Knowing the Difference between Community Mobilizing and Community Organizing

Often we hear about community organizing and community mobilizing. I never knew there was a difference. Although the two terms seem synonymous, I recently found out that there are some significant differences. Learning the distinction between them caused me to open my eyes to the intricacies of the many important processes and steps that successful coalitions find innate. I realized that to implement strategies to achieve population-level reductions in substance abuse, it is entirely likely that a coalition will need to get large numbers of folks to take action.

So what is the difference?
Community mobilizing is when experts drive the action of an issue and they are the ones who know the solutions. Community mobilizing is categorized as issue oriented, its process is driven by action, and it can be a confrontational process.  On the other hand community organizing is when issues arise out of a community consensus. This process is goal oriented and not confrontational because everyone agrees that this issue exists and is important. A hybrid of both community mobilizing and community organizing efforts are both crucial if a coalition wants to achieve real outcomes.

So why is this important to your coalition?
Effective coalitions need to be about changing policies, practices and systems. Your coalition should be a change agent in your community. You need other people in your community who are on your side, fighting hard for your issue too. For example, suppose you want to enact an ordinance to ban public consumption of booze in county parks because of problems that arise regularly there. A change in policy is needed but you are facing a tough vote from the city council. You are probably going to need people to testify, write letters, call their councilperson, etc. In short, you probably will need to know which community mobilizing/organizing strategies you should use to get the desired outcome.

To learn more about community mobilizing and organizing, visit the CADCA National Coalition Institute's Webinar series archive.

This post was written by Rachael Seda, Associate for Dissemination and Coalition Relations for CADCA's National Coalition Institute. You may reach her at rseda@cadca.org.