The Grassroots are Always GreenerHow to effectively engage, organize,

and activate the business voice to make an impact

• Mike Zipko / Zipko Strategy

• Patrick Connolly / Connolly Kuhl Group

About us

What is grassroots organizing and advocacy?– A group of individuals in a particular

community coming together to organize for social, political, environmental, or economic change in order to enhance the quality of their lives of the lives of others

– Grassroots advocacy differs from traditional lobbying, which brings arguments for or against a specific measure directly to legislators and government officials

Increase mass participation in politics by reaching the general public and ask them to contact or engage with their legislators

and government officials

The Goal of Grassroots Organizing

Why does this matter?

• Grassroots advocacy and organizing is changing the way elected and public officials make decision

• Activists and progressive groups are using these ideas to impact government and the public process

• Business advocates can and need to do the same to make sure there is a balance of voices in what is now a changed conversation

Why does this matter?

How it used to be (before the internet)

• Government made decisions and resolved differences

• Power and process was streamlined, segmented, and concentrated in a closed system

• A limited number of people made decisions

• A limited number of organizations decided what we needed to read, watch or listed to

• Issues and events happened in a slower, more predictable manner

• It was hard for us to connect with people we knew and even harder to instantly reach people we did not know

How it used to be (before the internet)

How it is now (after the internet)

• Government is now often not able to resolve differences and too often we have gridlock at the state and federal levels

• Power is being decentralized, process is being challenged by new groups and new voices

• Any person or organization can share things they want us to read, watch, listen or hear

• We are constantly connected to people we knew and almost instantly able to reach people we don’t know

• Issues and events can now happen immediately and in completely unpredictable ways

How it is now (after the internet)

The impact on business?• Businesses first priority is to stay in

operation, keeps its people working, service its customers, and pay the bills

• Business advocates have traditionally trusted community ideals, processes, elected officials, and what many thought were “the rules” to support the economy in each community, state, or the country.

What does it mean for business now?• Grassroots organizing and advocacy have

changed these traditional ideas

• Business and their advocates now need to be more aware of change and be more civically engaged

• Need to be prepared to organize and activate their own advocates to support or oppose ideas and issues

“There is a major ingredient missing from our perception of

how changes are brought about; that ingredient is power.”

Paul Wellstone

How Change Happens

Grassroots campaigns

Shock

Frustration

Anger

Strategy4

3

2

1

5 Stages of Grassroots Engagement

Activation5

What makes a successful campaign• High level commitment to campaign• Defined vision of what victory looks like• Ask for help• Accepting risk and the chance of failure• Extend activity outside the halls of power• Unified messages• Following through to ”do what you planned

and said you would do"• Investment of time and money

PROACTIVE REACTIVE

Types of grassroots campaigns

Examples and impact

Neighborhood City State

Grand Avenue Parking Meters

Minneapolis Municipal

Power

I94 West Corridor Coalition

Key Business Grassroots Campaigns

Grand Avenue Parking Meters• In 2015, the City of St. Paul proposed adding

parking meters along the Grand Avenue retail area as a way to add revenue to budget.

• City had promised meetings and input from businesses and community but failed to do either. City leaders expected opposition to this to fade.

• Grand Avenue Business Association decided this was a serious enough issue to “fight back” and brought in outside help to create the plan and strategy.

Minneapolis Municipal Power• In 2013, advocates wanted Minneapolis to voters

to allow the City to buy and take over Xcel Energy’s city operations

• Project had huge financial costs for taxpayers at a time when there were concerns about city’s ability to provide basic services.

• Minneapolis Regional Chamber of Commerce decided to activate business leaders, civic leaders, communities of color, and other audiences across Minneapolis to oppose the issue.

I-94 West Corridor Coalition• In 2013, the I94 West Coalition Corridor was a

languishing entity that had a very low level of activity

• Faced with the possibility of eliminating the coalition, leaders decided to instead reenergize the coalition.

• The I94 West Corridor Coalition decided to bring in help to revitalize the organization to look at strategic planning, communications, government relations, and membership management.

Minneapolis Sick and Safe

Time

Challenging Grassroots campaigns

Minneapolis Sick and Safe Time• In 2015, Minneapolis City Council proposed that a

city wide sick and safe time ordinance.• Understanding the impact to businesses - the

Minneapolis Chamber of Commerce was not sure about how to fight the ordinance.

• The Minneapolis Chamber of Commerce raised money and hired outside consultants for a limited campaign

• Chamber’s changing commitment to active advocacy negatively impacted the campaign and the ordinance was passed.

How to prepare for upcoming issues

Progressive advocacy groups have put much more emphasis on local and municipal policy

because of gridlock at federal and state levels

Potential upcoming issues• Larger-scale agriculture• Local option taxes• Pipelines and energy projects• Mining • Specific city workforce rules• Regulation changes• Election impact• Zoning and land use

The Offensive

• Change the conversation• Work within the new

reality• Understand your role

The Defensive

• Fiscal cost planning• Prepare organization to

actively engage• Be civically aware• ACT!

Questions and Answers

About us• zipkostrategy.com

• connollykuhlgroup.com

What’s Next

THANK YOU