Building an Organization
Overview
Teaching: 15 min
Exercises: 10 minQuestions
How can I turn a community into an organization?
Objectives
Describe the current or desired governance model for your organization.
- As a community grows, it needs more formal organization
- Building Powerful Community Organizations is a good step-by-step guide
- Avoid the tyranny of structurelessness
- Every group of people has a power structure
- Only question is whether it is formal and accountable, or informal and unaccountable
- Write a vision statement that describes what “done” looks like
- “I see a [–] that [–] for [–].”
- “I see a small group that organizes an annual get-together for the leaders of grassroots organizations that trying to improve diversity in tech at which they can build ties and exchange ideas.”
- What are the core beliefs of this group?
- “We believe in fairness, and that fairness includes what happens before you get on the racetrack as well as what happens once the race starts.”
- What knowledge or skills does your core group lack that you need?
- Contacts with smaller get-into-tech groups outside major urban centers
- Why will people join your organization?
What’s in it for them?
- People will join the organizing committee because they are already involved in groups like this, want theses get-togethers to happen, and realize that they won’t unless someone steps up.
- What is your organization’s mission statement?
What is the sentence that you will open every presentation with?
- “Teaching Tech Together organizes an annual get-together where the leaders of grassroots organizations that are trying to improve diversity in tech can make connections and swap ideas.”
- How is your organization staffed (or how will it be at steady state)?
- How many people are in the group?
- Are any of them paid? If so, how much?
- What are their responsibilities?
- Who do they report to?
- How and when is their performance assessed?
Figure Out What Your Organization Looks like
Go through steps 1-5 for your organization.
Staffing
Go through step 6 (staffing) for your organization.
Key Points
Every project has a governance structure, either officially or unofficially.
Give people pathways to contribution.