Sometimes it’s the hyperlocal organizing initiatives that have the most to teach us.
That’s why I’m not going to talk about the latest big campaign from a major national advocacy organization. And I’m not going to give you my take on the 2016 presidential candidates. I’m going to tell you about the “greening committee” at my son’s school in Williamsburg, Brooklyn — and the five things you should apply to your digital marketing plans, no matter how big or small.
I love most everything about my son’s school except the fact that the playground is located next to the Brooklyn Queens Expressway (BQE for New York natives). Exposure to pollutants results in high rates of asthma among the children. The greening committee had lots of ideas about what could be done, including a Green Playground with a wall of plants to absorb and block pollutants and raised bed learning gardens, but it would take a substantial fortune to realize the dream.
As I became more involved, I discovered Participatory Budgeting, or PB. PB is a democratic process that empowers community members to decide how to spend part of a public budget. It started in Brazil and is now taking off around the world as a way to encourage civic involvement. In New York City, for example, more and more council members are opting in every year and typically allocate $1 million to be awarded to the top 3 to 4 projects. Proposals are submitted in the fall, vetted in the summer, and voted on in the Spring. We quickly realized that PB could be a way to secure the funds for our Green Playground — a natural sanctuary that would improve the air and the aesthetics for the kids, parents, teachers, and local community at large. So we set out to win the PB vote for the Brooklyn Arbor School.
Spoiler alert: we won! But it wasn’t easy, and we learned a ton. Here are some of the fundamental principles, which are applicable to organizations large and small, online and offline — because at its core, it’s about organizing people around a common goal and making change on the issues that matter to us most.
1. Create a shared goal
When drafting our plan, we took into consideration the needs of the schoolkids along with the weekend-users of the playground. There are young men who play basketball, little kids who play baseball and hopscotch, and moms who use the track with their strollers, to name a few. The plan includes greenery as well as benches and lights. And we are enlisting the parks department to officially open the schoolyard to the public outside of school hours.
The improved aesthetics, air quality and safety will benefit everyone who attends the school and everyone who lives nearby. From the original predominantly Dominican community of the neighboring buildings, to the newer community of artists and hipsters (this is Williamsburg, Brooklyn, after all), everyone was happy to support the proposal as it was crafted.
2. Be inclusive with your audience
I knew that the project had a chance of success because we had a community of parents I could mobilize and a variety of communication channels (emails, the school site, even their kids’ backpacks). But many parents in our school do not live in the voting zone, so there was no way we could win with school parents alone. We would have to get creative and mobilize the entire neighborhood.
How? We empowered local community groups (churches and nonprofits) to help communicate the goal and get their constituents involved. We posted flyers at local businesses and on apartment buildings. And we hit the streets and talked to folks during their daily routines. (Children selling lemonade never hurts either!)
While I will admit it was rather intimidating approaching strangers on the street, having a clear goal that was hyper-local made the difference between people brushing us off and giving us a chance to have a conversation. Neighbors spoke to each other — some for the first time. People came out in droves and united for the cause. Quite a few of us got teary on more than one occasion as we saw the power of organizing in action.
3. Provide multiple ways to get involved
This was a truly grassroots endeavor, and we needed help with everything. Some people could work on the design of the playground while others could make signs. Some were good at baking food (which makes voting stands much more bearable) and others could leverage their contacts with local organizations. Once we knew what people’s strengths were, we could empower them individually. While getting personal may take more time, it meant a more effective operation since everyone could contribute based on their skillset and availability.
4. Paint a clear case for what winning looks like (in this case, literally)
In our case, the PB process helped us to work with city agencies to define a reasonable financial ask for a feasible project. Through this process, we determined that we could win as much as $400,000 for the the school for a playground environmental upgrade. Once we had the number, we worked quickly with a parent architect and the principal to develop a plan and visuals for how the playground could look. It was important to have a tangible experience as a goal, so that people could instantly understand what this was about.
5. Enforce a deadline
The PB process has a clear schedule built in (submissions and vetting in the fall and voting in spring) so we could work backwards and set deadlines for awareness-raising and ramp up to vote week. As any fundraiser and organizer knows, a deadline is often what gets people to act. That brings it to the top of people’s priorities lists. When it came down to the crunch, there was no more dilly dallying — it was now or never. We had to act with urgency.
The Results
Not only did we secure enough support to be a winner, but, with nearly 700 votes from the community at large, we had almost twice as many as the next contender! But arguably the more important victory was hearing from all the volunteers about what a rich and rewarding experience the process had been. People want opportunities to engage and give back. They may need to be asked and encouraged, but the results are worth it. Here is a note the principal sent to 70+ volunteers by email before we even knew if we had won:
I speak for my staff as well here — getting votes has been an incredibly rewarding and heart warming experience. It was great to see so many new and old faces and I truly cannot be more proud of how everyone has come together on this.
I also love how our children are joining in. This is when we begin to plant the seeds of what's possible and we need our sons and daughters to see participation as a great responsibility. We are growing future lobbyists, elected officials, analysts, community organizers and most importantly — global citizens.
— Eva Irizarry
(From left: City Council Member Antonio Reynoso, Assistant Principal Cristina Albarran, Principals Eva Irizarry, myself with children, PA Co-President Phoebe Flynn Rich with child, and parent/architect Darrick Borowski)
These universal organizing principles were central to our shared success, and continue to be a critical part of the community’s ongoing initiatives. Often, it takes getting down to the basics to affect real change.
Charlotte E. Binns is our newest Business Development Director at BSD. In 2014 she sold her company Call2Action — a SaaS platform for nonprofits — and took the year to focus on community-building initiatives. You can learn more about her story in this TEDx talk.
