The Organizing Cycle
The steps of the organizing cycle
Community organizing is not a program with a beginning and an end, but rather it is an ongoing cycle. Each step is an opportunity to identify and develop leaders, build relationships, strengthen the institutions, and encourage positive change. New participants jump in at any step, but eventually need to go through the entire cycle repeatedly.
Vision/Planning Meeting
Deciding to work together and act on something that the group cares about as a whole.
Individual Meetings
Build a relationship by getting to know someone else’s self interest; where do they spend their time and why do they spend it there, what really makes them tick?
House Meetings
Purpose is to build relationships, get a pulse of the congregation and what they care about, seek potential leaders.
Research
Transform the common “problem” into a specific “issue” that leaders commit to and have agreed upon and is winnable.
Public Assembly
Move work toward more public attention.
Evaluation
What went well, what could have gone better, is this working or should we take a new approach?
Renewal of member institutions
Whenever clergy and lay leaders are seeking to strengthen their institutions, Lake County United offers training and support on how to use organizing tools and techniques in revitalizing and renewing leadership teams and a clear sense of mission and direction. With contributions by Lake County United, the Industrial Areas Foundation (IAF) has recently published Effective Organizing for Congregational Renewal highlighting several local examples of this work.
Resources
Articles
Reflecting on Policing Practices Throughout the Country
by Michael Gecan:
http://www.nydailynews.com/opinion/michael-gecan-learning-honor-badge-article-1.2446937
The Triangle: Policy wonks, patronage, and the possibilities of the grassroots
by Michael Gecan
http://bostonreview.net/michael-gecan-the-triangle-policy-wonks-patronage-and-the-possibility-of-grassroots
On Borrowed Time: Urban decline moves to the suburbs
by Michael Gecan
http://bostonreview.net/michael-gecan-on-borrowed-time
It’s time to hold America’s gunmakers accountable
by E.J. Dionne Jr.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/hold-the-gunmakers-accountable/2015/10/07/07a0ded4-6d23-11e5-9bfe-e59f5e244f92_story.html
System works against the mentally ill in Illinois' prisons, jails
by The Rev. Michael Solberg and Amy Lawless Ayala
http://m.sj-r.com/article/20151006/OPINION/151009694/2011/OPINION
Books
Going Public
by Michael Gecan
"The inside story of an extraordinary politics you probably didn't know existed. Read this book and you may begin to believe that human-scale democracy is still possible in America" -- William Greider, author of Who Will Tell the People
ISBN-13: 978-1400076499
Effective Organizing for Congregational Renewal: All Organizing Is Dis-Organizing and Re-Organizing
by Michael Gecan
ISBN-13: 978-0879463847
After America’s Midlife Crisis
by Michael Gecan
ISBN-13: 978-0262013604
Roots for Radicals: Organizing for Power, Action, and Justice
by Edward Chambers
ISBN-13: 978-0826414991
Upon This Rock: The Miracles of A Black Church
by Samuel G. Freedman
ISBN-13: 978-0060924591
Cold Anger: A Story of Faith and Power Politics
by Mary Beth Rogers
ISBN-13: 978-0929398136
Gathering Power: The Future of Progressive Politices in America
by Dr. Paul Osterman
ISBN-13: 978-0807043387