Question from last nights email: 

What do you do about the potentially good and useful coalition partner that says, “I can join, but my members will make me drop out if you let the XYZ organization in (because something that they did on an unrelated issue)?

Mitchell Shapson

This is a real concern for coalition building. Sometimes groups make decisions on joining a coalition based on other group already on the list. Usually, this will work in your favor. Having a major respected organization on your list adds credibility.

Sometimes a group's reputation or a group's relationships with other groups work the other way. If the issue is very important to the ultimatum-issuing group, you might be able to sit down and talk about each groups' involvement. If the roles and contributions are laid out ahead of time, including, if necessary, what certain members are not supposed to do, this may allay the fears of groups who express skepticism with the current make up of the coalition. You might even discuss the past problems with your potential group to outline why it won't be a problem this time around. 

 Of course, that might not work. In that case, you've got to make a hard decision about which group you need more. When you evaluate costs and benefits of having a partner join on, this mutual exclusivity will obviously be a cost. So which group provides greater benefit? 

Question from last nights email:

when i worked in 04 there was some in fighting about the same issue and how do u prevent in fighting and to get an effective effort?

- Brian  in Cleveland, OH

This is unfortunate, but can certainly happen to members of a coalition. The proactive solution is to lay out the groundrules ahead of time. If each group knows their role, what's expected of them, and stays in good communication with the others, you'll usually prevent infighting to begin with.

The reactive solution is to listen. First find out the cause of the infighting. Likely causes are: unclear obligations/expectations or not enough credit recieved for work done. Understand that all members of a coalition have their own organizational interests. That's not a bad thing. But if groups refuse to acknowledge each other's reasons for getting involved, they're likely to get into disputes. 

It's often necessary to clarify who is supposed to do what in a coalition. This should be expected. Be as clear as possible upfront - this includes being clear about what you're doing and why you're doing it. When things go awry, you might need to go back to drawing board and redefine the coalition. If involvement in a coalition no longer meets a group's criteria  - or if the group no longer meets the coalition's criteria - it makes sense to dissolve the relatiobship.

Question from last nights email:

We're interested in forming a progressive coalition in Connecticut.
1. how many people from each member group should be 'in' the coalition?
2.  How should members of the coalition communicate: yahoo group? Email list? Telephone? Should one person be in charge of communications? Can communication all be online to avoid the difficulty of meeting in person?
3.  How can we efficiently share event calenders among coalition members?
4.  do coalitions need to file any legal papers to get some kind of legal status? Can coalitions pool money and spend it?  Where do we learn the rules/laws on this kind of thing?
5.  What are some of the specific 'roles' or 'jobs' for coalition members, i.e. how should labor be
divided?
6. What are examples of some good specific goals or events for coalitions to organize?

Justin Paglino, MD
New Haven, CT

1. It depends on the goal. Two members can be better than a 100 or vice versa, depending on what you need the members for. There's no correct number for a coalition, but there are considerations as to why you need which members, and how you will all come to a decision. 

2. More personal communication (in-person, for example) yields clearer commitments. That said, you can't all meet all the time. For working (as opposed to paper) coalitions, you'll want the decision-making members (remember, not all members need to make all the decisions) to communicate regularly. Initial meetings should be personal, but as your project gets underway you'll concentrate more on the regularity of the communication rather than the process of communicating. The bigger the role of the organization in the coalition, the more that organization will need to be in contact with others.

3. Meeting in person every now and then is a good idea to share calendars, but there are some good schedule sharing software out there. Google Calendars is a simple, free calandar sharing tool. You don't even need to have a gmail account to use it. You can grant some people the ability to edit the calendar and others just the ability to see it. Anyone else out there know of any schedule sharing software?

4. Answered on the call. Generally coalitions, especially informal ones, do not have to file any paperwork. Financial activity often requires paperwork, however. If the coalition is creating a new entity that will engage in finacial activity, you may need to consult a lawyer.

5. This totally depends on what you're doing and who comprises your group. Play to an organization's strengths. If one group is good at lobbying elected officials, one one has good media relationships, for example, you'd play to each group's strengths and assign the group to what it does best.

6. Press conferences, town halls, marches/rallies, lobby days, petitioning, and so on... 

 Question from last nights email:

I think some people are hesitant to expand the group and reach out to others because they have a sense of fear that they will lose power or influence.  How do you help soften that fear of members of your group?

Karen Brazzell

That's a well founded fear. Mostly because it's true. Entering into a coalition necessarily means you lose a little control of the campaign or cause because you no longer exlusively make the decisions. If all people care about is how much say they have within the organization, they probably would make a poor partner in a coalition. 

Instead, focus on what you gain, instead of what you lose. Will you gain more? Will you come closer to accomplishing your goal than you would otherwise? If so, focus on the goal.

Also, work out a plan that delineates clear roles within the coalition on the way to that goal. That delegation will allow your members to focus on what they can do, and leave the other tasks to the other groups. You'll still have ownership over what you're assigned, and that can be your focus.