Community Organizing

Awareness & Understanding

Start by learning what community organizing actually is — and how it differs from volunteering or charity. Organizing means building collective power to change a system, not just helping individuals one at a time. Watch the short documentary "The Organizer" on YouTube, or search for interviews with Utah community leaders through Voices of Utah at voicesofutah.org. Read the free "Organizing for Power" guide from the Midwest Academy available at midwestacademy.com. Think of one issue in your Salt Lake neighborhood — housing costs, transit access, park quality, air quality — where a group of organized people might actually change something. You're ready for the next step when you can define community organizing in your own words and name one local issue that needs it.

Research & Investigation

Research the issue and the landscape of power around it. Who makes decisions about your chosen issue? Who is affected? Who has tried to change it before? Search local news archives at sltrib.com or kslnewsradio.com for past coverage. Find out who represents your neighborhood at the Salt Lake City Council by using the district map at slc.gov. Look for existing organizations already working on this issue — search Utah Nonprofits Association at utahna.org or the Utah League of Cities and Towns. Interview one person directly affected by the issue — a neighbor, a business owner, a parent. You're ready for the next step when you can draw a simple "power map" showing who decides, who is affected, and who is already organized.

Planning & Preparation

Build your organizing plan. Every effective campaign has a clear ask, a timeline, and a list of allies. Define your specific, winnable ask — not "fix housing" but "add 20 affordable units to the Jordan Meadows development." Set a six-week timeline. Recruit five to ten people who care about the issue and will show up. Use a free tool like Google Sheets to track your contacts. Plan one opening meeting or listening session — this can be at a library, community center, or someone's home. Draft a one-page brief that explains the issue, your ask, and why now. You're ready for the next step when you have a specific ask, a contact list of at least five people, and a date set for your first group meeting.

Taking Action

Hold your first organizing meeting and take your first public action. Run the meeting using a simple agenda: share the issue, hear from those affected, agree on one next step. Then take that step — show up to a city council meeting, deliver a petition, hold a press conference, or submit a formal public comment through the process at slc.gov. Document everything: attendance, what was decided, what happened. Follow up with every person who showed up within 48 hours. You're ready for the next step when you have held your first meeting, taken one public action, and followed up with every participant.

Leadership & Expansion

Grow your coalition and sustain the pressure. Reach out to allied organizations — neighborhood councils, faith communities, labor unions, or student groups at the University of Utah or Salt Lake Community College. Ask them to co-sign your ask or send representatives to your next action. Learn how to run a "one-on-one" relationship-building conversation from the free resources at buildingmovement.org. Set up a simple recurring meeting cadence — monthly is enough to start. Delegate at least two specific tasks to other people so the campaign doesn't depend entirely on you. You're ready for the next step when your coalition has grown to at least two organizations or ten individuals and someone besides you is leading a piece of the campaign.

Impact & Reflection

Evaluate what your campaign achieved and document what you learned. Did the decision-maker respond? Did the policy change? Did your ask move forward, even partially? Write a two-page campaign report that covers: the issue, the ask, the actions taken, who was involved, what changed, and what you'd do differently. Share it with your coalition and with the broader SLCTrips community. If the campaign is still ongoing, hand it off to another leader with a clear transition document. You're ready for the next step when you have a written campaign report, shared it publicly, and can name one concrete thing that shifted — in policy, in relationships, or in your own skills — as a result of your organizing.