1. Grassroots Organizing:
How to win campaigns and get results

2. Outline The importance of strategy for grassroots campaigns
Developing a Strategy:
five components of a good strategy
Telling your Story:
media relations and messaging
Questions, Comments and Discussion

3. The importance of strategy for grassroots campaigns

4. How grassroots organizing wins campaigns – Picking an Issue
Problems versus Issues – know the difference
What are good criteria for my issue?
Does it improve people’s lives?
Will it empower your members and allies?
Does it alter the relations of power?

5. Developing a Strategy: Five Components
Goals
Organizational Considerations
Constituents, Allies, Opponents
Target(s)
Tactics

6. Developing a Strategy: Goals
Goals are something that you win from your target
Example:
Walmart raises the minimum wage for all employees
Long-term
Walmart CEO makes public commitment to raising wages
Inter-mediate
Meeting with Walmart CEO
Short-term

7. Developing a Strategy: Organizational Considerations
List the resources you have:
Money
Staff
Facilities
Rapport and reputation
Canvass
Draft a budget
List what you wish to build
Expand leadership
Gain experience
Build membership base
Know and list your internal conflicts!

8. Developing a Strategy: Constituents, Allies, & Opponents
Constituents: consider themselves part of your organization
Allies: not part of your organization, but help you win
Opponents: stand to lose if you win
Tips:
Create a spectrum of allies
Analyze power relationships
Think outside the list of “usual suspects”

9. Developing a Strategy: Targets
A target is someone who gives you what you want (goals)
A target is always a person
A secondary target is someone who has power over a primary target
Always work to personalize your target
versus

10. Developing a Strategy: Tactics
Goals
Organizational Considerations
Constituents, Allies, Opponents
Target(s)
Tactics
Should be the last consideration of a good strategy
Tactics are what your Constituents do to your Target to win your Goals and build your Organization
Within the experience of your members, outside the experience of your target
Importance of escalation and building power
Examples: petitions drives, letter writing, turnout events, visitations, critical mass, marches, strikes, and civil disobedience

11. Developing a Strategy: Tactics
Sponsored event protest for free battery recycling– Texas Campaign for the Environment
Tree sit in Texas – Tar Sands Blockade
“Save our NHS” – 38 Degrees

12. Telling Your Story: Media Relations
Develop a press contact list
Write press releases before actions and events
Build a social media presence
If a tree falls in the woods and there is no one there to tweet about it, did it really happen?

13. Telling Your Story: Media Relations
Have a clear message
Use BOLD letters
Have a spokesperson: ABCs of media relations
Bold signage, personified target
Unreadable text

14. Celebrating Victories and Debriefing
Celebrate now, and celebrate often!
Debrief with your constituents
Follow up with your allies
People’s Climate March – NYC 2014

15. Questions, Comments, and Discussion
External Resources:
Organizing for Social Change – Midwest Academy Manual for Activists
Organizing Cools the Planet – Hilary Moore and Joshua Kahn Russell
Beautiful Trouble – A Toolbox for Revolution
The Most Amazing Online Organizing Guide Ever! – Green Meme