HBGCE0159 - Community Organizing: Foundations of Grassroots and Relational Organizing
Course Description
This 5.5-hour introductory workshop equips participants with the foundational knowledge and skills needed to understand and practice grassroots and relational organizing, distinguishing it from advocacy and direct service while exploring the role of relationships and collective power in creating social change. Through hands-on activities, participants will develop core organizing competencies including public narrative storytelling using the Marshall Ganz framework, trauma-informed and healing justice principles, and the relational skills needed to build trust and move people to action. By the end of the workshop, participants will leave with a shared vocabulary, a deeper understanding of their own story and values, and practical tools for engaging others in community-centered, justice-oriented organizing work.
Course Outline
This is a one day, online workshop via Zoom.
Virtual Date: Tuesday, June 16, 2026
Time: 9:00 am - 4:00 pm
Location: Zoom
Topics to be covered include:
- Introduction to Organizing & Social Change Pathways
- Public Narrative: Story of Self, Us, and Now
- Healing Justice & Trauma-Informed Organizing
- Understanding Power: Power Over, Power For, Power With
- Relational Organizing & 1:1 Meetings
- Identifying Issues & Mapping the Path Forward
Digital certificates of attendance for 5.5 hours will be awarded for the one-day workshop via Zoom to participants who attend the entire workshop.
Learner Outcomes
- Define community organizing for change and distinguish it from service and advocacy, including how each approach builds and uses power.
- Explain the Relational Organizing Model and describe how its four-part cycle guides effective community change efforts.
- Conduct foundational organizing practices, including 1:1 relational conversations and research meetings/actions that “speak truth to power.”
- Identify and assess different forms of collective action—such as demonstrations, protest marches, and press events—and explain what makes them strategic and impactful.
- Evaluate organizing activities and map collective power by reflecting on lessons learned and identifying people, stories, and shared values that strengthen organizing efforts.
Notes
Cancellations, Refunds, and Requests to postpone attendance:
- All cancellation requests must be made in writing via email to Rebecca Bieber at rebecca.bieber@temple.edu and received by the Temple University Harrisburg staff before becoming effective. Please note that if a registrant does not officially withdraw from a course and does not attend the course, the registrant is still responsible for payment.
- Cancellations received ten (10) business days or more prior to the start of the scheduled course will be eligible for a full refund of fees paid. Cancellations received nine (9) business days to one (1) business day prior to the start of the scheduled course will be subject to a cancellation charge of $10.00 for one day/session courses. Cancellations received less than one (1) business day prior to the start of the scheduled course will not be eligible for a refund.
Prerequisites
Technology Requirements:
This is an online workshop. Possessing a basic level of technical competency and comfort level will help you to be successful in the program. You must have the hardware (desktop or laptop, tablet or smartphone) and software (Browsers such as Chrome, Safari, Firefox or Microsoft Edge) to access the internet. A broadband internet connection (DSL, cable, fiber, etc.) is recommended with a hardwired Ethernet cable. Wireless (Wi-Fi) connections may be utilized but a weak or congested signal may cause issues with video buffering or content access.