How to Organize a Neighborhood Association

Before you begin asking your neighbors to organize, you have to convince them of the benefit of forming a neighborhood association. Some of the points to be made to your neighbors are that neighborhood associations:

• Facilitate meeting the neighborhood's common goals
• Empower a neighborhood to control what happens in the area
• Provide the neighborhood with an effective communication link with local governments officials and other influential groups
• Help members work for the preservation and improvement of the neighborhood
• Let members take part in the decision making process that directs the neighborhood's actions
• Can plan social activities for the neighborhood.

Step One: Organizing the Neighborhood

Bringing together a diverse group of people to achieve a common goal is a difficult task. It is a task, which requires a variety of social skills and great investments of time and other important resources. Whenever possible it is advisable to utilize the services of an expert community organizer to assist in getting your neighborhood organization started. The City of Pensacola has experts with skills in organizing neighborhood associations available to assist your neighborhood. You may contact the Neighborhood and Economic Development Division at 436-5655 for such assistance.

Step Two: Developing the Core Group

To get started, you will need a small group of committed neighbors who share the same point of view regarding the needs of the neighborhood and share your willingness to form a neighborhood association to address neighborhood issues. This small group of individuals is referred to as the Core Group.

The final number of people in your Core Group will depend on whose input you feel will help best define the important the issues that neighborhood residents will rally around. It is important for members of this Core Group to be able to work well together and share a common vision regarding important issues affecting the neighborhood. Members of the Core Group should feel a need to form a neighborhood association to address neighborhood issues.

Note: Be sure to keep the size of the Core Group at ten or less people.

After the Core Group has defined key goals and tasks, the size of the organization will naturally expand as committees and task groups are developed to achieve the goals of the neighborhood association.

Some examples of interest groups to be considered for the selection of neighborhood residents to be represented in the Core Group are:

• Homeowners selected to represent each block or street
• Business owners
• Apartment residents, managers, owners
• Church leaders
• School teachers or administrators
• People whose views are respected by other members of the community.

When you have a commitment from five to ten people, set up a meeting at a comfortable place, such as someone's home. Do this quickly, before your contacts lose interest.

Tip: If the Core Group gets too large, it will become unmanageable and result in low productivity. Keep the size of the Core Group at ten or less.

Step Three: How to Begin

Once the members of the Core Group have been identified and a meeting time and place have been established, contact the City of Pensacola's Office of Neighborhood and Economic Development Division at 436-5655 and ask if a Neighborhood Service Supervisor is available to assist your group in getting started.

This is also a good time to begin inquiring about sources of seed money and other types of resources available from the Neighborhood and Economic Development Division to assist your group with such things as printing flyers, duplicating minutes and to assist with the cost of mailing information to neighbors.

Note: If the group chooses not to enlist the assistance of others in organizing all is not lost; with the assistance of this booklet the Core Group will be able to move forward with its organizing efforts.

Step Four: The First Meeting Of The Core Group

The first meeting of the Core Group is very important. It sets the tone for future meetings. It is important to be organized. Have a tentative agenda prepared. Try not to let the meeting drag on. An hour is usually a good time frame for most meetings. If possible, present all of the members of the Core Group with a copy of the agenda a week before the meeting.

Because you have talked with all of the members of the Core Group in advance, and they all share a common vision, the discussion should be focused and flow well to accommodate all of the interest of the members of the Core Group.

During this initial meeting the group will need to:

1. Choose a temporary chairperson
A good organizer will always place achieving the goals of the organization above being elected to be the chairperson. So if the group decides to select someone other than the person who convened the group, that should not deter the conveyer from being an active participant in the ongoing process. There will be many other opportunities to utilize one's leadership abilities.

2. Determine the boundaries of the neighborhood
An important step at the beginning of a neighborhood plan is to determine the neighborhood's boundaries. Typical boundaries may be determined by roads or natural features along the border of the neighborhood. A review of a city map and a tour around the area may suggest logical boundaries for a manageable sized area.

3. Develop a complete list of neighborhood residents
Once boundaries have been determined, a complete list of residents and property owners should be obtained. The list should be kept current throughout the process to allow every neighbor to become involved. In order to get a complete list, you may need to go door-to- door, contact Neighborhood and Economic Development Division for assistance from utility records, or check with the Escambia County Property Appraisers Office.

4. Discuss each person's ideas concerning the problems and needs of the neighborhood.
Select an issue the neighborhood will rally around. This issue should be easily understood, and stated in a manner that can be easily communicated and understood in press releases, in newsletter, on pamphlets and brochures, and passed along by word of mouth.

5. Discuss goals, projects and concerns
It is very important that the initial goals of the group be small and easily achievable. Nothing breeds success like success. If you find that the group has reached a stumbling block and does not seem to want to move forward often the cause will be that the goals are too large and too difficult to achieve.

6. Begin discussions on ways to achieve goals

7. Identify and recruit additional leaders
Identify other potential leaders in the neighborhood. The importance of a pool of qualified leadership is often overlooked as a neighborhood association develops.  Strong leadership gives an organization guidance, stability, and continuity from year to year, motivation to take action, and unity of purpose. The task of recruiting and developing leaders has to be an ongoing activity through the lifetime of any neighborhood association.

