Congregation-based Community Organizing
Encyclopedia
Community organizing
describes a wide variety of efforts to empower residents in a local area to participate in civic life or governmental affairs. Most efforts that claim this label operate in low-income or middle-income areas, and have adopted at least some of the tactics and organizing techniques pioneered by Saul Alinsky
and his Industrial Areas Foundation
. Other organizations in this tradition include PICO National Network
, Gamaliel Foundation
, and Direct Action and Research Training Center
(DART).
They focus on building political power in the hands of an organization of local residents, and using that power to influence issues the organization defines as important. Congregation-based Community Organizing (CBCO) works through local synagogues, churches, and mosques as the primary institutional sponsors of this work. Common characteristics:
Community organizing
Community organizing is a process where people who live in proximity to each other come together into an organization that acts in their shared self-interest. A core goal of community organizing is to generate durable power for an organization representing the community, allowing it to influence...
describes a wide variety of efforts to empower residents in a local area to participate in civic life or governmental affairs. Most efforts that claim this label operate in low-income or middle-income areas, and have adopted at least some of the tactics and organizing techniques pioneered by Saul Alinsky
Saul Alinsky
Saul David Alinsky was a Jewish American community organizer and writer. He is generally considered to be the founder of modern community organizing, and has been compared in Playboy magazine to Thomas Paine as being "one of the great American leaders of the nonsocialist left." He is often noted...
and his Industrial Areas Foundation
Industrial Areas Foundation
The Industrial Areas Foundation is a national community organizing network established in 1940 by Saul Alinsky. IAF provides training and consultation, furnishes organizers, and develops national strategy for its affiliated broad-based community organizations. There are currently 57 IAF...
. Other organizations in this tradition include PICO National Network
PICO National Network
PICO National Network provides training and consultation and develops national strategy for its affiliated congregation-based community organizations. As of 2007 PICO had 53 local and regional affiliates, representing 150 cities in 17 states, with 1000 member institutions claiming to represent a...
, Gamaliel Foundation
Gamaliel Foundation
Gamaliel Foundation provides training and consultation and develops national strategy for its affiliated congregation-based community organizations. As of 2008, Gamaliel has 60 affiliates in 21 U.S...
, and Direct Action and Research Training Center
Direct Action and Research Training Center
The Direct Action and Research Training Center provides training and consultation for its 18 affiliated congregation-based community organizations. Founded in 1982, DART is headquartered in Miami, Florida. As of 2011, DART has 18 affiliated organizations in five states. John Calkins is the...
(DART).
They focus on building political power in the hands of an organization of local residents, and using that power to influence issues the organization defines as important. Congregation-based Community Organizing (CBCO) works through local synagogues, churches, and mosques as the primary institutional sponsors of this work. Common characteristics:
- Faith-basedFaith-basedThe term faith-based is a neologism , mostly current in US English, to describe any organization or government idea or plan based on religious beliefs, specifically Christian beliefs....
: They ground their organizing in the values and traditions that come from religious faith (to varying degrees, and sometimes quite powerfully)
- Broad-based: They are typically interfaithInterfaithThe term interfaith dialogue refers to cooperative, constructive and positive interaction between people of different religious traditions and/or spiritual or humanistic beliefs, at both the individual and institutional levels...
, and many include in their membership schools, unions and a variety of other community-based institutions like neighborhood associations.
- Locally constituted: They organize in areas that range from large neighborhoods to entire cities. Although linked into the national and region networks discussed above, they emphasize local organizing.
- Multi-issue: Their purpose is to train local leaders in how to effectively address pressing issues facing their communities, as determined by their leaders.
- Professionally staffed: CBCO groups hire professionals who recruit and train local leaders which then work with the organizations on a voluntary basis.
External links
- Congregation Based Community Organizing Jewish Fund for Justice video (7:33). Rabbis and lay leaders share reflections on this justice work.
- 4200 People at PICO Rally for Children's Health coverage for the more than 800,000 children in California who are uninsured. Video (5:01)(April 2005).