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The
Community Organizing Toolbox
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CASE STUDY #6: A FUNDER'S ADVICE ON DISPELLING THE MYTHS OF CO
Foundation Funding of CO: Understanding How CO Can Build Leaders
and Transform Communities.
Funders may be unaware of CO's value in part because of controversies and myths that have accompanied CO efforts over the years. Straight talk about CO is necessary to overcome suspicions and doubts and the feeling that CO is somehow a 'fly by night' kind of thing. In fact, CO has grown and matured over the past 20 years and demonstrated real staying power and results. Many CO organizations are now celebrating their 10th, 15th, and even 25th anniversaries. Many of them are very significant organizations in their urban and rural communities across the country. They are now recruiting and training a second generation of leadership while many of their first generation leaders remain involved or have moved to other positions of influence. They are now dealing with large policy issues that affect thousands of people. They have the discipline to work on multiple issues and move on when they achieve their goal. In the past, CO organizations tended to last only as long as the issue did.
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Why It's Important to Learn About Funding CO Educating and exposing funders to CO is a critical first step to help them understand how CO can enhance their existing grantmaking. Most foundation funding for bettering neighborhoods and communities is directed to programs and operations of well-established groups that are not change-oriented, are not community-based and cannot play effective leadership roles in local revitalization strategies. On an overall basis, the lion's share of foundation funding at the local level is for mainstream groups in the arts, health and education. CO groups and others that are dedicated to making bottom-up social change - strategies developed and directed by disadvantaged constituents to reach goals they determine - are drastically under-funded relative to their importance and potential. |
CO's importance for making democracy work needs to be understood. Democracy is not seasonal; it is an ongoing dynamic process that calls for active citizenship. Community organizations are one of the few vehicles left in our country that provide a place for ordinary citizens to learn democratic practice. Community organization is the engine for that dynamic process of engaging ordinary citizens in democracy.
The critical value of CO's unique role in transforming ordinary citizens into leaders of community organizations and of their communities cannot be overstated. Where CO-trained community leaders started out and where they are today - fully engaged in significant decisions that affect their families, neighbors and communities - is amazing. CO's leadership development processes help ordinary citizens - often low-income persons of color victimized by discriminatory practices - become adept at understanding and analyzing the decisions and policies that affect their lives and working creatively to change bad policies. CO elevates new voices and leaders and helps to build their reputations.
A good community organization transforms not only individuals but whole communities over the years. It weaves and knits relationships that have been fragmented by isolation and the consumer approach to politics. Once a community embarks on a deep organizing process it cannot turn back. Communities are shaped for generations through CO, as power relationships are altered and new voices accountable to the community take places at the decision-making tables.
Funders are always looking for concrete accomplishments from strategies they invest in. CO doesn't take a back seat to any other approach in producing measurable, positive and significant change. Beyond this, however, CO's greatest contribution to disadvantaged people is undoubtedly its ability to spark hope and facilitate poor people's ability to imagine new possibilities for their communities.
- Frank Sanchez, Needmor Fund