Community Building Tips: Getting Started
Introduction
This is the first part of a toolkit series on community building and social change.
Read this if you are interested in bringing people together to create social change in your community but not sure where or how to start.
Skip this if you already have a clear vision statement you feel confident in, feel confident and ready to start community organizing, and are knowledgeable about potential supporters and barriers to your cause.
The NGM Circle Community Building Journey Map: You are at the start.
People often get in touch with us looking to start a NGM Circle group in their own community. We know there’s plenty of excitement and fear around starting something new so we wanted to demystify the journey and provide some helpful tips to think about as you go about grassroots organizing in your own community.
We’ve mapped out common stages and checkpoints on the journey to break it down into digestible chunks. Checkpoints are represented by circles on the map, and stages are the curvy lines in-between.
Think of checkpoints as critical moments of reflection and decision making, while stages are the non-linear sequences of events that move you along.
If you’re just getting started, you’re at the very first checkpoint.
So you want to start organizing a group in your community? Want to gather people around social change? Here are some considerations for you to think about right at the start based on our experiences organizing NGM Circle groups across Canada.
Have a Compelling Vision
You don’t have to be some kind of charismatic superstar to make change happen, but you do need to clearly articulate a vision in order to get others on board. Start thinking about what you care about, the problems you want to solve, and how you will get there. You don’t need to have all the answers, just come up with a clear vision that you can confidently describe in your own words.
Answer the following questions if you are having trouble coming up with a vision:
What do you hope to achieve?
What change do you want to make?
What problems do you want to solve or shift?
Why are you doing this?
What do you want to do?
Who is it for?
Challenge Your Own Limiting Beliefs
If you want to start convening others, the first step is believing in what you’re doing. This might sound obvious, but the most common barriers I’ve encountered to people starting are their own fears and worries. We are scared of what others will think, scared of our own ability to lead or gather others, scared of something going wrong. All of these ideas can become self-fulfilling prophecies if you don’t address them right from the start.
Take some time to write down and think through what you really want to accomplish and when you feel an internal objection coming up pause to reflect on it. Is it accurate? How likely is it to happen? What’s the worst thing that can happen? Is it really that bad? You may find that many of the fears and objections you’re creating aren’t so scary after all.Check Your Capacity
Personal readiness: Do you have the motivation to put in the necessary time and energy to do this? Do you have the knowledge and experience to feel confident enough to pull this off? If the answer is no, don’t think that means not ever. If you really care about your mission, it means not yet. Think about what actions you will take to get to where you need to be.
Community readiness: Do you have other people or organizations around you that care and are interested in your mission? You can’t do this alone, so from the start you need to be thinking about how to meaningfully include others. Connect with others and start building relationships as soon as possible, relationships are the heart of community building and social change.
Create Conditions for Success
What obstacles or barriers do you see getting in the way? What would stop others from joining you? By thinking ahead about possible objections and challenges, you will be more confident if they come up. You can’t plan for everything, but considering possible issues will force you to reflect deeper on your community building project.
Summary
Actions to take before moving on to the next stage
Create a clear vision statement you feel confident in
Evaluate your personal readiness and beliefs
Perform a mental inventory of potential supporters and barriers
Thanks for reading! This post is the first part of a toolkit series on community building and social change.
-Ryan