Coalitions: Building and Joining
Advocacy Training Module

What is a Coalition?
An organization of organizations that is actively working on an issue campaign!

• Formal
• Issue
• Informal
Types of Coalitions

Advantages of Working Together
• Increase power.
• Able to win something that couldn’t be won alone.
• Increase resources – staff, money, members.
• Broaden the scope of work.

Guidelines for Coalition Building
• Choose a unifying issue.
• Not the road to diversity.
• Don’t change your values or mission.
• Understand each groups self interest.
• Respect each groups internal process.
• Agree to disagree.

Guidelines for Coalition Building (cont)
• Play to the center with tactics.
• Recognize that contributions vary.
• Structure decision making carefully.
• Urge stable and senior representation at meetings.
• Distribute credit fairly.
• If there are staff they should be neutral.

Guidelines for Joining Coalitions
• Know what you want to get out of it.
• Know the coalition members and background.
• Get clear expectations.
• Maintain an independent program.
• Evaluate your role carefully.