear IDs
• Before you begin doorknocking
• After doorknocking

• Identify the goal of your doorknocking by asking yourself:

• Why are you going door to door?
• What do you have to offer, or what do you hope to learn?
• Are you seeking involvement?
• Do you want to personally invite people to a meeting
• Do you want to get a general idea of their concerns or address a specific well-defined issue?
• Do you want to increase their awareness of your group?
• Is there an incident you'd like to provide information about?

• Identify the geographic area to be doorknocked for what you want to accomplish. The geographic area will be determined by the issue, the area your organization serves, and the time and number of people you have involved.

• Determine who will go doorknocking. Identify the people who live in the specific area to join you in doorknocking whenever possible. Train and prepare your volunteers. Don't send people out to doorknock without practice, or proper instruction on safety procedures. Make a "cheat sheet" of items to discuss, or questions to ask. Have each of the volunteers practice with a partner, and give feedback.

• Ensure proper safety for your volunteers. NEVER SEND DOORKNOCKERS OUT ALONE . Always send doorknockers out in teams, and two people should always go to a door. Make sure doorknocking is scheduled and that doorknockers check in at the beginning and end of their session. Set a specific date, time and location to meet.

• Notify the community that you will be doorknocking, and the dates and times. People can be apprehensive about someone coming to their door, so whenever possible, distribute a flier in advance that lets people know you will be doorknocking in the area on certain dates and times. Provide a telephone number to call if they do not want to be contacted. Be sure to record people who do not want to be contacted and inform your doorknockers!

• Provide a clipboard for each team who will be doorknocking. Have a form for them to record the name, address, phone number and some comments from each household. Include large areas to make it easy to write in. Consider having boxes to check or categories to circle if you are trying to find out what residents' interests/concerns are, such as safety, economic development, and teen drinking.

• Develop a flier or a brochure to leave at the houses/apartments you doorknock. Make sure it has contact information and a phone number on it. To help establish some credibility for the group it is good to hand people a flier or brochure as soon as you can when they open the door.

• Doorknockers should wear some kind of IDs. If your group has t-shirts, wear them. If your group will be doorknocking frequently, you might want to make a more permanent type of identification tag.

• Before you begin doorknocking organize everyone together and assign addresses. Make sure everyone has all the materials they need: clipboard, forms, pens etc.

• After doorknocking make sure everyone returns and checks in on time. Collect the forms, and spend a few minutes de-briefing about the experience.

Sample Doorknocking Questions

These are some sample questions you can use as a model for doorknocking. Always listen to responses, and tie them into your next questions.

Hi! I'm Jane Team Member, and this is Joe Organizer. We're out in the neighborhood today to invite people to attend a meeting this Saturday about the school ballpark. Did you get the flier we dropped off earlier in the week to let you know we would be coming by? (Give resident a meeting flier.)

I live in the neighborhood and volunteer at the Change-the-World-Organization, and Joe is one of our staff members. We work to make the neighborhood safer and are especially concerned about the welfare of young people in the neighborhood. We're talking to people today to try to learn more about the neighborhood's baseball field.

Have you lived in the neighborhood very long?

Do you ever notice any problems at the ball field on the weekends?

Some of the other neighbors we have talked to are also concerned about the number of young people hanging out very late at night. Have you noticed anything that concerns you at the ballpark?

Several people have pointed out that the equipment in the park is broken and run-down. What do you think about that? Is there anything you think we could do as a community to address the condition of the equipment?

Has this problem been occurring for a long time?

Do you ever talk to your neighbors about it, or call the police?

Do you have any ideas of how we could make the ballpark safer?

We are planning to have a meeting this Saturday to talk about what we can do to address this problem. Our neighborhood police officer is going to come, too. We want to try to come up with a solution, because we're afraid kids may get hurt over there. Would you be interested in coming to the meeting?

We'd like to send everyone some follow up information about the meeting, to let them know what happens at the meeting. Could I get your name and address so we can keep you informed?

Do you have any questions for us?

Thank you so much for your time this evening! We really enjoyed talking to you. Our phone number is on that sheet we gave you, so please call us if you have any comments, questions, or concerns. Have a good night!

Last Updated ( Friday, 04 July 2008 12:57 )

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Marin Institute

Community Organizing: Plan Worksheet

Community Organizing: Holding Your First Community Meeting

Community Organizing: Assessment

Community Organizing: One-on-Ones

Community Organizing: Doorknocking