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INTRODUCTION

This manual was written by Sierra Club staff and volunteer leaders as a resource for the community of organizers, to share how we design and implement strategic, grassroots organizing campaigns that win, and how we develop leaders on the ground. Our objective is to lay out key ideas and practices that, in our experience, result in campaigns that succeed. This includes fundamentals of building relationships, analyzing power, and writing campaign plans. We also dig into some detail on topics such as how to enter a community, enlisting volunteers and cultivating their leadership skills, connecting your campaign to a larger movement, and how to learn from success and failure to improve your skills and campaigns.

CONTENTS

THE MOVEMENT FOR A JUST AND SUSTAINABLE FUTURE ………2

CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION & OVERVIEW …………3

Why Are You Here? A Moment of Self-Reflection…….3
What Does Organizing to Win Look Like?……3
Manual Overview and Goals……….4
How to Use This Manual…….5

CHAPTER 2: PRINCIPLES & PRACTICES OF AN EFFECTIVE CAMPAIGN………. 6

Principles of Organizing a Grassroots Campaign…….6
Practices of an Effective Campaign …….8
The Sierra Club Tactics Criteria Checklist……..8
BUILDING A CLIMATE DISRUPTION MOVEMENT………10
Historical Context: Looking Back Before We Look Forward…………10
The Climate Movement Is Already Larger than Big Green ……… 11
Elements of Movement Building………….. 12
Listen, and Seek Connection ……….. 12
Put People First …….. 13 Movement Stories ………… 13
Movement Moments …….. 13
What Will Our Movement Look Like?…………14

CHAPTER 3: PLANNING YOUR CAMPAIGN ……15

What Is Campaign Planning? ……… 15
Four Stages of Planning…………….. 15 1.
Campaign Launch…………….15 2.
Writing the Campaign Plan …………15 3.
Work Plans …………….16
4. Tracking Success and Updating Plans ……..16
Putting the Campaign Plan on Paper ……..16
Campaign Goals …………..17
Target Decisions and Decision-Makers ……….17
Defining Targets………….17
Targets Are Not Opponents……………17
Organizing Tactics Tied to Targets ………18

CHAPTER 4: CREATING A COMPELLING NARRATIVE………19

Why Are Campaign and Personal Narratives Important?………19
Developing Your Personal Narrative as a Campaign Leader………19
Campaign Narrative: Building a Story that Moves Others into Action ………… 21
Coaching Tips from American Association of University Women (AAUW): Your Personal Narrative …………………… 22
Using Your Personal Narrative ……… 23
Writing Your Campaign Narrative…………. 23
Narrative Writing Guide ………….24
Group Exercise: Story Mapping……………..24

CHAPTER 5: COMMUNITY MAPPING DEVELOPING A SHARED UNDERSTANDING OF INTERESTS, NEEDS; RESOURCES ……….. 25

UNDERSTANDING COMMUNITY: A CRITICAL ELEMENT TO CREATING AN EFFECTIVE CAMPAIGN PLAN……….. 25
WHAT IS A COMMUNITY MAPPING PROCESS?…………… 25
Using What We Learn Through Community Mapping …….26
Putting the Basics in Place………….26
Types of Information Needed for Your Community Map…………27
TECHNIQUES FOR GATHERING COMMUNITY MAP INFORMATION…….. 27
USING YOUR COMMUNITY MAPPING INFORMATION………. 28
Worksheet: Planning Your Community Mapping Effort………..29
Community Mapping: Guiding Questions……………30
Template: Community Engagement Wheel……………….30
INCORPORATING JUSTICE INTO ENVIRONMENTAL WORK: CONFRONTING POWER AND PRIVILEGE……………… 31
The Climate Gap in the United States………………….31
Historical Context: How Power and Privilege Have Contributed to Disproportionate Climate Effects …………………………..31
How We Can Confront and Transform Unjust Power and Privilege As We Build a Clean Energy Economy ………………. 34
Clean Energy Jobs Must Be Good Jobs……………………. 34

CHAPTER 6: POWER ANALYSIS………….. 38

Theory of Change …………………..38
Understanding Power to Create an Effective Strategic Plan ………….39
Expressions of Power………….39
Levels of Political Power …………39
Campaign Targets and Power ……….. 40
What Is a Power Map? ………….. 40
Why Use a Power Map? ………. 40
Preparing for Your Power Mapping Session……….41
TO PROTECT OUR ENVIRONMENT, WE MUST PROTECT OUR DEMOCRACY ……….43
The Deck Is Stacked Against the Many and in Favor of the Money…………43
Undue Influence of Money on Our Political System …….44
Attacks on the Right to Vote………….44
Solutions to Protect Our Democracy …………44

CHAPTER 7: BUILDING A BASE ……. 47

Developing Your Campaign: Building the Power of the People………..47
Understanding Base-Building for Issue Campaigns ……..47
How to Build Your Base …………..48
Phase 1: Developing Leadership and Resources………..48
Phase 2: Building a Constituency to Start Putting Pressure on Your Target ………………..50
Phase 3: Expanding Your Constituency and Escalating Pressure on Your Target………………….50
Base-Building in Action: Beyond Coal…………50
Exercise: Dissect a Base-Building Plan ………….. 51
Example: Base-Building Plan………….52
DIVERSITY, EQUITY, AND INCLUSION: BUILDING A JUST ENVIRONMENTAL MOVEMENT …………………………………… 53
HISTORICAL CONTEXT: ENVIRONMENTAL RACISM ……..54
ENVIRONMENTAL ELITISM ………….. 55
Divergent Definitions, Lived Experiences …………. 55
Intersection Between Environmental and Other Forms of Injustice………………… 55
PRACTICES FOR TRANSFORMATIVE CHANGE IN A MULTICULTURAL WORLD: EXPANDING REACH, BUILDING TRUST, AND DEEPENING RELATIONSHIPS ……………..56

