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You can't organize your community by yourself. There's just too much to be done especially
if your issue is complex.
Creating a "coalition" can help.
A coalition is a group of organizations
that share a cause and agree to work together to create policy change.
A coalition allows members of several organizations to join forces to tackle an issue with broad impact.
For example, disability advocates often look at issues differently
but many all agree on the issue itself.
Another example of this would be “technology accessibility” which benefits everyone.
Advocates from different disability organizations that unite together with a common goal of
addressing a specific issue
are in effect forming a coalition.
If you’d like to see a successful example of coalition building,
check out “Coalition of Organizations for Accessible Technology” (COAT).
Coalitions are not permanent partnerships.
Many coalitions disband once the mutual goal is achieved.
Members of a good coalition
share similar viewpoints,
have a power base,
have strong leadership in place,
have a lot of members,
have more resources,
are active partners,
are aware of and comfortable with each other, and readily exchange resources.
Here's a quick tip. Take it one step at a time.
You don’t have to start your community organizing experience by forming a coalition.
Instead, try joining a coalition that deals with an issue that’s important to you.
Get involved with a local project in your community.
This will give you a chance to see how coalitions work
and build alliances with others.