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Tips for Working with Coalitions~ The power of the coalition starts with a single, clear and shared message. ~ Organizations that join a coalition must be willing and able to commit resources to it: people, time and often money. ~ While a 100-member coalition might sound nice, large coalitions often end up diluting the advocacy goal; most coalition members rarely participate, and "care and feeding" of the coalition -- rather than achieving the advocacy goal -- can become an end to itself. ~ Be sure to set up all of the mechanism for "who does what" prior to the campaign launch. Make sure it is consistent with your planning and theory of change. That will make the campaign activities smoother while also serving as a base for evaluating the coalition's health. You'll thank yourself later. ~ Identify some 'unlikely members' to invite -- groups with views quite distinct from yours but with an interesting reach. Of course, think about whether you'd be able to find enough common ground to make this work. ~ Try not to let the financial resources get in the way of an effective coalition. Make sure that all members feel they have enough resources to participate fully in the coalition and determine a disbursement process that everyone is comfortable with. ~ Many funders and nonprofit organizations are new to working in coalitions for foreign policy advocacy. Allow for creativity and innovation when determining a process structure for the coalition. Look hard at your theory of change and seriously consider whether you actually need a coalition, or whether your advocacy goals could be better reached by other means: your own organization, partnerships or subcontracts with one or two groups, etc. |
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