Community Organizing

Community Organizing
I. Community Organization is the process by which the people…organize themselves

to “take charge” of their situation and thus develop a sense of being a community together.
It is a particularly effective tool for the poor and powerless as they determine for
themselves the actions they will take to deal with the essential forces that are destroying
their community and consequently causing them to be powerless.
II. What makes organizing unique?
Community Organizing is not a term widely used in our society, so it has never had a
widely accepted definition. Consequently, when someone says, “I am a community
organizer”, it is often difficult to determine what he or she mean.
Some of the most common practices that community organizing is confused with include
advocacy, community development, and service delivery. The differences between
community organizing and these other practices are summarized in Table I.
A. Community Organizing compared to Advocacy:
There are a number of important differences between community organizing and

advocacy. Perhaps the most important differences is that advocacy is a practice
of professional working on behalf of or for a group, while community organizing
involves the groups itself advocating for itself.
The similarity between community organizing and advocacy is that both see the
rules as unfairly benefiting the powerful, and see themselves in a struggle to
change those rules, Thus, they see themselves in conflict with the powerful.
B. Community Organizing compared to Community Development
The main difference between organizing and development is in their focus.

Community organizing focuses on building power, while community development
focus on building of buildings. As a consequence, community development is
more limited to a strategy of cooperation with the powerful compared to community
organizing, though there are exceptions.
Community organizing and community development can share a number of

characteristics. Both can be community controlled.
C. Community Organizing compared to Service Delivery
Service delivery in many ways is the least similar to community organizing. Like
advocacy, service deliver is done to or for a community. Unlike both advocacy and
community organizing, service delivery does not have a social change emphasis.
Service delivery also, like community development requires technical expertise
and cooperation with power holders. That often makes community-based decision
making difficult. This also differs from community organizing, which emphasizes
community based decision-making.
D. Community Organizing
Community organizing is the process of building power that includes people with
a problem in defining their community, defining the problems that they wish to
address, the solutions they wish to pursue and the methods they will use to
accomplish their solutions. The organization will identify the people and structures
that need to be part of these solutions and by persuasion or confrontation,
negotiate with them to accomplish the goals of the community.
Community organizing is a development strategy for building people’s capabilities

towards self-determinants and self-reliance. It is a method and process of
educating, organizing and mobilizing people which leads to their own development.
Organizing does two central things to seek to rectify the problem of power
imbalance (Mike Miller)
Ø It builds a permanent base of people power so that dominant financial and

institutional power can be challenged and held accountable to values of
greater social, environmental and economic justice: and
Ø It transforms individuals and communities. Making them mutually respectful

co-creators of public life rather than passive objects of decision made by
others.
Table I. The differences between community organizing with other practices
Who Decides? What Goals? With or Conflict or
For? Cooperation?
Advocacy Pros Change Rules For Conflict
Service Pros Reduce For Cooperation
Delivery Suffering
Development Pros and People Change Space Either/both Cooperation
Organizing People Build Power With Conflict
III. Three Major Components of Community Organizing
1. Training and Education. A continuing process of action-reflection and skills

formation to critically analyzed existing conditions and collectively change it.
2. Organization Building. Developing mechanisms and structures for organizations

to functions effectively on a sustained basis in the context of collective leadership,
democratic participation and organized action.
3. Mobilization. Sustaining group action to respond to immediate and long term

needs.
IV. Characteristics Of Consolidated And Viable Organization
1. It has the ability to facilitate, lead and effectively carry out the policies, objectives
and programs of the organization with maximum participation of the members in
the decision making process.
2. It has the ability to achieve desired objectives through maximizing their planning
and implementation skills
3. It is capable of effecting institutional and development (attitudinal) changes within

the organization that would accrue to the welfare of the members
4. Consciousness content: organizational matter.
V. Characteristics Of Stable Organization
1. It keeps and maintains self-reliance and self-sufficiency
2. It is capable of effecting institutional and developmental changes that would accrue

to the benefit of the whole population.
3. It seeks meaningful participation in policy-making bodies where some sectors are

