<aside> 💡 Campaigns “cut” big social problems and power dynamics into bite-sized issues.

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As organizers, we face some daunting and complex problems. We can’t fix the biggest social problems or build the society we envision all at once. Campaigns, especially issue-based campaigns, are one tool we need to build transformative social justice movements, along with winning elections, base-building, culture work, mutual aid, strong organizations, alternative institutions, and more. Campaigns take the daunting and complex problems that we face and break them down into bite sized pieces that we have the ability to win.

‘Cutting the issue’ is about choosing a piece of a larger problem that we have the power to change through a campaign. The campaign issue should be concrete enough to be meaningful to the people we’re organizing, while addressing an important aspect of the problem. A well-cut issue can both deliver a win now while moving the needle on the larger problems we face.

Use this tool to identify the focus of a new campaign, or to identify secondary audiences and allies around an existing campaign demand.

Strong campaign issues are…

• widely understood and deeply cared about by our people
• reveal broader social problems and power dynamics
• something we can realistically influence or change

Use the worksheet below to answer questions like:

• What’s the broad problem we’re addressing?
• What harms or symptoms result from this problem? What are root causes of this problem?
• What specific issue related to these symptoms/causes could we wage a campaign around? Who’s impacted, directly and indirectly? What piece of this problem could we influence?

Here’s how SOS D.C. cut their issue

Example: SOS DC Campaign

Worksheet

✍️ MAKE YOUR OWN COPY

Create your own editable copy of all worksheets included in this guide.

Worksheet Preview ↓

https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1KKeBKcoLHUymcgoiaox6BcWkJh7H1TiHvzUo7hffWpA/edit#slide=id.g1f10c05034f_0_44

Other Resources