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Chapter 2. Power-Building Toolbox: Organizing and Grassroots Advocacy

The tools in this Chapter are intended for use:

• By - Community organizers, coalition leaders, and advocates
• To - Build collective power, assess existing power dynamics, and establish lasting relationships to build the base.

Tools in this chapter

• Guide: Vision Gallery
• Guide: Problem Tree- Root Cause Analysis
• Worksheet: Community Asset Mapping
• Guide: Power Analysis
• Worksheet: Stick Figure Exercise
• Guide: One-to-One Meeting
• Template: One-to-One Contact & Leadership Development Tracker
• Worksheet: Leadership Development Plan
• Guide: Ladder of Engagement Framework

Sources and Additional Reading:

• 🔗 Organizing: People, Power, Change
• 🔗 The Activist Handbook
• 🔗 The Change Agency: People Power Manual
• 🔗 Midwestern Academy Organizing for Justice Training
• 🔗 Influencing for Impact Guide
• 🔗 What Is a Ladder of Engagement and Why Do I Need One? </aside>

"At the same time we organize behind specific and urgent issues, we must also develop and maintain an ongoing vision, and the theory following upon that vision, of why we struggle—of the shape and taste and philosophy of what we wish to see.”

"Al mismo tiempo que nos organizamos en torno a temas específicos y urgentes, también debemos desarrollar y mantener una visión continua, y la teoría que surge de esa visión, sobre por qué luchamos: sobre la forma, el sabor y la filosofía de aquello que deseamos construir.”

— Audre Lorde

2.1 Overview of Community Organizing

Chapter 1 explored grasstops advocacy and provided tools for influencing key decision-makers and navigating visible power. Chapter 2 introduces community organizing and the role of grassroots advocacy in uncovering hidden and invisible power, shifting Power To a collective, and building Power Within it.

Community organizing is a form of leadership that:

• Shifts power to people and communities that have historically been left out of decision making.
• Strengthens relationships with people, mobilizing resources and taking collective action toward a shared goal or cause.

Thus, we organize to build collective power and reform existing power structures.

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❗Why This Matters for Building Power❗

Community organizing mobilizes people by cultivating Power Within and building Power With them, which together create the Power To influence public decisions (visible power), expose who sets the agenda (hidden power), and shift perceptions, beliefs, and norms (invisible power).

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Here is an example of what organizing looks like in practice:

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Example:

A small neighborhood located near an oil refinery is experiencing high asthma rates and poor air quality.  Residents notice an increase in smog and bad smells.  An organizer would help these residents connect the dots between the high asthma rates, poor air quality and the proximity to the oil refinery and get them to all take collective action.

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Organizing is essential to help tackle large public issues, solve both local and wide-spread problems, and shift people into action.

2.2 Mobilizing vs. Organizing in Grassroots Advocacy

Mobilizing and organizing are key components of grassroots advocacy that work in different ways to amplify a cause by building collective power. The table below highlights key activities for each of these tactics and outlines how they relate to advocacy to create change.

Table 2.1 Mobilizing vs. Organizing

Organizing builds deep, sustainable power over longer periods of time. Mobilizing increases public awareness about existing power structures and centers around taking specific action for short-term achievement. Organizing and mobilizing are both components of grassroots advocacy and involve building Power With a collective.