CHAPTER 8: CREATING CONDITIONS FOR LEADERSHIP TO EMERGE………….. 58

CAMPAIGN PLANNING: PATHWAYS TO LEADERSHIP……..58
Creating Conditions for Transformational Experiences ……………58
Getting Started: Setting Goals…………58
Goal-Setting in Action: Pacific Northwest Coal Exports Campaign ……….59
Designing Meaningful Pathways to Leadership………….59
Leadership Development in Action…………..60
Creating Welcoming and Inclusive Engagement Events……….60 P
lanning a First Event: Logistics Checklist…………60
Planning a First Event: Agenda Checklist………… 61
Example of a Welcoming First Event ……..61
Avoiding Pitfalls in Designing Leadership Work…….. 61
Resources and Tools: Volunteer Leader Tiers…………62
A NEW FOCUS ON LEADERSHIP……… 63
WHY FOCUS ON LEADERSHIP?…………….63
WHAT IS LEADERSHIP?………………63
HOW DO ORGANIZATIONS DEVELOP LEADERSHIP?…….64
REFLECTIONS ON THE SIERRA CLUB’S ACTIVIST RECRUITMENT AND ENGAGEMENT …………..65

CHAPTER 9: INTEGRATING ONLINE & OFFLINE ENGAGEMENT TACTICS……………………. 67

Three-Step Model of Engagement…………… 67
Worksheet: Chart Your Engagement Tactics ……….69
Building Leaders: Moving Action-Takers from Online to Offline Engagement………………69
Planning Ahead……………………70
Leadership Ladder Timeline………………..70
Continue the Engagement Cycle………………….70
Online-to-Offline Team-Building Strategies in Action ……..71
Resources & Tools: Online-to-Offline Recruiting Tactics …………………………………. 72
Online-to-Offline Engagement, Part 1 …………………..72
Online-to-Offline Engagement, Part 2 ………………………..72
Arc Planning Worksheet ………………………….73
Tips and Troubleshooting:……………………………. 74

CHAPTER 10: STRUCTURING A CAMPAIGN TEAM …………. 75

The Importance of Team Structure……………. 75
How Teams Connect to the Broader Community……………… 75
Why Don’t People Always Work in Teams?………….. 76
Building Strong Teams…………… 76
Three Criteria To Measure Your Team’s Effectiveness……….. 77
What Teams Should We Build? …………… 77
Examples of Types of Teams ……………77
Establishing Team Charge and Goals ……………. 77
Supporting Your Teams’ Success……………….. 78
Exercise: Structuring Your Campaign Teams……………… 78
Developing Team Roles: Your Leadership Team……………. 78
Sample Roles Worksheet……………………. 79
DEMYSTIFYING MONITORING, EVALUATION, AND LEARNING (MEL)………………..80
MEL in Practice……………..80 Why MEL Matters…………………….80
GET TO KNOW MEL: UNDERSTANDING THE TERMINOLOGY ………81
MAKING MEL WORK FOR YOU: THE FIVE-STEP CYCLE…………85
The Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning Cycle………..82

CHAPTER 11: MONITORING, EVALUATION, AND LEARNING (MEL) ……………… 86

MEL in Practice…………………86
How to Carry Out the Five Steps of Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning (MEL) ………. 87
1. Make a Plan ……………………….87
2. Establish Metrics…………………..87
3. Create Data Collection Processes …………. 88
Sample Data-Tracking Sheets ………………88
4. Track, Analyze, and Adjust …………90
5. Evaluate and Learn………………..90
MEL Cycle Planning Template…………90
GLOSSARY OF KEY TERMS AND ACRONYMS…….91
APPENDICES……………………….. 92

APPENDIX I – CAMPAIGN PLANNING MATRIX TEMPLATE ……….92

Sierra Club Campaign Planning Matrix Template……………92
A. Long-Term Vision…………………….92
B. Values………………92
C. Theory of Change………………………..92
D. Conservation/Campaign Goals …………….93
E. Power-Building/Organizational Goals…………….93
F. Target Selection and Power-Mapping ………………. 94
G. Messaging – Developed by the Campaign and Tailored with the Organizers …………. 94
H. Identify Tactics to Build Power and Scale…………… 94
APPENDIX II – DEVELOPING YOUR CAMPAIGN NARRATIVE ………………..95
Worksheet A – Preparing Your Story of Self……….95
Worksheet B – Preparing the Story of Us ……….96
Worksheet C – Your Strategy to Confront the Challenge….. 97
Worksheet D – Creating a Campaign Narrative that Inspires Others to Action………………..98
Your Whole Story……………….98 Coaching Tips: Telling Your Story to Others …….98
APPENDIX III – SAMPLE COMMUNITY MAPPING ANALYSIS ………………..99
The Inland Empire:……………………99
An Analysis of Community and the Role of Local Clean Energy ………………….99
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ……… 103

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Movement Organizing Manual, Sierra Club

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