How a neighborhood association can build a coalition

by Peg

Visitor Question: Our neighborhood association does not seem to be getting very far with city hall. We want them to pay more attention to our issues. Some of these we have in common with other neighborhoods, such as inconsistent trash pick-up, but other things are unique to us.
We have an unusual and extensive pattern of alleys that are falling apart due to heavy pounding by trash trucks (when they come) and city trucks of various kinds. We are one of the few neighborhoods where there are alleys in every block. In brainstorming how we could get more power, one of our members said we need to create a coalition, and we all thought that sounded like a good idea. However, we don't have any idea where to start. What do you suggest?

Editor Reply: Indeed building a coalition sounds like a smart idea to activists and businesspersons, but as you point out, just uttering the words does not make it so.

First you need to think through what you want to achieve through the coalition. Do you just want to get the garbage picked up, or are there many other considerations? I suggest having an answer for that question before you approach a potential coalition member. That doesn't mean you aren't going to listen to their concerns and find out what would motivate them; it just means you want to sound like a credible partner.

Next you want to think about whether you have any potential coalition partners who are at least somewhat influential with your city government. If so, I suggest approaching them first; if you succeed, it will make it much easier to attract others to your coalition. Think carefully about whether anyone in your group would have a contact within that influential organization, and if so, asking the person with the contact to make the first approach is often the best course of action. If the initial conversation is favorable, both the person who made the initial contact and the president or other main spokesperson for your organization should participate in a call or visit to articulate what you think the coalition could achieve.

Yes, we are implying that a meeting in person would be best. However, when the relationship is strong enough and you have a history of cooperation, an email, text, or casual phone call from contact person may be sufficient at this early stage of forming a coalition.

Once you have a second organization identified that has agreed to build a coalition with you, both of you can brainstorm and strategize about who to ask next. It is possible that your new partner organization has relationships that you don't have, and can help position the effort best. Subtly work to make sure that the goals of the coalition are kept front and center though; it is easy for a newfound partnership to become sidetracked on something that the latest group to join the coalition finds compelling. Don't let that happen.

Continue finding partners in this fashion until you have exhausted all of the potential coalition members that you would like to have involved. That doesn't mean that you invite every conceivable organization because some will be incompatible with both your organization’s image and its purposes. Don't compromise by aligning yourself with an organization whose methods you find repulsive.

Up until this point, I have been writing as if you can readily make a list of potential members of your coalition, but I find that many neighborhood associations I have worked with don't have much imagination about this.

In case this applies to you, here are some types of groups that you might want to discuss among yourselves: public and private schools, colleges and universities, congregations, businesspersons' associations, special district officials, leaders of any nonprofits with offices or facilities in the neighborhood, medium-sized and large business owners or managers, nearby neighborhood associations that have the same issues as you, activist organizations such as YourCity Forward, parents organizations such as the PTO, labor unions or workplace groups that might have reason to support your issue, scouting organizations or others serving kids, and citywide advocacy groups (such as housing, mental health, or disability services proponents) that would have an interest in your issues.

Like all human interactions, coalition building can become chaotic fast, so after you have an organization’s verbal commitment to participate, make sure you sit down with the leadership to discuss what you want to accomplish, how your organization works, and what they can and cannot offer to the coalition. Don't assume that once you arrive at a "yes" answer, everyone will have the same idea of what that means.

After several months to a year of effort, evaluate whether the coalition has accomplished any more than you might have reasonably expected to achieve by yourself. If it seems promising and yet your situations are still frustrating, considering broadening the coalition even further by enlisting more neighborhoods that face similar challenges, asking them to bring along their own coalitions until you have broad-based support around the city.

One more matter is that fairly quickly after you have one or more groups agree to join you, you need to discuss how to inform and possibly involve your local elected official, which would typically be a city councilperson if these are elected by ward. Somehow these elected folks always think they have to know everything that is going on, and some will feel insulted if they find out about your coalition when it is fully formed. Some will even try to block anything they did not initiate, either because this is their personality or because they think this is what they are supposed to do. This is where pooling your ideas about how to deal with your elected official will be beneficial.

For more ideas on this, see our page on maintaining a good relationship with your local government.

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