Coalition and Partner Building Strategies

Be sure all coalitions and partnerships you enter into meet the additional Guidance on Coalitions and Partnerships.

This coalition-building planning tool will help you identify and recruit allies, set out goals and priorities, and build a strong foundation for collective success. Coalitions are created to bring about collective action at the national, state or local level. Many organizations work in coalitions on a broad range of issues for years, or on specific programs or priorities for a short period of time. Coalition efforts can help maximize a local LWV’s effectiveness by:

• Empowering organizations to pool resources and brainpower to foster more strategic and effective action.

• Enabling better communication and collaboration between like-minded organizations.

• Increasing diversity by bringing together new or alternative voices.

• Bringing about a greater impact than a single organization could make on their own.

Getting Started

When recruiting allies for voter registration purposes, consider forming partnerships with organizations such as the following:

• Civil rights leaders, including members of the disability community

• Academics, student groups, PTAs and school boards

• Civic/democracy groups

• Neighborhood associations

• Community clubs

As you identify potential new partners, keep in mind that nontraditional alliances or highly visible bipartisan efforts often gain attention and respect from the public, the media, and key stakeholders. Consider:

• Who shares our same goals?

• What strengths do they bring to the table?

• What function can they best serve in the coalition?

• What are their weaknesses?

• Who might they alienate?