The Why, How, and Hope of Organizing

Sarah ChaseSan Diego 350

sarahchase025@gmail.com

What is Organizing?

Organizing is:– Identifying, recruiting, & developing leadership– Building relationships, community, & commitment– Building power out of that community

Organizing brings people together, challenges them to act on behalf of shared values and interests, and uses the power from the community’s combined resources to strategically achieve clear goals and outcomes

Good Organizing

Why do we organize?

• Need people to do work• Develop skills in organization• Develop relationships in community• Build political power• Win campaigns

We Can’t do this alone!!

Global Power Shift Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HmlL-fS0jhU

How does organizing work?

• Relationship building• Storytelling / Message• Strategizing• Action• Structure

Relationships• Different kinds (person to person, person to

community, between communities/orgs)• A method of creating “social capitol”• Trust, cooperation, and co-reliance towards

common goals• Examples:– Obama campaign organizing in SC

• August – an outsider, an insurgent• By October – organizers held ~400 house meetings,

attended by ~4k people• Mobilization that would deploy 15k election-day volunteers

Why do people get involve?

• What motivates people to act?

• What made you come today

Why do people join the movement?

• Create a better reality– Where we are vs. where we want to be

• Sense of purpose• To win• Fight against injustice & inequality• Fear• “Paying the rent” or feelings of obligation• Gain skill set• Social networking or outlet

Getting to Anger – Having Hope

“People organize in response to injustice, not inconvenience”

“People are not born political, rather they go through a politicizing process”

Important to focus on real, tangible outlets for hopeWhat is the solution? How can we get there?

Storytelling

• Different kinds of stories (personal, campaign, etc)

• Taps into the emotional, or moral resources through stories

• We identify with protagonists to:– Learn lessons for our “heads” on how we could

act– More important: moving our hearts to act• Courage, hope, inspiration, solidarity

Shared Values and Goals

• Focusing on shared values, visions, and goals– Diversity becomes an asset rather than an obstacle– We experience values emotionally – and can tap into

those moral resourcesWhy people should act to change their world

• Turning values and goals into strategies and actionsHow people can act to change their world

Trust & Accountability

• Organizing creates a community co-reliant on each other for success

• Group projects… School or work– When did they work well?– When did they not?

• Accountability in a volunteer context

Obstacles to Engagement

Sooooo… if there are all these serious problems we are facing, why aren’t more people involved?

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Obstacles to Engagement

Sooooo… if there are all these serious problems we are facing, why aren’t more people involved?– Time– Money– Fear– Apathy– Lack of Awareness or Knowledge

• Must be aware of limitations/concerns– Take into account when engaging others– Help to minimize or mitigate concerns

Volunteer Recruitment

Where are the people??

Engaging communication

• How to make your issue engaging:– Make it personal to them– Make it personal to you– Hold individuals accountable– Deliver it to an authority figure– Frame it positively– Use your body (body language 55%, how we say

words 38%, the words themselves 7%– Tell a story– Speak in “their language”

Attitude, Attitude, Attitude

• What makes people (including yourself) want to get/stay involved– Positive & Upbeat– Solutions oriented– You make a difference

Principles for Volunteer Retention & Development

Tracking People• What to track– Name– Phone– Email– Address– Where you met– Issues– Other critical information

• How? Excel, Access, a standardized organized system• When? ASAP!! (so it happens, accuracy, follow up)• Why?

Follow upStrike while the iron is hot

• Follow up with new people right away!!– There is no such thing as following up too quickly– They still remember you, are still motivated, & most likely to get

involved• Why follow up?

– Building the movement, new people– They aren't likely to reach out to you, you need to help invite them

• How? – Helpful reminder where they know you from (e.g., booth at green fair)– Talk about issue, values, and goals– Ask them to take a specific action

• Attend a meeting or rally• Get coffee with you• Come to a movie screening• Write a letter

Staying in Touch

• Keeps people motivated and engaged• Allows them to get involved, even if they

weren’t able to at the first ask• Keeps the issue and movement in their mind

One-to-One Meetings

• Gain valuable information– Learn their issues, motivations, obstacles, skills

• Get them involved– Plug them into projects that make sense– Can give compelling reasons why they should

• Motivate them– Share your story (motives and values)– Makes them feel included and important

Developing Leaders

• Key Principles:– Encourage people to take ownership of projects– Focus on task at hand, but also next steps– Encourage new leaders to join decision making– Training, confidence building, & leadership

development

Leadership Ladder

Helps hand out flyers

Distribute flyers by themselves

Teach others to distribute flyers

Organize flyer distribution

Create the flyers

Organize and plan the campaign

Support Yourself and Others

• Organizing is a long-game• Guard against burnout• Remind others of their contributions and

value• Take time for self, spouse, family, etc.

Campaign Strategizing

Strategy, Planning, Implementation, & Evaluation

Campaigns

1. Strategy2. Planning3. Implementation4. Evaluation

Why Plan?

• Gives focus and direction• Uses resources (money, people, time, etc)

efficiently• Established benchmarks– Creates accountability– Know if you are winning

Strategic Planning

• Step 1: Establish clear goals– Tangible, can tell if you achieved it

• Step 2: Power Analysis– Identify key players– Assess strength: yours and your opposition– Develop a strategy to move targets

• Step 3: Put together a plan– Message, tactics, resources, timeline, etc

Overall Strategic Goal

• This is your “victory line”• Be concrete about the issue or problem to be

solved• Be concrete and specific in order to identify a

solution

Strategy

• General plan for building power to achieve your goal

• Who do we need to win?• What do we need to do to win?

Turing what you have into what you need to get what you want

Tactics

• Activist tactics might include:– Boycotts– Lobbying– Civil disobedience– Protests and Rallies– Petitions– Media campaigns– Letter writing

Goal

Strategy

Tactics

Goal

Strategy

Tactics

Example – Campaign to protect the Current River

Goal: Get the Nat. Park Service to select the strongest of the 4 alternative management plans, which includes:

1. Closing all illegal and unauthorized vehicle trails2. Rehabilitation of damaged land3. Concentration of development into a few already-developed sites, rather than

establishment of new ones4. At least one stretch of each river zone that is motorboat free

Strategy: Convince NPS Director Jarvis that unless this plan includes strong reforms, it will go down as a blight on his otherwise strong record of general management planning and park stewardship.

Tactics: – Lobbing the Nat. Park Service– Shining media spotlight on the park’s poor condition (LTEs, Op-eds, Press

events)– Grassroots (petitioning, calling, emailing, etc)– Coalition building

Campaigns

1. Strategy ✔2. Planning– Timeline– Who will do what, by when?– What resources are needed?

3. Implementation4. Evaluation

Campaigns

1. Strategy ✔2. Planning ✔3. Implementation– Stick to timeline and plan, but can be fluid– Track your work– Involve people!!!

4. Evaluation

Campaigns

1. Strategy ✔2. Planning ✔3. Implementation ✔4. Evaluation– Did you achieve your goal? Why, why not?– What was a success?– What needs to be improved upon?

Organizing Structure

Organizing Structure

Organizing Structure

Organizing Structure

Organizing Structure

Organizing Structure

Organizing Structure