1. Coalition Building I: Starting a Coalition

2. What is a coalition?
A diverse group of individuals and organizations who work together to reach a common goal.
That goal often includes one of the following:
Adapting, creating, or developing public policy
Influencing people's behavior
Building a healthy community 2

3. Why start a coalition? To address an urgent situation
To control the future of the community
To obtain or provide services
For effective and efficient delivery of programs
To pool resources
To increase communication among groups
To plan and launch community-wide initiatives
To develop and use political clout
To create long-term, permanent social change

4. Barriers to starting a coalition
Turf issues
Bad history
Domination by "professionals" or some other elite
Poor links to the community
Minimal organizational capacity
Funding
Failure to provide and create leadership within the coalition
The costs of working together outweigh the benefits for many coalition members 4

5. Who should be part of a coalition?
Stakeholders
Community opinion leaders
Policy makers 5

6. How do you start a community coalition?
Put together a core group
Identify the most important potential coalition members
Recruit members to the coalition
Plan and hold a first meeting
Follow up on the first meeting
Continue with other next steps
Use general guidelines for getting a coalition off the ground 6