How to find unlikely allies for your work
Written by KATIE TEST DAVIS
Think of all the advocates across the country who want to help teenagers avoid the juvenile justice system, especially for things like stealing food.
You have your obvious advocate groups. Youth program leaders. Mentoring program directors. Legal aid advocates. Social justice advocates.
If you stretch a little further, you might imagine that hunger and poverty-focused advocates might want to get involved. School leaders. After school programs managers.
But if you dig even deeper, you know who else wants to curb theft? Insurance companies.
And THAT is what we are looking for. That’s what we call an “unlikely ally” – a partner for your work who might not be obvious, but who can definitely help move the needle. (Shoutout to our clients – that smart example came up during a recent strategy session and has stuck with me ever since.)
When our team kicks off our work on a communications campaign, we focus first on the objective we’re trying to achieve. What’s our goal?
But quickly afterwards, we ask the important question: who can make our goal a reality?
And that’s when we start our search for likely AND unlikely allies.
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Follow the Long-Term Impacts
The first thing advocates like you can do when identifying unlikely allies for your campaign is playing out the entire impact of success.
For example, many health companies invest in early childhood programs. If you’re steeped in the work like we are, the “why” is obvious – investing in early care leads to better health outcomes later in life.
But if you aren’t familiar with the economics, it doesn’t make immediate or obvious sense. Following the end result or long-term impact can help you discover a new teammate for your cause.
Follow the Money
As with our insurance company example above, when you ask “who stands to financially benefit from our work”, you can unearth some pretty interesting allies.
There’s a reason the business community is so invested in our public schools, right? They financially benefit when students are well prepared to enter their workforce. This makes local business leaders great allies in a school bond campaign.
Asking who might financially benefit when you succeed can help you find friends in new places.
Follow the Good
Sometimes a powerful ally is someone who thinks the work you’re doing is just plain good and in line with their own beliefs. For example, if you’re advocating for child nutrition resources, you may find allies in faith-based communities, whose belief systems are rooted in sharing food with others.
As we work to make big impacts for children and families, I encourage you to stretch beyond the obvious. Follow the long-term impact, follow the money, and follow the good.
One of the reasons that I have dedicated my entire career to issues impacting children and families is because I never get bored. Our work cuts across so many sectors, engages so many people and helps us find friends in the most unlikely places.
So next time you need some fresh allies in your work, get out there and make some new besties!
PS - Are you kicking off a communications campaign soon? We’ve got a whole set of resources for you, including how to make a power map for your issue.
