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ENDING HUNGER THROUGH CITIZEN SERVICE CONFERENCE

NEW ORLEANS MARRIOTT METAIRIEJANUARY 21-26, 2015

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THE KEYS TO SUCCESSFUL COALITION BUILDING

Sarah SmolowitzAnti Hunger-Opportunity Corps VISTA

The Community Food Bank of Southern ArizonaTucson, AZ

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OBJECTIVES AND GOALS

By the end of this presentation: • You will be able to define what a coalition

is and how it works• Learn how to recruit potential members• Gain an understanding of key best

practices and benchmarks for success• Troubleshoot common (and uncommon)

problems in coalition building

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COALITIONS: A PRIMER

Definition: A group of individuals coming together for a specific purpose or goal

• Is most commonly seen in mental health/substance abuse circles

• The model we are using• Easily modified for hunger, homelessness, etc.

Key identifier of a coalition:• Different parts of the community come

together to solve a community problem • Example: Underage drinking

• Solution: Social Host Ordinance Laws

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COALITIONS: A PRIMER

Different “sectors”—i.e., parts—of the community come together with their talents to promote cultural change

• Example: An individual who works in media puts together a PSA campaign to educate potential donors/volunteers about current challenges

• Example: Religious leaders hold a press conference to promote their work in hunger relief• Key: Cultural Change

• Informing the general public about the facts about hunger/poverty/etc.

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COALITION MEMBERSHIP

Key #1: Define your community; this will define who needs to be in your coalition

• At The Community Food Bank of Southern Arizona, our clients determine our community• Who/What organizations should be involved given

that…• 43% of our clients are working poor? • 27% of our clients are SNAP recipients or are SNAP

eligible? • 40% of our clients are children? • What organizations did we name multiple times?

• These are the core of our coalition members• (All statistics courtesy of The Community Food Bank of

Southern Arizona)

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Key #2: After brainstorming who, in general, is in your community, refine your list

• At The Community Food Bank, we refined our list by asking “Who, specifically, does SNAP as an elemental part of their organization?”• Created the following list:

• Interfaith Community Services• The Salvation Army of Southern Arizona• Medicare Health Benefits Cooperative• Flowing Wells Family and Community Resource Center• University of Arizona Health and Nutrition Cooperative • Iskashitaa Refugee Network• Lutheran Social Services • Catholic Social Services

COALITION MEMBERSHIP

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Key #3: When reaching out to these organizations, keep their best interests in mind

• What’s in it for them? • University of Arizona Health and Nutrition Cooperative:

Wants to educate lower income SNAP recipients on using their benefits at Farmer’s Markets

• Interfaith Community Services: Wants to lessen client dependence on their services

• Flowing Wells Community and Family Resource Center: Same as Interfaith Community Services

• Time is money• Be on time• Be ready to talk about the project• Be excited!

COALITION MEMBERSHIP

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COALITION ACTIVITIES

Key #4: Avoid reinventing the wheel by conducting a survey

• Also a service year requirement• Goal: Who does what the best out of everyone?

• Answer this question with data • The Community Food Bank, out of all our coalition

members, is the best at getting food to clients in the most rural areas

• Interfaith Community Ministries is the best at uniting the churches around poverty prevention

• Iskashitaa is the best at reaching refugees

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COALITION ACTIVITIES

Key #4: Avoid reinventing the wheel by conducting a survey

• Most (if not all) members will have their own data about their organization• Budget• Clients served• Services provided and dates of service

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COALITION ACTIVITIES

Key #5: Engagement promotes commitment, resulting in sustainability

• Put the coalition in control of its own wellbeing • What topics do your coalition members think need

to be covered? • Example: Our coalition focuses on SNAP & SNAP

Related Challenges

• When does your coalition want to meet? Where? For how long?• Example: At The Community Food Bank, we meet the

1st Monday of the month, at 9:30am, at The Community Food Bank

• Discussing teleconferencing/location rotation

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TROUBLESHOOTING

Challenge #1: Too many cooks spoil the soup• If too many organizations/people are involved in the

coalition, at least initially, it will not be as effective as possible

• The story of Loma Woodburn

• The Community Food Bank of Southern Arizona decided, at this moment, we would limit our coalition to SNAP & SNAP Centered Organizations• Allows for very specific networking

• Interfaith networking event• Organizational networking event• SNAP Volunteer Fair

• Keeps our discussion focused on current issues and challenges• Policy/Procedural Changes• Funding cutbacks/changes

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TROUBLESHOOTING

Challenge #2: Keep the meeting about solutions that lead to cultural change

• Create “House Rules of Play”• At The Community Food Bank:

• No speechmaking• Safe space for discussion• Be on time• Mindfulness and compassion

• At the first meeting, appoint a facilitator and secretary• At The Community Food Bank:

• For this year, I am the facilitator• Still discussing a secretary

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TROUBLESHOOTING

Challenge #3: “Problem” Coalition Members• Most common challenges

• Consistently tardy members• Consistently on their phone• Do not honor the rules

• Professionalism, above all else• Don’t call these members out in the middle of the

meeting• Talk with your supervisor • Can they talk with this member and find out what’s going

on?

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TROUBLESHOOTING

Challenge #3: “Problem” Coalition Members• Uncommon, but not unheard of, problems

• Sexual harassment• Verbal and/or Physical Abuse• Bullying and intimidation

• The story of Nancy Spear

• NYCCAH/VISTA/CNCS Reporting Procedures• In the VISTA/NYCCAH handbook, it outlines the

procedure• Key points:

• Tell the person to stop• Tell your supervisor• Contact your VISTA Leader• Document the incident, including any possible witnesses

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TROUBLESHOOTING

Challenge #4: Losing the long term focus• Best way to avoid this: mix in short term success with

long term goals • Ex.: The Community Food Bank decided that, for our first

challenge, to work with farmers markets• Where are they? • When are they?• Which ones use SNAP?

• Coalitions are used to institute long term, cultural change• This means that we won’t see the results of our work in

the near future; we will, however, see the results in generational, attitude changes

• Be upfront with your coalition members about this fact• Their reaction to this gauges their commitment

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QUESTIONS?

Thank you for attending!