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evaluation capacity building: Funder Initiatives to Strengthen Grantee Evaluation Capacity and Practice (report)
Evaluation Capacity Building (ECB) is the process of improving an organization’s ability to use evaluation to learn from its work and improve results. Organizational learning is incredibly important. Organizations that are adept at learning from mistakes and adapting...
Guide to system mapping
A system map is a visual depiction of the relationships between actors within a system. Often, system maps depict flows of information and/or resources. In this four-part blog series, Emily Gate, Srik Gopal, Lauren M. Smith, and Joelle Cook of FSG give guidance, share...
New style lobbying: How GetUp! channels Australians’ voices into politics
We see their spokespeople quoted in the papers and their ads on TV, but beyond that we know very little about how Australia’s lobby groups get what they want. This series shines a light on the strategies, political alignment and policy platforms of ten lobby groups...
What makes me tired when organising with middle class comrades
After years and years of organising, coming up against similar frustrations, and after lots of conversations between working class mates, grassroots organiser Nicole Vosper writes about what is draining about working with some middle class activists: “You expect...
Rhiza collective
Rhiza is a women-led collective of cultural workers and facilitators that uses storytelling, healing, organizing, and research to support social transformation and environmental justice.
Why the environmental movement is not winning
This searing 2012 report says the environmental movement is not winning and lays the blame squarely on the failed policies of environmental funders. The movement hasn’t won any “significant policy changes at the federal level in the United States since the 1980s”...
Important qualities of authentic relationships across differences
Karen Pace and Dionardo Pizana write: “Our commitment to the ongoing process of developing an authentic relationship across racial and gender differences has helped us to identify important foundational qualities of our relationship. These characteristics are...
Tools for Grassroots Activists (paperback)
For over 20 years, Patagonia has organized a Tools Conference, where experts provide practical training to help activists be more effective in their fight. Now Patagonia has captured Tools’ best wisdom and advice into a book, creating a resource for any organization...
Black Lives Matter and America’s long history of resisting civil rights protesters
Black Lives Matter activists have received plenty of criticism from political candidates and their supporters and surrogates. The majority of Americans haven’t embraced the activists’ message or strategies, either; fewer than a third of Americans said Black...
8 keys to running a successful remote meeting
Planning a remote meeting may seem like a lot of work, but it can be much more efficient than getting everyone together in one room at the same time. Using these eight key elements will help you and your team members successfully make it through a remote meeting,...
A Radical Alliance of Black and Green Could Save the World
But first the two movements will have to rediscover their shared roots in a fundamental critique of an economy and a society that value things more than lives. As in the environmental world, many in the black community are seeing limits to traditional advocacy…...
Against activism | Astra Taylor
““A pejorative term for an individual who repeatedly and vehemently engages in arguments on social justice on the Internet, often in a shallow or not well-thought-out way, for the purpose of raising their own personal reputation… Successful organizers, by...
Not so grassroots: How the snowflake model is transforming political campaigns
Stephen Mills writes: “Campaigning has broken out from the electoral context and evolved into a new tool for business, government and civil society actors. Campaigning is now the dominant form of collective political activity in Australia. Waves of...
Why ‘active listening’ will make you more productive, and how to do it
There are two types of listening: passive and active. With passive listening, you don’t chew on someone’s words too much; you simply react to what they say and try to get your own points across. Active listening is different, and in my opinion a lot more productive....
Seeding Justice: Revenue-generating membership and fundraising canvasses for community organizing
While foundation funding plays a crucial role in enabling grassroots organizations to achieve their goals, it ebbs and flows and, in most cases, comes with mandates that reflect the priorities of foundation leaders. In the wake of the 2008 financial crisis, many...
18 books every white ally should read
Being a good ally to any movement means knowing your stuff about whatever movement you’re supporting. Being a white ally to movements concerning race means having to also look at issues around being white, issues like privilege and the legacy of racism in the U.S. and...
2016 Global NGO Online Technology Report
The 2016 Global NGO Online Technology Report is unprecedented and provides valuable insight into the global NGO sector and its use of online technology.
Big Data Visualization: Review of the 20 Best Tools
How do I get a clean and engaging visualization for all my data? Will it be time consuming? Am I going to spend months preparing everything? Here’s the deal: There are tools that help you visualize all your data in minutes. They are already out there. All you need to...