Community Ordinances Toolkit

This toolkit describes how community members can plan and implement successful ordinance efforts and provides links to documents and tools others have used. We invite you to use these steps and documents and adapt them to your needs. Click on the heading of each section in the summary below for detailed information and additional resources.

You may also view and print a PDF of this toolkit.

If you are working on promoting an ordinance in your community, please inform us about your efforts, and send us links that we can post on this website to update and assist others. Emma Roderick, Grassroots Campaign Coordinator, and Kurt Daims, Coordinator for Torture Prosecution under Universal Jurisdiction, are available to assist with your local efforts.

See our additional grassroots organizing toolkits for more tools and resources.

Initial Planning

• Initial Meeting
• Networking and Outreach

Community Education

• Plan a Forum
• Seek Endorsements
• Promote the Forum
• Educational Materials
• Record the Event
• After the Forum

Lobbying

• Meet Local Government Contacts
• Customize the Ordinances
• Leverage Public Support
• Circulate a Community Petition
• Initiate a Postcard Campaign
• Public Relations

Ongoing Outreach

• Follow up
• Continue organizing efforts

Additional Resources

Find talking points, commentary, analysis, and other helpful tips on our resources page.

Help us make this web site a clearinghouse of information on Bill of Rights defense efforts nationwide. Contact us about efforts you are working on, others that you know about, or resources you’d like to share on our website.