Online Learning Resources for Community Organising
There are countless amazing organisations doing community organising work, providing imaginative ideas and invaluable resources on how to start community organising.
This is just a snapshot of some you may find useful, but do talk to your regional Gardener too, who will have some local knowledge of supportive organisations. Please bear in mind that this list is not comprehensive and is not regularly updated. It is just a starting point for ideas and assistance :)
- Act Build Change is an online learning community for change makers. They provide training for people interested in community organising.
- Use their online training programme, Essential Community Organising to learn the basics of community organising, including how to build effective teams and develop leadership skills.
- The Alternative UK is a political platform based in the United Kingdom. Through curation, editorial, public events, commissioning and research, they aim to transform the language and practice of politics on these islands.
- They promote the creation of Citizens’ Action Networks, which are a way for communities to go beyond local organising and create a collaborative network of local movements and organisations.
- Read the Alternative UK’s guide on Building a Citizens’ Action Network here.
- Beautiful Trouble is a book, web toolbox and international network of artist-activist trainers whose mission is to make grassroots movements more creative and more effective.
- Check out their Direct Action Tactics list for advice and ideas on how to create an action to instigate change in your community.
- The grassroots organising model used by the Bernie Sanders campaign, which mobilised 100,000s of volunteers to make 75 million phone calls, send 8 million text messages, and hold 100,000 public meetings.
- Apply their models and practices within your community to radically upscale your community organising efforts!
- See the wealth of incredible practical guides here.
- If you have limited time, focus on the [Distributed Organising Guide](https://docs.google.com/document/d/1yO-cDdNDvGzNRMzbnfrDVkzn6OXyXFCuFefzj7miIOc/edit).
- Learn more about distributed organising by reading this article: Six building blocks of distributed organising.
- The Change Agency Education and Training Institute is an independent social movement initiative based in Australia that provides resources to support effective community action. Check out their community organising resources here.
- The Commons online library is a space for education and learning. Their collections include articles, manuals, training materials and practical guides. Their resources inform and equip you to influence public policy and engage in political structures.
- They gather the best campaigning and organising resources from Australia and around the world.
- Unsure of where to start? Why not check out the Loomio co-founder, Richard Bartlett’s Resources for Decentralized Organising.
- Community Organisers is a national charity, and the membership body and training organisation for community organising in England. It is led by its members and is inspiring thousands of people to get involved in community organising practice to join the growing movement of people up and down the country coming together. It supports people in taking action – whether this is setting up a new community-led housing project, lobbying for better public transport, challenging cuts to health services, or establishing community-owned enterprises.
- Check out some of their resources for community organising here.
- Get fully funded is an organisation with over fifteen years experience in fundraising. It shares its expertise on raising funds through a range of resources, services and programs.
- Check out their guide on How to Create a Volunteer Program
- The Global Freedom Movement shares ideas, tips and resources on how to change the world through non-violent, democratic engagement.
- See their post for practical guidance on How to Organise a Community here.
Self-Organising Systems Open Learning Series
- An open learning series from Extinction Rebellion’s Self-Organising Systems Working Group teaches you all you need to know about self-organising.
- Find out how self-organising practices can help you run a community organising movement, so that you have all bases covered and so that your project can achieve success.
- Transition is a movement that has been growing since 2005. It is about communities stepping up to address the big challenges they face by starting local. By coming together, they are able to crowd-source solutions. They seek to nurture a caring culture, one focused on supporting each other, both as groups or as wider communities.
- Read their Essential Guide for doing Transition to understand everything you need to know to start Transition in your community.
Please note: If you have any questions about organising alongside umbrella, support organisations in your community, drop a line to XRGardeners@gmail.com