Post on 16-Jan-2016
Community Organizing
101
Greater Cleveland Congregations (GCC) is a non-partisan coalition of faith communities and partner organizations in Cuyahoga County working together to build power for social justice. GCC unites people
across lines of race, class, religion, and geography to promote public, private and civic sector actions
which strengthen and improve the quality of life of our neighborhoods.
Key Themes of Community Organizing
Power
Self-interests
Relationships
Living Between Two Worlds
World as it Is
Power
Self Interest
Relationships
World as it Should Be
Love
Do good/Altruism
Recognition of common humanity
Engine:Motivation:
Glue:
Definition of Power
“To be able”
The ability to act
Ways of Understanding Power
Dominant PowerUnilateral (one-way)Zero-sumPower “over”
Relational PowerMulti-lateralIncreasingPower “with”
Discuss with Partner
Tell a story of a time in you life when you were acted on by dominant power, and what if anything you did about it.
Keep the story “public”
Spend 5 minutes swapping stories.
Sources of Power in a Democracy
Position
Organized Money
Organized People
Context for Community Organizing
Public Sector•Elected officials
(national, state, local)•Government Agencies
Civic Sector•Families
•Religious Congs.•Labor Unions
•Civic associations•Advocacy Groups
Private Sector•Financial Services•Energy companies•Real Estate/Constr.
•Health Care/Insurance•Manufacturing
Contracts/grants/regulations
CampaignDonations
Workers/ConsumersVoters/Taxpayers
Values: administration/controlPower: Position
Values: ProfitPower: Organized $
Values: All other motivesPower: Organized People and organized $
Context for Community Organizing
Public Sector
Civic Sector
Private Sector
Contracts/grants/regulations
CampaignDonations
Workers/ConsumersVoters/Taxpayers
Values: administration/controlPower: Position
Values: ProfitPower: Organized $
Values: All other motivesPower: Organized People and organized $
Three Levels of Power
1.Get to the table
2.Make a deal
3.Keep a deal
Context for Community Organizing
Public Sector•Elected officials
(national, state, local)•Government Agencies
Civic Sector•Families
•Religious Congs.•Labor Unions
•Civic associations•Advocacy Groups
Private Sector•Financial Services•Energy companies•Real Estate/Constr.
•Health Care/Insurance•Manufacturing
Contracts/grants/regulations
CampaignDonations
Workers/ConsumersVoters/Taxpayers
Values: administration/controlPower: Position
Values: ProfitPower: Organized $
Values: All other motivesPower: Organized People and organized $
GCC’s Purpose: Relational Power for
Justice
Ability to get to the decision making table and negotiate on behalf of our interests and values
Make and keep deals
Organizing our people and our money
Frederick Douglass on Power
“Power concedes nothing without a demand. It never did and it never will.”
Paul Tillich on Power
Power without love = tyranny
Love without power = sentimentality
Power + Love = Justice
Self Interest
Selfishness (me only)
Self interest (inter-esse: me amongst others)
Selflessness (others only)
Spectrum of Self-Interest
Self Preservation
Self Realization
Rabbi Hillel Says:
“If I am not for myself, who will be for me?
“If I am only for myself, what am I?
“If not now, when?”
Discuss with PartnerWhat self-interest brought you here
today?
10 minutes
“Small Change” Discussion
What key points did you take from this article?
What were the self-interests of the students who initiated the sit-ins?
Why these students?
15 minutes
Joseph McNeil and the Chickens
Self-interests
Relationships
Tension/agitation
Action/Reaction
How will we build power in the
Civic Sector?
Identifying common self interests we can only realize together
Intentionally building relationships necessary to motivate and sustain action
Two Organizing Tools to Identify Interests and Build
Relationships
1. Individual meetings
2.House meetings
Definition of Leadership
Someone who has followers
How many followers do you have?
How do you build your Leadership?
Intentionally expand your network of relationships.Members of your congregationMembers of other congregations and
organizationsOther community leaders.
Individual MeetingsA 30-60 minute face to face meeting to explore
the possibility of a public relationship.
Explore: initiate with people you are interested in because you imagine that there’s something to do together.
Public: Not friendship, not romance, but respect, an understanding of mutual interests, and a context to work together in the future.
With Whom?
Members of your congregation
Members of other congregations and organizations
Other community leaders.
Anyone who can help you expand your network
Life Lessons from Lois “Meeting someone is not just about meeting someone.”
“She had a big job for Helen, she just didn’t know what it was yet.”
“First, she reaches out to someone outside her world.”
“It’s not merely that she knows lots of people. It’s that she belongs to lots of different worlds.”
“(Integration) happened, but it didn’t happen by accident. It happened because a certain type of person made it happen.”
“When we talk about power, this is what we are usually talking about: money and authority. But there’s a third kind of power as well – the kind Lois has. It’s social power.”
Elements of Individual Meetings
Credential: who and why
Be interesting – share your story and interests
Be interested/curious – inquire about stories, interests, passions, values, concerns, experiences, talents, public life choices.
Close with specific next step to further the public relationshipanother meeting a particular topicshare names of people in their networkpull together a house meetingattend an event connected to their interest
Nature of ConversationYes
Intentional
Individual
Relational
Two-way/reciprocal
Stories/interests/values
Public/probing
In Person
Art
NoCasual
Group
Task-oriented
Interview
Small talk
Private/prying
Phone/e-mail/chat
Science
Summary
We build a powerful organization by building relationships between civic sector institutions that have common self interests.
We unlock the power of organized people by developing leaders with a following.
Context for Community Organizing
Public Sector•Elected officials
(national, state, local)•Government Agencies
Civic Sector•Families
•Religious Congs.•Labor Unions
•Civic associations•Advocacy Groups
Private Sector•Financial Services•Energy companies•Real Estate/Constr.
•Health Care/Insurance•Manufacturing
Contracts/grants/regulations
CampaignDonations
Workers/ConsumersVoters/Taxpayers
Values: administration/controlPower: Position
Values: ProfitPower: Organized $
Values: All other motivesPower: Organized People and organized $
Core Teams5-25 member team who will be responsible for
organizing your congregation
Clergy and lay leaders
Leaders from all corners of the congregation
Agenda for Summer meeting Audit of congregational members connected to each of
our issue areas Strategy for approaching each of the above