Building Demand through Community Engagement 

Designed for individuals and organizations implementing local community engagement campaigns, these resources provide a framework for organizing community demand for energy services. These tactics emerged from our experience implementing a local community engagement program. 

Theory of Change: The New Organizing Institute (NOI) presents Theory of Change with four questions that drive to the purpose of organizing: power. Power is just as important in our public relationships as it is to energizing our buildings. 

Creating a Campaign Plan: Before launching a campaign, organizers must plan a direction for their initiative. This section guides organizers through the key steps of establishing goals and a timeline, undertaking a community assessment and more.

Organizing Your Community: How do community organizers build relationships and trust? It all starts with a genuine story. This section demonstrates the importance of personal storytelling to relate to people with whom you want to work and includes guidance on how to grow that public relationship and establish a team. 

Section 1 provides an overview of how organizers can tell their stories. Section 2 dives into how to build successful relationships. Section 3 offers extensive resources on building and maintaining successful volunteer and organizing teams. Each of these sections can be taught or shared on their own or as part of a training on community engagement.

Customer Engagement Pathway: This tool is for organizations that engage community members making energy upgrades. The pathway provides a structure for engaging people who are making financial decisions affecting their homes. These resources help organizers decide what to measure and which tactics to use in each step of the pathway.

We are continually updating our materials and invite you to check back for updates.