Get Org’d

How do you mobilize people into action? There are as many organizing strategies as there are communities to carry them out. Here’s a model for getting started that makes even the biggest, most revolutionary actions seem as simple as a checklist.

• Goal – What do you want to acheive? Make this as specific as possible and stick to tangible action instead of ideas (ex. Instead of “Make women equal!” try “Get HR #### through the MS Congress to ratify the ERA”)
• Decision Makers – Who has the power to give you what you want? This might be your legislators, school board, city council, law enforcement, circuit court judge, whoever owns the pizza place with the degrading billboards, a company’s board of directors, a steering committee, or any other person or group that makes decisions about your issue.
• Resources – What do you need to influence those decision makers to help you reach your goal? List EVERYTHING from the abstract (an ally in congress and committed activists) to the here and now (a van, a scanner, duck tape). Divide the list up into what you have now and what you still need to get.
• Allies and Opponents – Who’s on your side? Who’s against you? List people and organizations and consider what resources they have, if they’re into sharing or coalition building (for allies), or how they might act as a roadblock to your goal (for opponents).
• Activities – Here’s where we get to the hands on stuff. How can you get the resources you don’t have? How can you use the ones you do? How will these resources influence your decision makers? When can you get started? Make a list, prioritize your actions, and get rolling.

(Adapted from similar models by the Midwest Academy of Organizing, the University of Michigan School of Social Work, and some amazing youth activists from Chicago)