A variety of organizing resources from a variety of sources.
Featured Resources
July 2010 - Organizer Roundtable: The Ecology of Organizing - If we look at the field of organizing as an interdependent web of relationships, how can we more intentionally strengthen our relationships to sustain our work?, Alliance for Metropolitan Stability.
January 17, 2009 - Leading Community Conversations: Building relationships in support of public education - On January 14, 2009, about one hundred Minnesota school board members and administrators met for a conversation about how to build support for public schools in this economic and social climate by leading collaborative conversations regarding the complex problems facing public education.
On this page you will find resources that supported our January 14 conversation, as well as data, tools, and examples that will inform an ongoing conversation among all who are invested in the notion that our public schools will benefit from engaged, involved communities and that building relationships to create capacity for public decision-making and problem-solving is critical to realizing that vision.
Collaborative community conversations are a powerful way to generate excitement in support of education and other social causes.
Minnesota School Boards Association
Minnesota Association of School Administrators
Parents United for Public Schools
Toolkits & Guides
Action Guide for Education Organizing - Center for Community Change.
Advocate for Change - University of Kansas Work Group on Health Promotion and Community Development.
The Activation Point - "What's the best way to motivate people to get involved?" - Spitfire Strategies and Communications Leadership Institute.
Advocacy Tools - From the Praxis Project, a national project to achieve health justice. These tools focus on tobacco issues, but the strategies are adaptable to any advocacy effort. See also,
Building Capacity for Local Decisionmaking - Use these tools to influence policy and practice, set common agendas for change, and improve the quality of life for children and families, Center for the Study of Social Policy.
Child Advocacy Primer- Tips and Tools for Improving Your Child Advocacy Skills, Voices for America’s Children.
Civic Index for Quality Public Education - Assess and improve your local community's support for your public schools, Public Education Network and Give Kids Good Schools.
Community Organizing Resources - A directory of resources from GrantCraft, a project of the Ford Foundation.
Como Mejorar la Educación de sus Hijos: Guía Para Padres Latinos, Education Trust.
Early Childhood Advocacy Toolkit - Ready4K.
Handbook on Community Visioning - Want to make a difference in your hometown? A good starting point is by mapping the resources and issues unique to your area. This guide from the Center for Rural Pennsylvania helps communities – and not just those in PA! – begin to undertake community planning and development. It includes a reading list for understanding how to develop a community vision.
INFO CENTRAL: Civic Engagement and Public Policy - Toolkit from the Minnesota Council of Nonprofits.
Legislative Network Tool Kit - University of Minnesota Legislative Network.
Main Street Project - Working to document the challenges facing people in increasingly diverse rural communities, give voice to their hopes and aspirations, and provide creative and practical tools to turn possibilities into realities, League of Rural Voters.
National PTA
Newcomer’s Guide to the Policy Process - A short, informal guide to state-level policymaking, Community College Policy Center.
Nonprofit Good Practice Guide - Dorothy A. Johnson Center for Philanthropy & Nonprofit Leadership.
Parent Lobbying Resources - Association of Metropolitan School Districts.
Parents as Civic Leaders - Serve as a “parent voice” to help shape the direction of your families, programs and communities - training provided by Prevent Child Abuse Minnesota.
Parents as Collaborative Leaders: Improving Outcomes for Children with Disabilities - A core curriculum on collaborative leadership, University of Vermont.
Public Education Network - Working to advance public school reform in low-income communities across our country.
Results for America Education Toolkit - Raise local awareness of education issues and make your voice heard.
School Readiness Tool Kit for Employers - Minnesota Business for Early Learning.
Stand Up for Children NOW! - Children’s Defense Fund Action Council.
Tips & Tactics for Contacting Legislators - Minnesota Council of Nonprofits.
Tools for Faithful Citizenship - Tips on communicating with lawmakers, Joint Religious Legislative Coalition, Minnesota Council of Churches.
Tools for Organizing - A great resource for people new to organizing and experienced organizers, Citizen Works.
Wellstone Action
Youth Policy Resource Center - Policy makers, administrators and advocates across the country are responding to the research and increasing public awareness of what is necessary to change the odds for youth, Forum for Youth Investment.
