Center for Civic Partnerships

Community Organizing

"Community organizing is the art and science of creating vehicles or organizations for ordinary people to use for participating in the social, political, environmental, and economic decisions that impact on their lives."
(Gamaliel Foundation - www.gamaliel.org)

Top Tips

Conduct frequent community meetings and other opportunities for residents to work together.
Determine problems and other areas of concern that are important to community residents.
Encourage residents to participate in addressing their community's issues and to have an active voice. Remember- strength exists in numbers and resident involvement leads to community empowerment!
Conduct community outreach or informal surveys door to door to ensure that all residents have an opportunity to give input.
Identify leaders in the community who have residents’ support and can organize others.
Clearly define specific community issues to focus on and what needs to be done.
Create an action plan that is developed and supported by the community, not just a few community leaders.
Include short-term, achievable goals to provide success early on. Long range goals will require more time and commitment.
Identify allies and enemies of the plan’s strategies and goals.
Communicate the plan’s strategies and progress to the community frequently.
Provide ongoing training for residents to build their community organizing and leadership skills.
Generate additional resources to support community organizing activities and costs.
Educate the community and local decision makers about the community’s specific issues and advocate for successful strategies and outcomes.
Recognize community members for their ongoing participation and celebrate success!

Online Resources and Tools

ACORN
www.acorn.org
Community organizations association dedicated to organizing the poor and improving low and moderate income neighborhoods.

Applied Research Center
www.arc.org
Public policy, educational and research institute whose work emphasizes issues of race and social change.

Assets Based Community Development Institute
www.northwestern.edu/ipr/abcd.html
Practical resources and tools for community builders to identify, nurture, and mobilize neighborhood assets.

Center for Community Change
www.communitychange.org/index.html
Provides assistance to residents to improve their communities and change policies and institutions by developing their own organizations.

Citizens Handbook
www.vcn.bc.ca/citizens-handbook
A guide on building community.

Comm-Org
www.comm-org.wisc.edu
Provides information and resources on community organizing

Community Tool Box
www.ctb.ku.edu
Provides tips, tools and resources on all aspects of community building including: visioning, facilitation, collaboration, media and communication, participation, planning and evaluation.

Midwest Academy
www.midwestacademy.com
Provides information and training for community organizers- see website’s sample agenda.

Organizer’s Collaborative
www.organizenow.net
Collaborative effort for computer accessibility to support community-based, social change organizing.

Shelterforce Online
www.nhi.org/online/index.html
Online housing and community development magazine.

Tenant Net
www.tenant.net/organize
Organizing tips.

U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development,
Office of Community Planning and Development
www.hud.gov/offices/cpd
HUD’s community organizing resources and tips.

Urban Institute
www.urban.org
An economic and social policy research organization.

Suggested Reading

Amherst H. Wilder Foundation, 1997. Community Building: What Makes It Work: A Review of Factors Influencing Successful Community Building. To order, call 1-800-274-6024.

Axel-Lute, Miriam, 1995. In Their Own Hands: Colonias Organize. Article describes how colonias activists have organized to address issues in communities along the Texas-Mexico border. To read online, click on link: www.nhi.org/online/issues/82/colonias.html

Bobo, Kimberly A., Steve Max and Jacquelyn A. Kendall, 1996. Organizing for Social Change: A Manual for Activists in the 1990s. Comprehensive manual for grassroots organizers. Seven Locks Press, second edition, ISBN:0929765419.

Kingsley, G. Thomas, Joseph B. McNeely and James O. Gibson. Community Building Coming of Age. Paper describes community building and provides recommendations on supporting community building efforts. To read online, click on link: www.urban.org/UploadedPDF/COM_BLDG.PDFl

Kretzmann, John P. and McKnight, John L. 1993. Building Communities from the Inside Out; A Path Toward Finding and Mobilizing a Community’s Assets. To order, call ACTA Publications at 800-397-2282.

Midwest Academy. Direct Action Organizing Process. Webpage describes different methods of organizing and the principles of direct action organizing. To read online, click on link: www.mindspring.com/~midwestacademy/organize/page5.html

O’Donnell, Sandy and Ellen Schumer, 1996. Community Building and Community Organizing. Article describes issues in creating effective community building models. To read online, click on link: www.nhi.org/online/issues/85/combuild.html

Shaw, Randy, 1996. The Activist’s Handbook: A Primer for the 1990s and Beyond. Guide for activists working for social change. Univ. California Press, ISBN:0520203178.

Stout, Linda and Howard Zinn, 1997. Bridging the Class Divide and Other Lessons for Grassroots Organizing. Describes organizing model that focuses on diversity, personal empowerment and existing barriers. Beacon Press, ISBN:0807043095.

Trapp, Shel. Basics of Organizing. How-to manual for community organizing. To read online, click on link: www.tenant.net/organize/orgbas.html

Trapp, Shel. Dynamics of Organizing. From a series of Organizing and Neighborhood Presentation published by the National Training and Information Center. To read online, click on link: www.tenant.net/organize/orgdyn.html

Traynor, William, 1995. Community Building: Hope and Caution. Article describes community development corporations’ and community based organizations’ roles in community building and community organizing. To read online, click on link:
www.nhi.org/online/issues/83/combuild.html