Becoming Established in the Community
Sometimes it's a slow process for your organization to plant firm roots in a neighborhood. By performing community service and promoting the fact that your organization is working on behalf of the neighborhood, you can establish your presence to a point where people will actually come to you when there is a problem facing the neighborhood.
In the mid 2000s, parents, environmentalists, and health advocates began to voice concern over the safety of athletic fields made of artificial turf, fearing they were exposing children to possible toxins. When one such field was planned in Nyack, New York, opponents found support in Citizens Campaign for the Environment (CCE) in nearby White Plains, which helped them inform the public about the potential exposure to toxins. Starting out as a small group of people in 1985, CCE is now 80,000 members strong, with five offices in New York and one in Connecticut. It has developed a deep presence with a strong voice, which people turn to when fighting to preserve the environment.
Rosedale
Another example of an organization firmly planting its roots in the community comes from Washington, D.C., where $12 million was raised in several months by Cleveland Park neighbors to purchase a six-acre historic estate in their neighborhood named Rosedale.
According to Andrew Hamilton, president of the community organization Friends of Rosedale, there were several tools available and in place by the time the funds were needed. The neighborhood was already organized and engaged in defining itself. Some people say the organization had unofficially begun in the 1950s when the neighbors successfully prevented an expressway from being built through their backyards. The community was clear about its shared values, particularly relating to land use. Several community and government organizations had successfully intervened together on a number of development issues impacting the neighborhood. Active community members amassed an enviable track record by utilizing existing citywide historic preservation and zoning laws to maintain the quality of life in their neighborhoods.
Remember to promote what you have done and keep up your neighborhood profile so people will know they can turn to you for help. The Red Cross does this by keeping its name in the public eye, and when there is a hurricane or another disaster, people immediately know they can turn to the Red Cross for help.
The most recent effort originated to protect three acres of lawn and gardens on the Rosedale Estate, which includes a 1794 farmhouse listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The lawns, garden, and farmhouse were part of a six-acre tract of land that was on the market.
The Friends of Rosedale and the group of neighbors acted together to retain something the community valued. The Rosedale neighbors built trust as they worked to protect a community asset. They informed the community of their objective to preserve the land as open space for public use, showing they were working to benefit the neighborhood. As their struggle progressed, every step was explained to the community and the process created trust in their objectives.
The successful fundraising effort was the end result of building a base of support, dating back some five decades to their successful fight to prevent the expressway from coming through the neighborhood.
