What do you do when external forces or donors challenge your community organizing goals?

This is so important. I love how (in my opinion) the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) has continued to revisit its core value to adapt to changing science/realities. The organizations began with families of people with schizophrenia. Their core values and principles came out of the lives and journeys of people with this brain health condition that can cause severe disability. From there, it was not a major leap to begin to add other brain health conditions that can severely impact or even take a person's life. It became a huge organizing principle, that needs to be continually revisited to make sure that the initial people affected by schizophrenia are not lost in the larger mission.

I believe that in working with communities, and navigating the sometimes tempestuous waters of donors conditionalities, members (those with the lived experience) have the most powerful seat at the decision making table. In my experience, having the community's voice present at the table to articulate their goals and the context from which those have been developed and the strategies that are best suited for their socio-cultural contexts has allowed for some better understanding of expectations and insights into areas for possible partnership. Those honest conversations allow for insight and innovation (not compromise) and a consequent re/alignment to achieve shared goals.

Introspection is key. Before you go off to change the world you need to know who you are and your motivations. Organizers are often asked to step into leadership roles, but great organizers know this work isn't really about them. When it comes to building community power and making progress towards political or policy goals, it's about showing up and supporting the people who are called to join something bigger than themselves, and it's on community organizers to set the example. This work can be inspiring, but also grueling. Being effective at this job often requires you to decenter yourself. Being a values-led organizer means you've already build yourself up, you can take rejection, and you can authentically show up for others.

Being challenged is good thing. It provides you with an opportunity to tell or retell your story in a powerful way. You can demonstrate your impact in a measured way through evidence that you have collected over the years and show how it aligns with the objectives of the donor. It’s another opportunity for those with lived experience of the problem you work hard to change have a voice and for donors to hear them.

In community organizing, the money is almost always with the other side. In my opinion, the only way to win is people power -they may have the numbers of dollars, but we have the numbers of people. Getting people out to knock doors, talk to neighbors, and call legislators can turn the tide.

One perspective: If I have communicated the organization's values, principles, and related goals clearly enough to prospective donors and partners, then there should be less "mess". The donors and partners you seek should align with your values and principles. It costs more staff time and resources in the long run if this alignment is not happening. And non-profits or community organizing coalitions don't have as many resources as the private sector to begin with.

From time to time donors might have some valuable insight to blind spots, so you should always listen with an eye toward improving and enhancing the service model. Hiwever, it never “pays” to chase the money. It is paramount to stay true to your core values and mission.

People will often show up because they care about an issue, but they'll stay and come back because they've grown to care about you—the organizer. Being honest, curious, and real is really all you need to start developing and deepening relationships with volunteers, donors, legislators and other stakeholders. Be ready with a two minute introduction of who you are, why you care, and what your goals are for any conversation, and be mindful of how much you are sharing vs. how much you are listening: 50/50 is a good balance. Here's an example: My name is Christel, I'm passionate about defending and expanding bodily autonomy, and I'm excited to meet today to learn more about you and share some ideas for how you can support this campaign.

A lot depends on the state of the community, where its collective consciousness hovers; because when it has been limited by historical dynamics, members may not even know enough about the world of possibilities. It is truly primordial that the community's best interests always remain at the core of the advocacy and effort must be dedicated to make them understand the possibilities. Like asking them about toilet facilities when they never had any - all their lives and all the libes of their ancestors.

It is so nice to be able to add clear examples of this is what we have done. That can take what can feel like a broad or wishy washy mission and enliven it with real issues and peoples lives that are affected by that mission and the work that comes out of it.

This is really hard. I think thtat it's important to always remember that you can say "no." You don't want a massive grant that will alter what is most powerful about your mission and work. You don't want to let a big donor's initial investment to put your organization on a fundraising treadmill running so fast that it can be hard to actually accomplish what you're supposed to be working on. Some donors/funders will leave if you say "no" to funding with the wrong incentives. You may have been lucky to avoid them. The great donors will either sit with you to tweak out the vision to better fit both parties or come back to you at a later date when there is something they feel both of you can get behind.

