 News you can use A key part of incorporating social justice into our work is identifying and engaging our constituents in a substantial way. The Features of Movement Capacity Building were developed from a series of regional meetings with participants from a range of organizations including organizing, advocacy, services, funding, and technical assistance in a variety of issue areas. One key feature is Constituency Involvement, which describes an organization that has a mechanism to identify and involve constituents in the organization ?beyond staff, board and funders ?in a meaningful way. Most community-based organizations try to be responsive to the needs of the people they work with and feel that they have a good sense of the community. However, a recent report revealed that this might not be the case. Do You See What I See? Nonprofit and Resident Perceptions of Urban Neighborhood Problems by Rebecca J. Kissane and Jeff Gingerich in the June 2004 issue of Nonprofit and Voluntary Quarterly examined the differences between what community-based nonprofits identify as the problems in their communities and what the residents themselves identify as problems in three low-income neighborhoods in Philadelphia. Overall, the results found that the nonprofit directors and community residents differed significantly in their opinions in all three of the areas looked at: how they view their neighborhoods?problems, other residents, and needed services. While the results of this study may not apply to every nonprofit, they highlight an area that deserves more discussion: what are the processes through which we engage our communities in our work, and to what extent do we recognize their expertise? In order to effectively promote change, communities must hold a stake not only in the outcomes of our work, but the processes through which our work gets done. We need to look at the current alignment of power within our organizations and examine the ways in which that power can be re-aligned in order to engage our constituents in a meaningful and effective way. What you should do: Engagement is more than operating according to the mission and values of the organization. It is finding out the meaning of the work to those working in the organization and those the organization serves, and then finding ways to engage based on that meaning. This capacity is built by listening to what matters to those involved with the organization. This process of listening and learning, beyond consumer satisfaction surveys, is the basis of engagement. One organization in Detroit has begun holding regular discussion sessions with groups of clients. Not only do these constituents have an opportunity to define their views of the problems facing their community, but they also have a space in which they can suggest what they need from the organization in order to address these issues. Engagement is not just empowering constituents, it is realigning power to give communities a valuable stake in how community-based nonprofits address issues and influence change. The role of engagement is not only something that we do with our constituents. In fact, it is essential that we ask these same questions of the staff, board and other volunteers. Do we know what moves them about their work? Are there things that they would fight for? Are there other issues in their lives that have an impact on the work they do? Going through the process of finding out what matters to them will help those working in the organization understand each other. It will also lay the groundwork and facilitate staff and volunteers going through the same process with the constituents they serve. Ultimately we are looking to engage and educate constituents to take part and power in shaping their own lives. Visit the sites below to find out more on this topic, and look for more reports on the work of the Building Movement Project in Detroit.
Resources Do You See What I See? Nonprofit and Resident Perceptions of Urban Neighborhood Problems by Rebecca J. Kissane and Jeff Gingerich. Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly, Volume 33, Number 2, June 2004. Participatory Evaluation: How It Can Enhance Effectiveness and Credibility of Nonprofit Work by Susan Saegert, Lymari Benitez, Efrat Eizenberg, Tsai-shiou Hsieh, and Mike Lamb, City University of New York Graduate Center
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