Step One - Listen to Others
Discover common interests through one-on-one meetings, surveys, etc.
Step Two - Have an Informal Meeting
Meet with a small group of individuals identified in step one. Make plans together. How can you involve more people in deciding what should be done in the neighborhood?
Step Three - Hold a Larger Community Meeting
Try to agree on common interests and come up with first steps to take on a problem. Schedule a follow-up community meeting, if necessary.
Step Four - Research
Explore issues of concern in more detail. Identify stakeholders (government officials, businesses, and residents who likely have a self-interest in the issue).
Step Five - Choose an Issue to Begin With
A good issue will:
• Be a real improvement in people's lives
• Be specific and winnable (Don't choose an issue that's too big!)
• Have a clear target
• Be non-divisive for your neighborhood
• Build leadership (many people must be able to get involved doing things.)
• Lead to new issues, related to the self-interests of people
• Be consistent with the values and vision of the group
• Develop a sense of power for your group
Step Six - Decide What to Do on This Specific Issue
Will you use community meetings with officials to gain commitments from them? Will you use the media? How will you seek to involve new people? How will you build the strength of your organization?
Make plans based on what you learned in talking with people and in your research. You might decide that you need to do a little more research if something happened that you didn’t expect. Do more research and change your plans accordingly.
Step Seven - Evaluate What You Did
Hold an evaluation meeting with your key people. Did you get the things accomplished that you wanted to accomplish when you began? How did your leadership work? Is there anything you would do differently? Was new leadership developed? Are you different as an organization than when you began? How?
Step Eight - Celebrate Your Victory
Volunteers who never have fun can get burnt out. So have a party! Invite the media and everyone who helped you accomplish your goal.
Step Nine - Build New Leadership in Your Group
If you've found a couple of great leaders, be sure to include them in official leadership positions.
Step Ten - Go Back to Step One
Obviously, when you have a group organized, you don’t have to create a brand-new group for each issue. However, we always need to keep listening and draw in new people. Some individuals might want to work on the new issue even if they weren’t interested in the previous one.
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