Organizational Development

When developing and carrying out a nonviolent campaign for social change, organizers need to consider steps for increasing the pressure on those whose actions or decisions are opposed. There are lots of ways a movement can escalate a conflict while remaining nonviolent. In Ebert's model, the first stage of a nonviolent campaign emphasizes bringing an issue into the public sphere. In the second stage, the campaign increases public pressure by staging legal forms of non-cooperation (strikes, consumer boycotts, slow-downs) as well as innovative lawful activities (fair trade initiatives, alternative economy structures, nonviolent intervention). The third stage of escalation uses nonviolent civil disobedience as both a protest and as a form of civil usurpation. Of course, there are more ways to escalate a campaign than increasing the level of non-cooperation or developing constructive alternatives. Perhaps the most common are escalation through increasing numbers of participants, increased length of public protests (think of people occupying a public square to protest against a repressive regime for many weeks) or a wider variety of participants.

Digital security is key for organizations relying on teamwork, especially with lots of team members working from home. This site describes tips in a few categories, including: secure group chat and conferencing tools, physical and emotional protection while using home for work, digital security and privacy, digital first aid kit, surveillance self-defense, and more. With teams increasingly working remotely during COVID-19, we are all facing questions regarding the security of our communication with one another: Which communication platform or tool is best to use? Which is the most secure for holding sensitive internal meetings? Which will have adequate features for online training sessions or remote courses without compromising the privacy and security of participants? Security in-a-Box is a guide to digital security for activists and human rights defenders. The Digital First Aid Kit aims to provide preliminary support for people facing the most common types of digital threats. Surveillance Self-Defense is the Electronic Frontier Foundation's guide to defending yourself and your friends from surveillance by using secure technology and developing careful practices.

This curriculum is intended to be a starting point for training(s) you may be delivering to your community in moments of rapid response. This curriculum was developed with love and adapted from years of direct action training in and out of the Ruckus Community. During a training, provide a rapid overview to participants of what to do to prepare for mass action. Pay attention to verbal and nonverbal communication. Prepare an action pack. Protect your data. This guide provides many specific steps to use during a training and during action preparation and planning.

A security culture is a set of customs and measures shared by a community whose members may engage in sensitive or illegal activities. Security culture practices minimize the risks of members getting arrested or their actions being foiled. While we are trying to stop bad things from happening, our powerful opponents (usually governments or corporations) are working hard to stop us. This guide is about the security measures activists can take to protect ourselves and make our work more effective. This guide mostly focuses on the actions of law enforcement, such as intelligence officers and police, as it usually has the greatest authority to target activists. Law enforcement uses the legal system to harass protesters. Law enforcement investigates and infiltrates groups. Law enforcement disrupts activities. Opponents and law enforcement engage in targeted excessive force and violence. This guide also describes some ways for activist groups to protect themselves, including assessing risk, weigh the pros and cons, manage emotions, be nice and supportive, stop bad behavior, and more.

Know your role before, during, and after social movement actions. Roles might include activist/organizer/coordinator/campaigner, fundraiser, researcher, scout, artist, etc. During an action, people might be: risking arrest, directing supporting, liaising with police, peacekeeping, talking to or reaching out to media, etc. This guide describes all these types of roles and actions. After an action, some roles that might be needed include lawyer, documentarian, fundraiser, letter writer, etc.

This handout is about the confrontational actions that occur in the middle of a social movement campaign. Many campaigns start with investigating the problem and setting goals. Education, such as hosting workshops, often comes next. Early on, campaigns also engage in organization building, forming alliances with new allies, establishing a group, and recruiting members. Groups often negotiate with the target in the hope of easily reaching an agreement. Campaigns then tend to start using low-level confrontational tactics, such as speaking at city meetings or wheat pasting. High-level confrontational tactics and resource intensive actions follow, such as rallies, lawsuits, and civil disobedience. Campaigns usually subside when a group negotiates a deal with the target, although it’s common for groups to reapply pressure to ensure the agreement is implemented. This guide also profiles the classic 1964 social movement group Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC).

Federal tax rules prohibit section 501(c)(3) organizations from participating or intervening in a political campaign in support of or in opposition to a candidate for elected public office. However, organizations may lobby, educate voters, encourage voter registration and participation, and advocate for issues in a nonpartisan manner. This guide gives background information about IRS definitions of organization types and details the many types of activities that 501(c)(3) organizations are and are not allowed to pursue.

This fact sheet provides examples of the kinds of advocacy activities that 501(c)(3) public charities and 501(c)(4) social welfare organizations are permitted to do under federal tax law. 501(c)(3)s are prohibited from supporting or opposing candidates for elected public office and must only engage in nonpartisan advocacy. On the other hand, 501(c)(4)s may engage in some partisan activity, but partisan political activity cannot be the primary purpose of a 501(c)(4) organization. When engaging in political activity, organizations must comply with federal, state, and local election law.

Young people are not just the future of the climate movement—they are leading it today. Whether you’re an emerging activist or a seasoned advocate looking to uplift young leaders, this session will provide valuable tools to strengthen youth leadership in climate justice.