Most campaigns are made up of two groups of people: the core group of activists who organise and manage the campaign, and a wider network of supporters from the community. You will probably need both types of groups for your campaign to succeed.
Organisers A group of people can be much more effective than an individual. The more people involved in your campaign, the more resources you will have in terms of skills, interests, time and materials. Working together as a team, you can share tasks and get more done. This means you can take a more co-ordinated and professional approach to your campaign. There's more advice in the Action Network guide, How do I start a group?
Supporters Once you have set up your campaign, you will need to think about how you are going to attract supporters. A campaign with broad public backing is much more likely to receive attention from the media and officials, especially councillors and MPs.
Before you start looking for people, think about the following basic questions:
Why should people care about your campaign? Knowing this will help you appeal to people in a way that makes them more likely to respond
What do you need people to do for you? Knowing this will help you focus your efforts. For example, do you want them to go on a demonstration with you or to sign your petition?
For information on how to get young people involved in your campaign see the Action Network guide, How to work with young people.
To get people involved they need to know about you – so you need to get good publicity. You can communicate your message in all sorts of ways but you should always explain what your group does and include contact details.
Build links Contacting other organisations is a good way of tapping into pre-existing networks of people. Different types of organisations might be able to assist your campaign in a range of ways, from providing activists, to giving financial support. In your local area, you could consider getting in touch with:
Residents’ and tenants’ associations
Local project/programs
Schools and youth clubs
Local political parties, councillors and your MP
You might also find it helpful to contact other groups who share your concerns. There might be similar groups to yours that are already well-established in other parts of the country which can provide focused advice. National charities and lobbying groups might also be able to help.
Get your message to people
Take to the streets Knocking on people’s doors is a great way to get yourself known and appeal to people in your local area on a personal level. It will be easier to start talking to someone if you have something to tell them about, such as one of the activities below. When meeting people:
Say who you are and what your campaign is about
Explain why your issue is important
Say what you hope to achieve
Explain why you need their support
Posters and leaflets Colourful designs placed in local shops, libraries, leisure centres and community halls are an inexpensive way of getting publicity and attention. The Action Network guide, How do I leaflet and get publicity? has more advice.
Use the media As well as trying to get journalists to write about you, you can also send letters to the letters page or consider the advertising section. Newspapers and magazines will often include listings at no charge. For more information you can read the Action Network guide, How can I use the media?
Organise a petition This will give concrete evidence of support for your campaign and can provide you with a database of sympathisers. Find out more in the Action Network guide, How do I set up a petition?
Hold a meeting Get people together to discuss your campaign, offer new ideas and meet other supporters. If you've never organised a meeting before, look at the guide the How do I run a public meeting? for some tips.
Hold a social event Instead of a meeting you could arrange something more informal. You could have a barbeque as an excuse to get people together. This allows people get to know each other without having to talk about the campaign for the whole evening. A larger event could also be used as a fundraiser. Take a look at the Action Network guide, How do I fundraise? for more ideas.
Organise a demonstration A physical show of support can be worth thousands of words. It is also a really good media opportunity. For advice on how to successfully organise a demonstration take a look at the Action Network guide, How do I organise a protest?
Jane Ashley is one of the founders of Save Ealing’s Streets, a group campaigning against plans to close sections of the Uxbridge Road in west London to make way for a new tram link. She has experience of building up a large group of supporters.
Jane’s top tips:
Don’t be daunted if you start off with only a few people. We began with just four, but within months had developed a substantial network involving hundreds of individuals and more than 40 residents’ groups
Build alliances with other groups to see if they can support your campaign. If they tell their members about your campaign it can help enormously
Start off by doing a simple flyer on a home computer which sets out your case and gives your contact details. Don’t be too ambitious at first – just leafleting a few streets can bring in more volunteers and donations so that you can then produce more professional printed literature and distribute it over a wider area
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