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August 26, 2009 - Organizer Roundtable: Community Organizing in the Suburbs - On August 26, 2009, Twin Cities organizers came together to discuss specific strategies for community organizing in the Twin Cities suburbs. Presenting at this event were Amina Saleh of Family & Children’s Service, Patrick Ness of Catholic Charities Office of Social Justice, JoAnn Tesar of Community Action Partnership of Ramsey & Washington Counties and other organizers about what they have learned about community organizing in the Twin Cities suburbs, Alliance for Metropolitan Stability.
August 2009 - 10 Ways to Improve Arts Education for All Students in Your Community - 10 things you can do to help the children and youth in your community gain and retain access to a great arts education, Americans for the Arts.
June 7, 2009 - Arts Education Advocates Save San Diego School Programs - Last week, a small group of arts education advocates in San Diego successfully appealed to their school board to save the Visual and Performing Arts Department from elimination in a round of aggressive cost cutting. We spoke with activist Victoria J. Saunders to find out what worked and how the group organized their appeal, California Alliance for Arts Education.
September 21, 2008 - Staying Rooted in Community Knowledge and Experience - More than 30 organizers attended the Alliance’s "Staying Rooted in Community Knowledge and Experience" Organizer Roundtable last week. The topic – a new one for the Alliance – focused on how to integrate popular education techniques into organizing campaigns, Alliance for Metropolitan Stability.
September 2008 - Increasing Relevance, Relationships and Results: Principles & Practices for Effective Multicultural Communication - An overview of eight principles for effective multicultural communication, Metropolitan Group.
April 2008 - True Grassroots Advocacy: Over the Back Fence - Mari Pokornowski, Advocacy Chair, Minnesota PTA.
March 2008 - Organized Communities, Stronger Schools A Preview of Research Findings - Data suggest that organizing is contributing to school-level improvements, increased student attendance, improved standardized-test-score performance, and higher graduation rates and college-going aspirations in several sites. Organizing efforts influence policy and resource distribution to increase equity and build capacity, particularly in historically low-performing schools. Organizing groups achieve these schooling and community impacts through a combination of system-level advocacy, school- or community-based activity, and strategic use of research and data, Annenberg Institute for School Reform at Brown University.
August 2006 - Rabble Rousers! Best Practices & Lessons Learned By Civic Organizations Working to Impact Education Reform - The most effective groups rise above the noise keeping their focus—and that of their state’s leadership—on the issues that impact students, Joyce Foundation.
February 2005 - Building Public Will - A communication approach to creating a long term or permanent shift manifested in peoples’ commitment to taking action to create change, Metropolitan Group (Tips & Tools).
January 2005 - An Action Guide for Education Organizing - Tools and stories of education organizing, Center for Community Change.
November 2004 - Block Club Leader Manual (organizing at the local level, in your neighborhood), Macalester-Groveland Community Council, the Highland District Council and the Summit Hill Association/District 16 Planning Council.
March 2004 - Advice to Advocates - What leads to effective advocacy? State policymakers share the inside scoop, American Association of School Administrators.
November 2003 - Working With the Public on Big Decisions, American Association of School Administrators.
September 2003 - An Activist's Guide to Metropolitics: Building Coalitions for Reform in America's Metropolitan Areas, Metropolitan Area Research Corporation.
Training
Alliance for Justice Nonprofit Advocacy Online Workshops - Working to strengthen the voice of the nonprofit sector in important public policy debates by giving tax-exempt organizations a better understanding of the laws that govern their participation in the policy process.
Community Leadership Development Program - A six-month community action and training program for grassroots leaders who are low-income, persons of color, or new immigrants, Family & Children's Service.
Minnesota Community Action Association - A statewide network of community-based anti-poverty service agencies in Minnesota offers many advocacy training events and resources.
Partners in Policymaking - A leadership training program designed for adults with disabilities and for parents of young children with disabilities. The program teaches leadership skills, and the process of developing positive partnerships with elected officials and other individuals who make the policy decisions about services that you and your family use. Created by the Minnesota Governor's Council on Developmental Disabilities.
- Making Your Case - An online course on how to communicate with public officials by effectively telling your personal story, writing a letter, providing testimony, and communicating in positive ways. Open to everyone; no registration fee.
Public Policy Project - Helping low-wealth individuals and people of color understand and influence policy and engage the policy making process.
Student Organizing Guides - Check out these resources for information about organizing college students and community members, Minnesota Campus Compact.
Training for Community Organizers (scroll down) - Organizing Apprenticeship Project.
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