not represented at all but which decision affect them.
4. Consciousness content; community or regional matters affecting the whole
population.
VI. Ways To Sustain A Community Organization
There should be continues and appropriate;
1. Clear definition of goals and objectives, and agreement on how to achieve these
objectives.
2. Collective identification of issues
3. Tasking or assignment or responsibilities
4. Assessment use of skills
5. Upgrading of skills
6. Creating a mechanism for sharing information resources
7. Creating opportunities and supportive environment to develop skills.
8. Agreement among members regarding time commitment and flexibility of
schedules
9. Awareness of potential problems
10. Awareness of legal requirements
11. Development of evaluation strategy
12. Flexibility to respond to changing needs.
VII. Skills Of Community Organizer
1. The organizer main job is to build, maintain and grow the organization.
2. They need to be very good at both the technical and the human side of community
organization. On the technical side they need to understand how to structure roles
and tasks in the organization to balance democracy with efficiency. On the human
side they need to be good at building relationships between people to support the
organization.
3. They also need to know how to help members develop leadership skills, using
individual mentoring of members to lead meetings and actions.
4. Responsible for getting people to join, go to meetings, and carry out organization
tasks.
5. As the organization develops some initial stability the organizers job is to see that
members take increasing responsibility for the organization.
6. Responsible for getting members groups to participate in building leadership and

involvement in the coalition effort, as well as to help fund it.
7. As development organizer, the main task are to build relationship, develop plans
and implement programs or projects.
8. Organizers need to be skilled in maintaining coalitions that may involve major
institutions, corporations, and governments.
9. Building small group relationships and individual communication and other skills
that the development organizer also needs to be part teacher and part counselor;
getting community members to set aside their anger and antagonisms and focus
on programs and projects.
10. The organizer need also an educator or researcher. The organizer’s ability to link
more traditional community organizing tactics to the education and research
practices.
VIII. Special Skills Needed By Organizers
1. Facilitation Skills
2. Communication Skills
3. Documentation Skills
4. Skills in Project development, monitoring and evaluation
IX. Principles Of Community Organizer
1. Start with people’s resources and capabilities.

2. Trust in People
3. Respond to people’s needs and interests
4. Encourage collective action and decision making so that they can identify with the
activity.
5. Aim at small action to start with, leading to small successes. A process of action-
reflection is used for higher forms of collective actions.
6. Form alliances with other similar groups to build power base.
7. Accept confrontation and conflicts as venue for growth
8. Relate problems at the micro level with those of the macro level
9. Make structure simple
10. Recognize the functional relationships between community, issues and the
general social structure.
11. Be open to accept weaknesses and limitations
12. Avoid raising expectations.

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Community Organizing

I. Community Organization is the process by which the people…organize themselves

II. What makes organizing unique?

A. Community Organizing compared to Advocacy:

There are a number of important differences between community organizing and

B. Community Organizing compared to Community Development

The main difference between organizing and development is in their focus.

Community organizing and community development can share a number of

C. Community Organizing compared to Service Delivery

Community organizing is a development strategy for building people’s capabilities

Ø It builds a permanent base of people power so that dominant financial and

Ø It transforms individuals and communities. Making them mutually respectful

III. Three Major Components of Community Organizing

1. Training and Education. A continuing process of action-reflection and skills

2. Organization Building. Developing mechanisms and structures for organizations

3. Mobilization. Sustaining group action to respond to immediate and long term

IV. Characteristics Of Consolidated And Viable Organization

3. It is capable of effecting institutional and development (attitudinal) changes within

4. Consciousness content: organizational matter.

V. Characteristics Of Stable Organization

1. It keeps and maintains self-reliance and self-sufficiency

2. It is capable of effecting institutional and developmental changes that would accrue

3. It seeks meaningful participation in policy-making bodies where some sectors are

VI. Ways To Sustain A Community Organization

There should be continues and appropriate;

VII. Skills Of Community Organizer

6. Responsible for getting members groups to participate in building leadership and

VIII. Special Skills Needed By Organizers

IX. Principles Of Community Organizer

1. Start with people’s resources and capabilities.

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