A campaign is a planned and organized way to try to achieve a goal. Campaigns help to create a roadmap for trying to address an issue, and is useful for a person/group that is ready to take sustained civic action to address a specific issue such as stopping the closure of a hospital or widespread illegal evictions.
Anyone can organize a campaign. The success of the campaign will depend on how well you and/or members of your group can work together and get broader support from the community!
CREATE A ROADMAP
Decide what you want to try to achieve. For example, more affordable transit in Scarborough.
Ask yourself, what needs to happen to achieve this goal? What is the key to achieving this goal? The answer might look like: City council needs to vote in favour a motion that grants free transit to all TTC passengers. This requires a majority vote so specifically, 14 votes among City council need to agree with the motion.
WHO?
Who can help you achieve this goal?
Sympathetic city councillors and sympathetic individuals and groups like transit advocacy organizations, student organizations, seniors’ coalitions, etc...
HOW?
How will you achieve this goal?
Ask community members to call their city councillors to let them know they support this motion.
SPECIFIC ACTIONS
What specific actions will you use and when?
i.e. Create postcards in multiple languages about the motion and hand them out at bus stops in the morning during busy hours.
WHY IS IT USEFUL TO ORGANIZE A CAMPAIGN?
A campaign is a strategic and organized effort to achieve a specific goal. It creates clarity by defining objectives, roles, and steps, while also offering participants a sense of accomplishment. More than that, a campaign builds community power by giving everyday people the tools and opportunities to act. By encouraging broad participation, it strengthens relationships and amplifies a wide range of community voices.
SPECIFIC ACTIONS
DO:
• Have SMART goals: Be Specific, Have goals that are Measurable, Take steps that are Attainable, Work on actions that are Relevant and be Time-oriented in order to work efficiently. • Use good community outreach and organizing practices. • Support each other as a team.
DON'T:
• Expect to reach your goals in one event or one activity. • Focus on what you can’t do – keep an eye what is possible!