8. Determine special skills, talents and willingness to participate
Identify any special talents, expertise, skills, helpful resources and/or any special areas of interest any member might possess. Also determine each Core Group member's willingness to participate and help.

Note: Some group members might not be able to attend meetings, but possess a special skill that can be of use to the group without their attending meetings. Be sure to be flexible and afford members a variety of ways to participate.

9. Determine a convenient time and location for members to attend meetings

10. Determine how frequently members would like to meet
The Core Group will need to meet several times before it will be ready to hold a meeting with the entire neighborhood. The Core Group should meet together as many times as needed to formalize an organizational strategy before the first meeting of the entire neighborhood. Once the entire neighborhood is involved the Core Group will want to continue meeting as an advisory board for the newly formed neighborhood association.

Some general points to keep in mind are:

• Your contributions to the neighborhood are your abilities and skills to organize. Therefore, try to delegate other responsibilities.
• You should search continually for many "potential" leaders, not just one or two.
• Leaders can become burned out. Have new leaders ready to step in when necessary.
• Keep your organization open and flexible enough to bring new members and leaders in to your neighborhood association.

The importance of qualified leadership is often overlooked as a neighborhood association develops. Strong leadership gives an organization:

• Guidance

• Stability

• Continuity from year to year

• Motivation to take action

• Unity of purpose

A part of your job as a neighborhood organizer is to identify and develop leaders. The task of recruiting and developing leaders has to be an ongoing activity through the lifetime of your neighborhood association.  When identifying new leaders for your organization, look for individuals who have shown that they:

• Want to succeed and want their group to succeed

• Communicate well with people

• Can motivate people to take collective action

• Are knowledgeable about the neighborhood, its people and their interests

• Have an allegiance to the neighborhood and the association

• Know how to share power

Note: Do not try to do everything yourself. Delegate responsibilities to other Group members.

The following is a list of possible responsibilities which could be delegated to other members in the Core Group:

Conducting A Neighborhood Inventory
A neighborhood inventory is a collection of facts about the area including the population, type of housing, land use and other elements unique to the neighborhood. Your area may be eligible for historic designation.

Issue Identification
Issues and concerns can be identified through surveys sent to the residents or through a series of neighborhood meetings. The concerns may deal with crime, physical improvements, transportation corridors, preservation of unique features, rezoning, social functions or other special interest concerns such as neighborhood renovation.

Review neighborhood goals.
The draft neighborhood plan should be reviewed and changed as you continue to form.

Review and evaluation
The progress of the plan must be monitored and evaluated on a regular basis to ensure its success. Periodic evaluations should be done to recognize successes, detect problems, and suggest improvements in the program.

Step Five: the First General Meeting

Nobody likes to attend meetings that are unproductive and a waste of time. As the neighborhood organizer, you have the opportunity and responsibility to make meetings productive and even pleasant. The following is a guide.

• Decide on a convenient time and date to meet by consulting with your core group and neighbors
• Develop a well-planned agenda for the first meeting.
• Determine a method of the follow-up to remind the neighborhood volunteers of the upcoming meeting.  This may be done by use of:
  • Phone calls
  • Letters
  • Fliers
• Neighborhood Services provides assistance to newly forming associations.
• Locate a meeting place that is centrally located, politically neutral and familiar to the neighbors.
• The meeting location and arrangement of the room is very important and will establish the mood and tone of friendliness for the meeting.
• Try to estimate the size of the expected attendance. The room should be comfortable but not so large as to make the people feel lost.

Set up the room for the meeting in advance. Tables and chairs should be in place. Depending on the size of the group and the size of the room; it at all possible try to arrange seating so participants can conveniently look each other in the eye while speaking.

• Display any handouts inside the room, near the entrance.
• The room temperature should be comfortable.
• Set up and test any special equipment in advance.
• Serve refreshments only if it will enhance the friendliness of the meeting and not interrupt it.

Tip: Stick to the agenda, meet only when necessary, "too many meetings burn out volunteers." Try to limit meetings to an hour.

Step Six: Developing a Neighborhood Plan

If a neighborhood is viewed as a permanent home for families and as a continuing investment for their money, then steps need to be taken to address changes that will occur. A neighborhood plan is a guide that provides a framework for present and future decision making. The health and vitality of a neighborhood depends on the ability of its residents to plan for its future. A Neighborhood Plan is developed by a group of organized neighbors referred to as a neighborhood association. A neighborhood plan contains broad statements about what the residents would like too have happen (goals) and principles they would like to see followed (policies). It also contains suggestions for strategies on how to reach goals.

One-Year Neighborhood Plan Development Guideline:

1. Identify one to three issues that are of major concern to the neighborhood
2. Form a committee for each issue to spearhead the drive to resolve the issue
3. Identify available resources that can be utilized to assist the committee
4. Identify strategies and goals
5. Implement strategies

Tip: Always keep a written record of your plan and ongoing assignments. This will provide guidance for your association.

Other topics in the 'How to' Guide to Neighborhood Associations

Part I - 'How to' Guide to Neighborhood Associations Part III - Maintaining Your Neighborhood Association Part IV - How Neighborhood Services Can Help