Creating Change Through Grassroots Activism

1
Creating Change Through Grassroots Activism

• Jeani Murray
• National Field Director
• American Civil Liberties Union

2
Why Grassroots Organizing?

• Each person has power.
• If people band together, their collective power
  can force decision-makers to take notice and
  change their decisions.
• The collective power of the grassroots can also
  help a decision-maker continue to support your
  goal when other sources are trying to influence
  them to decide against your goal.

3
Grassroots Organizing and the ACLU

• The ACLU has traditionally been focused on making
  change through the courts.
• In the past few years, with courts continuously
  eroding constitutional and civil rights, our
  battle for protecting civil liberties has been in
  Congress and legislatures across the country.
• The ACLU is most effective when we have hundreds
  of thousands of grassroots activists behind us
  while lobbying Congress and state legislatures.

4
Five Steps to Achieving Change

• Figure out what your goals are.
• What resources do you have.
• Whos with you? Whos against you?
• Who has the power to get you to your goals?
• What tactics do you need to use to achieve your
  goals?

5
Goals

• Long-Term
• What you want to happen eventually
• Ex Election Integrity
• Intermediate
• A goal along the way that helps you get to your
  long-term goal
• Ex Passage of a law requiring a paper trail for
  voting machines.
• Short-Term
• A goal that helps build momentum and/or builds
  your organization or coalition towards achieving
  your long-term goal.
• Ex Rep. Smith co-sponsors House Bill 456 that
  requires a paper trail for all voting machines.

6
Resources

• All organizations and coalitions have a finite
  amount of resources available.
• Resources can be placed into one of three
  categories
• Time
• Timeline
• People
• Whos going to help?
• Money
• Do we have any? Do we need to fundraise?

7
Allies and Opponents

• Allies
• Its important to know who you can count on to
  help you win your fight.
• They can either join your coalition or help
  peripherally.
• Opponents
• You need to know who is working against you
• Figuring out these groups will help you counter
  their arguments.
• Knowing what constituencies they represent can
  help you figure out which groups you might need
  to reach out to.
• Finding a member of this constituency group that
  supports your goal will greatly help countering
  your opponents message.

8
Targets

• Primary targets
• The person that has the power to give you what
  you want
• Ex Rep. Smith has the power to vote for or
  against the paper trail bill that you want
  passed.
• Secondary targets
• Someone that has power over the people with the
  power to give you what you want.
• Ex Jane Doe is a big donor and fundraiser for
  Rep. Smith.

9
Tactics

• The type of tactic you use depends on
• Goals
• Resources
• The amount of effort you can put into it
• Allies and Opponents
• Targets.
• Tactics range from very personal with a big
  impact (such as in-district meetings or writing a
  personal letter to your elected official) to very
  impersonal with the potential for a big impact
  (such as petitions or rallies).

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Tactics, cont

• Types of Tactics
• In-district meetings
• Writing a personal letter to elected official
• Calling your elected official
• Writing your elected official
• Writing a Letter to the Editor
• Writing an Opinion Editorial
• House parties
• Organizing a local lobby day
• Tabling

• Blogging
• Online networking
• Visibility
• Canvassing/Door-to-Door
• Utilizing Opinion Leaders
• Bird-dogging
• Petitions
• Resolutions
• Town Hall Meetings
• Sign-On Letters
• Coalition Building
• Boycotts
• Protests
• Attending other organizations events