Over the past few weeks, SEV had been in talks with two local grassroots about the possibility of merging our efforts into one nonprofit. What we learned along the way is that each of our groups had generated significant public interest, had established solid e-mail lists, and had members whose attendance at actual meetings was sporadic to nonexistent. Building a coalition is a daunting task that requires a singleness of vision and effort, and the degree to which a coalition lacks these qualities will be reflected in terms of solidarity and efficacy. We had much respect for the vision and goals of our potential partners, but ultimately, we decided to pursue different opportunities.
When a group or an individual has a vision that will benefit society, natural exuberance abounds, but the key to long-term success requires a long-term commitment and most of all perseverance. As the saying goes, Rome wasn’t built in a day, and so it goes with coalition building. Coalitions are made of people in a trust relationship. Building trust and unifying a vision and purpose takes patience and flexibility because the vision and the reality may turn out to be two very different things.
When all else fails, the core members have to examine their personal level of dedication and their willingness to adapt to feedback as well as their own intuition. These are just a few of the critical elements of building a successful grassroots coalition over time.
In examination of all these things, along with the opportunities before us, SEV will focus primarily on environmental education then resume its role as a community development association at the appropriate time. We feel that in order to put our target community into affordable green housing (bodies into buildings), we must first persuade our target community that change is necessary not only for their own sakes but for the sake of our larger community and most of all for our environment. In that vein, SEV’s lead organizer is working on a three-month research project for Sustainable Seattle, and we are working laterally with established organizations to find opportunities to reach our new goal.
Until then, for those of you working at the grassroots level: take heart, be steadfast, be adaptable, and most of all: have fun!
