Getting Started Workbook Strategy III: Inventory Existing Community Services

Getting Started Workbook

Actions in this Section

• Ensure group knows what else may be occurring in the community as they think through the work they are undertaking

Tools in this Section

• Coalition and Community Scan Tool

Tips for Success

• These days there are multiple coalitions operating within communities that have multiple missions. It is important to identify existing supports within a community in order to avoid duplication of efforts. This is especially true when funding requires a coalition.

• If a coalition is formed for the right reasons (i.e., no other coalition exists that could address the issue, the coalition is formed from the community and not just one person or organization, the coalition is linked to real community issues and not just available funding, etc.), it can be highly effective in leveraging resources, building community support for issues, and influencing public policy and norms.

• If a coalition is formed for the wrong reasons, the potential is created for fostering mistrust in the community for these kinds of processes in the future and lead to difficulties sustaining its efforts and membership.

• Use this step to develop a clear idea of what is already occurring within the community. Specifically, look for duplication of efforts, identify possible partnerships, and confirm interest in pursuing this project.

• Combine formal and informal approaches. Use the Coalition and Community Scan in conversations with existing councils and key people who are familiar with the community landscape. 

Coalition and Community Scan Tool

What is a coalition and will you need to form one?
In theory, a coalition is a group composed of diverse organizations, factions and constituencies, which have come together to achieve a specific goal. A coalition is usually formed in response to a need within the community. Coalitions vary in their purpose, intensity, and duration depending on the community and need. Some coalitions, for example, are formed merely to share information and ideas while others collaborate about on-going programs, to accomplish a particular goal, or to solve an identified problem.

Initial Considerations
When considering whether to form a coalition, begin by answering these questions:

• Does a coalition already exist in your community?
• If so, what is their vision and mission? Does it fit with what you are trying to accomplish?
• Are the people you want to involve in your coalition involved in the existing coalition? Will membership overlap?
• Do you think your community needs a (another) coalition? Why?
• For what purpose would your coalition exist?
• What would be the coalition’s goals?
• How should it be structured?
• Will your community support a coalition?
• How long should the coalition exist?

Criteria for a coalition:

• Ability to impact the issue
• Potential for community-level change
• Supported by data/data-driven
• Viewed as critical/important
• Will be and make good use of resources
• Affects other areas – seen as having a rippling effect
• Collaborative effort (potential for multiple sectors and strategies)

Coalition building is needed when one organization recognizes it alone does not possess the technical capability or people power to have real impact on an issue. Today’s issues are complex and audiences are larger. To accomplish a goal, representation must often be broadened to include non-traditional, vested-interest groups that have larger roles in local, state and national policymaking.

Coalition Realities: Benefits and Hurdles
There are many advantages to forming a coalition:

• A coalition of organizations can win on more fronts than a single organization working alone, increasing the potential for success.
• A coalition can develop new leaders. As experienced group members move into coalition leadership, openings are created within individual groups. With training, new leaders emerge, broadening the leadership ranks.
• A coalition increases the impact of each organization’s effort by providing more information to citizens, interest groups and policymakers. The more people who are involved in the coalition with an understanding of your issues means there are more people to advocate for your group.
• A coalition increases available resources. Additional members can directly benefit your group and coalition members by sharing resources, such as office space, meeting connections, and their established relationships with other groups.
• A coalition broadens your organization’s scope by providing groups with the opportunity to work on regional, state or national issues, thereby making the results of your local efforts more effective and far-reaching. As the results of coalition activities are likely to be reported through the media, this may garner more attention for your issues.
• A coalition can build a lasting base for change. When groups unite, each group’s vision of social justice and collective social change broadens, thereby weakening the ability of opponents to label the coalition’s efforts as those of “special interests.”
• A successful coalition is comprised of people who come from diverse backgrounds and different viewpoints. Given this, members must figure out how to respect each other’s differences while working to accomplish considerable objectives.

At the same time, there are some disadvantages to working in a coalition:

• Member groups can get distracted…
• A coalition may only be as strong as its weakest link…
• To keep the coalition together, it is often necessary to cater to the lowest common denominator…
• The democratic principle “one group, one vote” does not always sit well with groups with...
• Individual organizations may not receive credit for their input…

So when it comes to coalitions, how do we accentuate the advantages and curtail the disadvantages?