It's important to remember that for the most part, most politicians ran for office or were appointed because they want to be of service. They may not agree with your policy at first, but it's important to really get to know elected leaders in order to get your issues matter to them personally. Listen to how they describe policies they support or oppose and see how you can connect your policy to their core values. And never fully close a door to a future relationship—if necessary, it is perfectly ok to agree to disagree on a policy and take a beat if things get tense. It's all about relationship maintenance: make sure legislators look forward to seeing you walk through the door. On many issues, today's opposition can be tomorrow's champion.

The resource pool available to community groups/networks/organisations is shrinking threatening our integrity and sustainability. It is very rare that negotiations end well for Community groups/networks/organisations because of the "us & them". We are required to be far more open and flexible than the donors/externals unless there's a particular objective to be achieved that absolutely requires it to be community led. The trick is to only negotiate and collaborate with donors/externals that have our goals as a part of their programme mandate if you want to thrive. The rest of the externals are mostly targets for our advocacy or on the fence in terms of being supportive or not.

It's essential to respond strategically & effectively to maintain the integrity of your mission. Assess the Challenge: Thoroughly assess the nature & scope of the challenge. Understand who or what the external force or donor is, motivations, and how their actions/demands conflict with your community organizing goals- formulate an appropriate response. Revisit Your Mission & Values: Ensure your response aligns with your core principles & the best community interests. Open Communication: Seek to understand concerns, motivations, and the reasons behind opposition. Engage Stakeholders: Consult with all. Legal & Ethical Considerations: Consult legal experts to understand your rights and obligations Stay Resilient: Engage, evaluate, adapt.

I'm going to second what @Matt Kuntz said below below here, because I think this is the hardest thing to accept in community development work. The causes we work towards require funding. Our work requires funding. Our work is urgent and critical. It solves society's hardest problems where our governments fail us. I've seen time and time again how the cost of doing business poorly, aka accepting any ol' grant funding or donor because you're cash strapped is not worth it in the long run. The compromises leadership makes affect human capital, aka staff. The compromises values and principles always cost so much more over time than the short term funding you received. Make sure you go after what aligns. And don't settle.

This is a vital and most underrated part of organisational systems. This is M&E+. Organisations benefit from a robust mechanism for communication, stakeholder engagement, a management info system that is periodically updated, a dashboard for visibility and clearly defined response protocol.

Set clear expectations & boundaries with external forces or donors and regularly evaluating the health of these relationships. Establish Clear Agreements: Clearly outline roles, responsibilities, and expectations to avoid misunderstandings. Regular Communication: Provide updates on your progress, challenges, and successes. Feedback Loop: Create a feedback loop for external partners to provide input & suggestions, including constructive criticism. Use it to improve your strategies. Monitor Impact: Assess the impact & share the results, both positive and negative. Evaluate Alignment: Consider whether the relationship should be continued or modified. Adapt & Pivot: Adjust your strategies or goals accordingly. Maintain Autonomy!

What really helps is building on and scaling up what works while addressing barriers and challenges with innovative strategies. Timely reminders of goals and timelines, feedback and advice from members coupled with a healthy dose of motivational enhancement can help the process of growth.

I usually go through a certain type of project management structure for each campaign/idea. At the end is a way to survey those affected and the staff/volunteers that helped make it happen. In order to learn and grow, it important to be resilient and like a scientist- ready to try a new hypothesis.

Always staying connected but being grounded helps with organising, building and maintaining key stakeholder relations. There's no failure there's just learning.

For me, remember we are all people, people give to people, people trust people first then missions; ensure your storytelling corresponds to that of the program folks. Be genuine and do what's right. The mission, and not our professional reputation, should be your first step.

EMBRACE CONFLICT. One understated impact of external challenges is the fundamentally trust-shaking impact it can have within your group. Depending on how the externally sourced challenges impact your organizing goals and efforts, it can be a major setback or unifying force. To increase the likelihood of it being positive, trust-building, unifying, and re-grounding, it is best to embrace the conflict. If the external challenges cause conflict such as division within your group on what to do or how to respond, approach it with an embracing attitude, and try wholeheartedly to think of it as an opportunity to discuss with your group or community members about what they think, why, and what could be a mutually agreed upon action or response.

Instead of approaching community goals on a seemingly divided rectangular table: them vs us Let's place all stakeholders around a circular table to ring, reverberate, resonate, ripples our ... -ideas -actions/grants -accomplish goals ...