Develop a Partner Coalition

Go to the Project Coalition section in the Community Guide for complete details on:

Why use a partnership approach?
Identifying and building capacity in your community
Setting the goals, focus and scope of the project
A tentative timeline for developing the coalition
Developing a Census of Organizations

Preliminary Work: Getting Your Message Straight

Once your core planners have a clear vision statement in place, and you have ideas for initial activities, take some time to develop your own marketing tools. The samples available in the appendix can get you started. Your up-front effort to have these on hand will pay off as you invite more people and organizations to help with the programming. Consider:

An "elevator" speech;
A visual presentation such as a PowerPoint or iMovie presentation that offers an overview, outlines partnerships, and asks for specific types of support;
A list of talking points for presentations;
An introductory brochure and/or poster;
A handout that describes an upcoming event;
A template for an electronic newsletter;
An email address list of all likely collaborators.

Start with 3-5 key planning partners who can answer the questions:

"Why would we do this at all?";
"What can I/we bring to the project?";
"Who will be our audience(s)?";
"What's our vision of how this will play out in our community?";
"Where do we start?"

Getting Connected to Build Awareness

With marketing materials in hand, start connecting with area groups.

Contact the program chair of key organizations and get on agendas.
Set personal meetings with the executive directors/presidents of youth organizations;
Host networking meetings to explore collaborations
Participate in local events that bring out the public
Join area environmental groups on their sponsored tours and hikes.

Support Materials*

Packet of Sample Marketing Materials

Recruiting Poster for Students
Recruiting Poster for Adults
Certificate (front)/Contact Postcard
Sample News Releases:
Sample Newspaper Ads
Talking Points to Use When Asking for Organization Support
Assorted Graphic Elements & Logos

Our Story: Developing the Coalition for Watershed Education

In Traverse City, the Coalition for Watershed Education (CWE) started with four well-established community organizations in the Grand Traverse area of northwest Lower Michigan:

A non-profit organization (LIAA) that does technology work (web pages, media, mapping) and community planning;
Staff and administrators from Northwestern Michigan Community College, including science educators from the college's Great Lakes Water Studies Institute;
The director and education director from the Great Lakes Children's Museum;
The news director from the public radio station - Interlochen Public Radio.

Next, we added the 4-H Coordinator from the MSU Extension Center so we could tap into the processes they had in place to handle enrollment forms, vet all volunteers, and guide volunteer management. We then forged links with two organizations to share their nature sites - a local Optimist Club that was developing a nature trail on the main river in the area, the Boardman, and the Grand Traverse Conservation District, which was on the cusp of opening a new nature center at the trailhead of its trail system.

As the LTTR project continued to unfold, the CWE affiliated with other local and regional groups, including youth advocacy groups (Scout chapters, Youth Conservation Corps), education units (Upward Bound), additional conservation-based groups (Leelanau Conservancy, the Grand Traverse Conservation District), area nature centers (Grass River Nature Center) and even a local theatre group and gallery (Old Town Playhouse and Inside/Out Gallery) to sponsor events.

This page last updated on 1/25/2010.

For more information, contact LIAA: 324 Munson Ave. | Traverse City, MI 49686 | 231-929-3696 | info@liaa.org | www.liaa.org

Discussion Starters with Community Groups