tCA update August 2017 | Fellowship applications now open

What's on top?

We're now inviting applications for our 2018 Community Organising Fellowship. In just four years, the Fellowship has created a national network of almost 100 skilled strategists and organisers. Our graduates are now leading many of Australia’s high-impact campaigns.

The Fellowship includes three residential workshops and a structured curriculum that includes guest speakers, mentoring, campaign case studies and experiential tasks to practice and hone an extensive campaign toolkit. Read about our training topics and tools here. We also support our cohort to recruit and train thousands of community members, building people power for change.

We're looking for the right 25 campaigners for COF2018. Could you be one of them?

Download an application for here, and drop James a line with any questions. Applications close 30 September.

Enjoy this month's enews, and be sure to share activist education resources and events you cook up.

Great online resources

Enews subscribers regularly share with us the websites and online resources they’re developing, discovering and learning from in their community organising. Enjoy this month’s batch and be sure to drop us a line to suggest links for the next enews.

Cancer Council NSW Organising Model

Cancer Council NSW developed this model to engage, mobilise and organise community members to influence public policy about cancer. While the context of their model is health specific, some of the principles and processes are relevant for other social issues. You can use this model of grassroots advocacy as a starting point, and develop ideas to suit your own organisation.

Three traps to avoid at your next meeting | Ed McKinley

Ed (GroupWork Institute of Australia) reflects: There’s a lot to be gained in digging a bit deeper into why you may be finding your meetings frustrating. People instantly get it when we encourage structure around meetings by emphasising the importance of Beginning, Middle, End and allowing enough time. But we’re often met with some surprise at our emphasis on the ‘soft …

Creating and Sustaining Awareness of LGBTQI Rights

Join the New Tactics community for an online conversation on Creating and Sustaining Awareness of LGBTQI Rights from June 26-30, 2017. LGBTQI rights were only officially recognized as human rights by the United Nations in 2011. Since then the OHCHR’s Free & Equal campaign has sought to raise awareness and advocate for an end to discrimination against LGBTQI individuals. However, it is difficult …

Funding advocacy and policy change | Atlas learning project

Over the course of two years and hundreds of interviews with foundations, advocates, evaluators, and other experts, a consistent theme emerged around the need for foundations to be more aggressive and adaptive in their support for advocacy and policy change. This theme runs through more than 20 different reports, publications, and other resources. In each case, what arises from all …

Networked change in Canada | Jason Mogus and Tom Liacas

This groundbreaking report maps out the strategies and practices that lie behind today’s most successful advocacy campaigns both in Canada and abroad. In the process, it demonstrates how and why they succeed in creating lasting change on the issues they address while so many others fail.

Upcoming learning opportunities and events

For details of other workshops and learning opportunities, visit our calendar.

Changeology method hothouse | 17-18 October, Melbourne

The 2-day master class in making change happen. An enjoyable two days with a wonderful bunch of colleagues from diverse fields who turn out to have an amazing amount in common. You’ll bring along tricky environmental, social or health challenges and leave with well-conceived and imaginative projects ready for their first public outing. Changeology is a step-by-step rapid design methodology that …

Nonprofit tech for good free webinars (throughout 2017)

Heather Mansfield presents webinars on how nonprofits can effectively utilize web and email communications, online fundraising tools, and mobile and social media. Thanks to a sponsorship from OnGood, to date more than 40,000 nonprofits worldwide have attended one of her webinars. Full details and registration >

Common Cause: values and frames that motivate change (various dates and locations in 2017)

Introductory half-day workshop for those new to values and frames-based community engagement. We explore how values and frames work, why they matter, and what a values-based approach to community engagement means for individuals, organisations and movements seeking to create a more just, sustainable and democratic world. Masterclass for those who already have a grasp of the Common Cause fundamentals, but …

Groupwork Institute of Australia 2017 training calendar

The Groupwork Institute of Australia are the collaborative education and training arm of Commonground Training Resources Inc. We have been leaders in facilitation and collaborative management for more than 30 years. Our approach has two levels: Practical skills and processes that are easy to understand and simple to use Building emotional intelligence so these tools can be applied to a …

OrganiseUs (digital campaigning) 2017 training calendar

Workshops on social media srategy, digital organising and train the trainer. Full details and registration here >

VCOSS 2017 training calendar: Our Community

Upcoming training opportunities on grant writing, successful boards, effective meetings, governance, media, online essentials, campaigns that sizzle, and being an effective spokesperson. Our Community has developed a suite of affordable, practical training to help community sector staff, volunteers and supporters keep abreast of their responsibilities and learn how to lift their organisation from ordinary to extraordinary All training is delivered by …

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