How we assist communities

 

Everyday Democracy Program Director Gloria Mengual conducting an orientation in Casa Grande, Ariz.

Everyday Democracy works with diverse community coalitions dedicated to involving all kinds of people in talking and working together to solve public problems.

We have learned from the communities we have assisted for the past 18 years. As we learn, we:

• document lessons and stories, and
• create tools that other communities can use and adapt.

These resources are available on this web site, and you may download them without charge.

In the communities where we provide customized technical assistance, we coach local people. We don’t do the work for communities – our staff members and senior associates help communities build their own abilities to create change.

We rely on a tested set of democratic principles and processes to help cross-sector community groups:

Everyday Democracy Program Director Carolyne Abdullah conducting an action and change workshop in Mundelein, Ill.

• build a diverse and effective working coalition;
  
  
• engage across difference, and address the racial and ethnic dimensions of issues they’re facing;
  
  
• set achievable, measurable goals for their public engagement effort;
  
  
• select or create discussion materials for public dialogue;
  
  
• actively recruit a wide diversity of community members;

• plan, organize, and facilitate large-scale public dialogue;
  
  
• plan to support and implement key action ideas emerging from the dialogue, and connect them with other community change initiatives;
  
  
• tell the story to the whole community;
  
  
• name and learn from the results they achieve;
  
  
• generate the support they need to expand and sustain their work.

Learn more about what it takes to organize a dialogue-to-change program

"In the many years of participating in group dynamics exercises and community organizational meetings, I have never encountered such a professional and practical demonstration as well as excellent participatory training program."
--Suran Rosenthal of Morris County Human Relations Commission (N.J.) on Everyday Democracy's organizing training