Getting Started

Identify what you want to do

• Creating a Shared Vision

  Developing a shared vision is important because it helps to create a culture that values the full and effective participation of all of its members. This downloadable workshop from Idealist on Campus provides a useful framework for a group to develop a coherent, shared set of conceptualizations, goals, and values for a given project or work.

• Identifying Issues

  As part of the "Basics of Organizing" guide, written by Shel Trapp and available on Tenant.net, this section on "identifying the issues" proposes some important questions to consider before taking action.

• First Steps

  UNICEF Voices of Youth offers this resource for young people who want to take action, intended to help you articulate your mission. The aim of this section is to help you identify issues that matter to you, inform yourself about these issues, and think about what sort of action you want to take.

• Organizing Approaches to Change

  This article, from the Virginia Organizing Project, available through NP Action, compares and contrasts direct service, advocacy, and direct-action organizing as models often used in community change work.