Here are some things to think about when setting out on a new campaign or starting a new group:

• How long are you willing to work on this?
• Who is going to help you?
• Is there already another group working on the same thing? Can you join or link up with them?
• Are you going to need funds?
• Will you need to register your organisation?
• Who will replace you if you leave?

Patience, planning and listening are three valuable attributes for setting up a new group or starting a new campaign. The first thing you'll need to remember is that everything takes longer than you think. Sure there's a world out there that needs saving, but there's still paperwork to fill in, queues to wait in, meetings to be had and decisions to be made.

Planning and goal setting will help you measure your successes and also keep you on track - hopefully they will also prevent you from over-committing by ensuring you set achievable goals (see planning your campaign).

Listening is an essential element of all community work. Presumably you want to be listened to about a certain issue and that's why you're going to so much trouble. Make sure you set structures in place and remind yourself to listen not only to your opposition but to the other members of your own group.

Name And Identity

Once you've come up with a name for your group, you may want to register it. Most small community groups register as Incorporated Associations - the benefits include:

• Being eligible for non-profit status
• Limited financial liability for board members.
• Membership fees

The legal structure of community groups varies widely, and depends very much on what your goals and needs are, who is involved and the sort of activities you are undertaking. Incorporation is one way to protect your organisation through its legal structure. Incorporation means that a group can hold property, obtain insurance, receive gifts and bequests, obtain government and corporate grants and loans and continue despite changes in membership. Incorporation may not, however, be suitable for every group, and may not address all of your needs.

For further information, download the detailed paper below, prepared by Rosemary Budavari of the ACT Environmental Defenders Office in Australia.

Protecting Your Organisation Through Its Legal Structure: Why it's Important

* Please note: the above file is in PDF format which requires Adobe Acrobat Reader. If you do not have Adobe Acrobat you can download it here. It's free.

As an Incorporated Association, you will need:

• Public liability insurance.
• A constitution
• Up to seven board members including: an appointed 'public officer'/secretary, a chairperson and a treasurer.
  

Once you're registered you can open a bank account in the name of your organisation, apply for fundraising permits and apply for charity status with state and federal governments.

Mission Statement

Your mission statement will clearly state your aims and objectives as a community organisation. It's up to you how long you want this document to be. A short one can be reproduced on information materials and shared easily with people.

A mission statement should include:

• What you do.
• For whom.
• Your uniqueness.

A mission statement provides the guiding direction for developing a strategy.

Constitution

Much like the mission statement, the constitution outlines what you are setting out to do as an organisation. It also includes information about how the organisation will be run, such as:

• Number of board members and their roles.
• Cost of membership to the board.
• How one becomes elected to the board.
• Profit/non-profit status.
• Frequency of annual general meetings (AGM's).
• How decision making works.

You can choose to adopt the Model Rules Of Incorporation as your organisation's constitution and add a mission statement to this (a bit easier than reinventing the wheel). You can also choose to alter certain items of the Model Rules to suit you. Contact the Department Of Fair Trading or equivalent in your state for more information.

 

Activists Handbook
http://www.protest.net/activists_handbook/
See this site for more tips on getting started.

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