Step 1.

The campaign that you are bringing other activists and organizations into should be clearly defined and visible. They should understand why they are joining forces with you. What do you want the final result to be and what are the steps you will take to get there?

Step 2.

What is your timeline? Depending on how short or long term your campaign will be, you might want to create a more temporary council of some sort instead of a coalition.

Sept 3.

When you think about it, you may be surprised at how many allies you have in your community. Groups, institutions, businesses and individuals who share some of the same interests as you are all people who you could be working with. Make a list of possibilities.

Step 4.

Once you have identified organizations with similar goals, research them. Take notes. Educate yourself before you contact anyone. Know the projects that the organization is working on, the projects it previously worked on, and how the organization may fit within your campaign.

Step 5.

Don't neglect “strange bedfellows,” or people whose politics may differ from yours but whose goals may be aligned with those of your campaign in at least the short term.  You may be surprised at how frequently diverse groups can come together over a single issue. For example, read about the ‘”strange bedfellows” campaign to fight telecom immunity.

Tip!

You are more likely to be successful if the group of people brainstorming your strategy and tactics is itself from a diverse background, as one of them is more likely to see a situation and entirely novel way, and come up with an entirely novel solution.

Step 6.

Make contact. Reach out to them using whatever form of communication (a visit, a phone call, an e-mail) you think is most appropriate based on the group’s access to and fluency with technology.

Mention what you’ve learned in your research and why you think your goals and their goals overlap. You have already defined the steps that your campaign will consist of, so show them how they can fit into your timeline by presenting it in a clear and concise manner.

Tip!

A formal and public coalition can be more trouble than it’s worth. Consider working in coordination with other NGOs in a more off-the-record, implicit way.

Step 7.

Set up an event for everyone who has signed on to meet each other. Allow each person to talk about his or her project and discuss how the coalition is going to operate.

Step 8.

Follow up. Get in contact again with the groups you met with to summarize the conversation you had and to emphasize the next steps.

Step 9.

Create a steering group or coordinating committee made up of a small core of individuals who are willing and able to devote more time and energy than others.

If you are one of these people, accept your own leadership position. If you are not in this group, support them where you can, and offer them your best advice. Let them make decisions for the group, so that your work can move forward efficiently.

Step 10.

Trust one another.

Step 11.

To facilitate this trust, make it as easy as possible for everyone to be as transparent as possible. Use tools that are helpful for collaboration, like Google documents (good because if anyone accesses the document while signed into Gmail you can see it).

Step 12.

Create a collective calendar with each organization’s different meetings and events so that anyone can attend anyone else’s gatherings. Make sure no events conflict with each other!

Tip!

Consensus is incredibly hard to achieve. Consider loosening how you define it – can you declare consensus reached even if not 100% of your group agrees? Should you make a 2/3 rule?

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