Community Organizing

“The Three Radical Truths of Community Organizing:

1. Heart work is hard work.
2. You have to keep dancing even when you can’t hear the music.
3. The path that makes you afraid is the path to take.” – FACE
Activity: How Organizing
Impacts Our Lives
 Community organizing is a
Definition process where people who
live in proximity to each
other come together into an
organization that acts in
their shared self-interest.
"bringing together the talents,
resources and skills of people in
the community in order to
increase their collective power
and work for social change” (Family
Violence Prevention Fund, 2002)."

What is community organizing?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=flXHRxc9q1k
POWER
What are the words and
images you think when
you hear the word
power?
Key themes in organizing: POWER
The capacity to control
 Institution: an influential
circumstances organization or structure that
helps to establish and maintain
norms ands rules in society
2 kinds of power ◦ Institutional power – the
control that institutions have
◦ Institutional power over the way society is
◦ People power constructed and maintained

 Power of the people- the

power that all of us have as
everyday people to
collectively make change in
the world
Activity: Pyramid of Power
Other Ways to Understand Power
Dominant Power Activity: Tell a story
◦ Unilateral (one way) in your life when you
◦ power over were acted on by
dominant power, and
Relational Power what, if anything,
you did about it.
◦ Multilateral
◦ power with
Sources of Power in a Democracy
Position

Organized money

Organized people
Key themes in organizing
Keep self-interests in mind
“Where do you want to go, and how is what you are doing
now going to get you there?”

For an organizer, understanding a person’s self-interest –

as they themselves see it – helps us engage and involve
leaders- , understand the self-interest of an institution, and
understand the self-interest of our targets
Key Themes in Organizing-
Relationships

Reciprocal
Build strong relationships
Characteristics community organizing
 Community-based participatory processes
 Development and expansion of community ownership
 Community empowerment and inclusiveness
 Collaboration and partnership
 Accountability to and an opportunity for empowerment
through action by those impacted by the issues
 Development of traditional and non-traditional leadership
 Expansion of community participation (beyond the “usual
suspects”)
 Emphasis on social justice and social change that can be
connected back to the founding
From the grassroots- Understanding community
organizing - CSMottFoundation

Build Democracy
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tJsSfZvPjMg

Current State
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S0Ep4GFjIiw

Tools
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bbfb6B7WjEM

Key Challenges
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6NJlWd5-lkA

Rewards of a Career in Community Organizing

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0qeAnv9sIa8
 Components of Community
Organizing
• Why we organize
• Roles of leaders and staff
• Membership recruitment
• Developing an issue campaign
• Planning and taking actions
• Healthy organizations
• Leadership development
• Building strong relationships
• Working with the media (Communcations)
• Running good meetings
• Grassroots fundraising
 Campaign Strategy Development

• Campaign overview
• Issue ID and Research
• Power Analysis
• Developing a strategy
• Tactics
Activity: What is organizing?
“Raining Rocks”
Practice in Action

MODELS OF
COMMUNITY
ORGANIZATION
Wellstone Triangle
Models of Practice

The following models are

Midwest also used in CO practice”
Academy Social Action
Social Planning
Community Development
Transformative
Feminist
MAIZ (local) Multicultural/Diversity
Resources
Building Power, Sharpening Minds:
The Political Education Workshop Manual
2007. SOUL

Cho, E. H., Arguelles Paz y Puente, F.,

Yoon Louie, M.C. & Khokha, S. 2004
Bridge, A Popular Education Resource for
Immigrant & Refugees Community
Organizers. NNIRR