Resource Type: Case Studies

Negative framing consistently outperformed positive framing in email and on Facebook in motivating supporters to take action as part of a campaign around San Diego’s utility agreement.

In November 2018, residents of Portland, Oregon, made history by passing The Portland Clean Energy Fund (PCEF), a breakthrough initiative that will raise an estimated $44-$61 million annually to support local clean energy and economic justice initiatives. The fund passed with 65 percent of the vote and support from a long list of local businesses and community organizations, including faith leaders, labor unions, and more. This Executive Summary captures toplines on what the campaign learned about what it takes to win.

Successful movements must be able to analyze the political conditions and determine a course of action—all while balancing the pull of “inside game” electoral politics with “outside game” movement building. Organizers often jump into this in moments of crisis and are given few tools to understand what they are doing and how to best do it. This is why Momentum asked the organizing veteran Alexandra Flores-Quilty—former president of the U.S. Student Association and cofounder of By the People—to craft this report packed with tools and concrete advice to address all of these complexities. In the early stages of a movement, where the public and base need to align on the problem and popular demand. As the movement progresses into the stages of institutionalizing wins and consolidating political hegemony, then there will be more need for the other parts of the ecology to be built out including in particular inside game, organizing within political parties, and even structure-based organizing. These and other lessons are broken down in this 50-page report. This report quotes other experienced organizers.

Solar United Neighbors designed and implemented a low- and moderate-income solar program that empowers D.C. residents to benefit from rooftop and commmunity solar. Lessons learned from the work necessary to build and run an effective program include: Start small, then scale up; Build trust in the community; Leverage key partnerships; Expand customer base through referrals; Work to simplify the process; and Be flexible and creative in the communications process.

A multi-racial coalition focused on organizing and escalating tactics helped defeat the Williams Pipeline: The Stop the Williams Pipeline coalition won by building, organizing, and activating a large and intense base of opposition targeted at the key decision-maker, Governor Andrew Cuomo. 

This case study summarizes some of the key points from NY Renews’ evidence-based approach to winning the Climate Leadership & Community Protection Act, pulling from interviews with organizers and advocates, coalition documents, and news coverage.