Giving Compass' Take:

• This Stanford Social Innovation Review post explores how activists can be more impactful in their communities by using three strategies to connect local, national, and global narratives.

• What can organizations do to support more advocacy work? Are we pursuing more inclusive narratives so that everyone can feel like part of the solution?

• Here are the benefits of being part of an advocacy collaborative.

Progressive political activism in the United States is on the rise. Often it is most vibrant in our local communities, where issues are tangible instead of abstract. In our cities and towns, young people and those new to activism have a chance to make a big difference quickly. In the places where we live, the rigid ideological boundaries that often separate us on bigger stages are less important, and we have a chance to come together as neighbors in a common cause.

But many local problems are still rooted in larger issues. From pollution to police violence, challenges facing our communities are tied to bigger forces, and there are good strategic reasons to connect the dots between the two. Making our fight larger builds our strength. And it helps give national and global struggles their moral authority by showing the real people and places that are impacted by them.

So, how can we make our local activism battles bigger?  I have learned and used three basic strategies over 40 years of activism involving very different issues and places. They worked in Bolivia, where I lived for 19 years, with the Water Revolt in the city of Cochabama. They also helped in the small town I now call home, Lockport, New York, with a fight over plans to install facial recognition surveillance cameras in schools.

Read the full article about making local advocacy stronger by Jim Shultz at Stanford Social Innovation Review.