10 Steps to Jumpstart Your Coalition

Step 1 – Identify Potential Partners

Your prime prospects are organizations that share your interests in water conservation, industry preservation and positive, productive relationships with elected officials. This is an inclusive exercise, so invite fellow green businesses from down the street and across the state to participate. While some of these businesses may be your biggest competitors, don’t let that stop you from seeing the bigger picture.

An existing drought may have more impact on some geographic areas of your region than others. Increase your coalition’s representative base and amplify your power and collective voice by including potential members from every corner of your state.

Step 2 – Recruit Members

Think outside the box. Put aside all preconceived notions about other green businesses and recognize the wide range of contributions that each business and segment of the industry can make to the coalition effort.

Remember: You need to have a variety of green businesses in your coalition. Otherwise, you could appear to be representing the sole interests of one select group.

Invite all businesses, large and small. The larger ones can help offset manpower or budgetary concerns, while smaller businesses will help build key resources. Be sure to include experienced business owners as well as new entrepreneurs to broaden the base of experience with enthusiasm.

Remind those who are reluctant to join that a water crisis can occur at anytime, without warning. If they are waiting for a crisis to get involved, they will be too late to be effective. Proactive involvement from the start can help ensure the success of the coalition now and the well-being of our businesses in the future.

Step 3 – Target Expertise

When you talk to potential partners, ask about the assets they can bring to the coalition:

Choose a central location and convenient time for your meeting, and plan your agenda. Include time for everyone to get acquainted, inviting the potential members to introduce themselves, identify their business and voice any positive or negative concerns they may have about forming a coalition. Mail, fax or e-mail your agenda ahead of time to communicate the focus of the meeting.

Make sure you assign action steps throughout the meeting to give everyone a good reason to return and continue the coalition dialogue. You might distribute the latest water level reports or sanctions or an analysis of the latest green bills in front of your state legislature. At the end of the meeting, review the action items, persons responsible and deadlines. Be sure to schedule the next meeting to maintain momentum.

Step 5 – Select the Leadership

A board should be the decision-making body of your organization. Depending on the size of your coalition, you should choose three to six representatives—with as much diversity as possible. Include growers, landscape contractors, irrigation specialists and others. Your board should develop a preliminary plan on behalf of the entire coalition. It is generally necessary for boards to meet outside of scheduled meetings involving the entire coalition.

Step 6 – Appoint a Chair

Selecting a chairperson is a very important step toward launching a successful coalition. The ideal candidate must be able to oversee the coalition’s strategic mission and help steer financial, functional and programming activities.

Strong leadership skills, organization and follow-through are essential. Ideally, the position should be held one to two years before a new person is chosen. The chair may not necessarily be the coalition spokesperson.

Step 7 – Draft a Plan

The board’s first order of business is to draft a preliminary outline that communicates, qualifies and quantifies what the coalition hopes to accomplish.

The essentials of an effective plan include the following:

Include a timeframe to guide and build momentum for the mission. If your plan includes short- and long-term goals, keep these categories separate and specific.

Note: Mission statements are most effective when kept to one or two simple sentences!

Step 8 – Identify Proficiencies

Coalition members participate at different levels. Some will lead or invest time; others will utilize their own staffs to help implement goals. Still others will only allow the use of their names on a letterhead, while others will act as lobbyists, researchers, data collectors and general supporters.

Step 9 – Communicate with Members

Consistent communication helps make a coalition work. Members may want to receive messages by a variety of methods—mail, e-mail, fax or voice-mail, so determine in advance what is feasible.

Begin to compile your membership list at the first meeting and regularly add the names of any new members. Your list should contain the following basic contact information:

While some coalition members may never actually show up for meetings or participate in events, it is imperative that they be kept as well informed as those who do.

Make sure that all coalition partners receive the same information on a timely basis, and establish an emergency communication system—such as a volunteer, board member or calling tree—to keep everyone informed of late-breaking information, such as a vote on pending water sanctions or a piece of volatile legislation.

Step 10 – Solicit Financing

Charges for postage, long-distance telephone and faxing, copying, etc. may only require a small budget that could be voluntarily covered by one or more of the participating businesses. If you need to hire a lobbyist, public relations practitioner, media consultant, Web designer or other support, you may need to solicit financing from all of your members. Contributions may be made on a sliding scale from large to small businesses.

Important: Membership should not be predicated on how much the member can contribute.

One Coalition. One Goal. One Voice.