Community Organizing Resource Hub

Friends of Fonde Park believes that strong, healthy communities are built when residents have the knowledge, tools, and confidence to advocate for themselves. This page is a living resource hub designed to support other individuals, neighborhoods, and grassroots groups who want to organize, protect, and improve their communities—just as we have done. It also serves as a transparent reference point for funders, institutional partners, and public agencies seeking to understand our approach to community-led capacity building.

We are not a formal academic institution. We are a grassroots organization that learns by doing. Everything shared here comes from lived experience, peer learning, partnerships, and lessons learned through real community work.

Why We’re Sharing These Resources

Communities across Houston and beyond face similar challenges: limited access to green space, environmental injustice, underinvestment, and decision-making processes that often exclude residents most impacted.

This resource hub reflects Friends of Fonde Park’s commitment to capacity building, knowledge sharing, and equitable community engagement. By making our tools and learning processes public, we aim to strengthen not only our own neighborhood, but the broader ecosystem of community-led organizations.

We created this hub to:

• Build community capacity through accessible, practical education

• Support resident-led planning, stewardship, and advocacy

• Promote transparency and accountability in grassroots work

• Complement, not replace, formal planning and institutional expertise

• Create pathways for collaboration between residents, nonprofits, academic institutions, and public agencies

• Build a network of communities learning from one another

Getting Started: Organizing Basics

If you are new to community organizing, these foundational concepts are a good place to begin:

• Identify Your Issue: What problem is affecting your community? Who is impacted?

• Build a Core Group: Start with a small group of committed neighbors.

• Listen First: Host listening sessions, surveys, or informal conversations.

• Set Clear Goals: Short-term wins and long-term vision both matter.

• Document Everything: Notes, photos, attendance, and timelines build credibility.

• Collaborate: Find like-minded organizations to learn from and collaborate with.

Helpful Links

• Community Toolbox (University of Kansas): https://ctb.ku.edu

• People’s Budget Organizing Guide: https://www.peoplesbudget.org

Park Advocacy & Public Space Stewardship

Friends of Fonde Park began by advocating for a neighborhood park. Parks are often entry points for broader civic engagement.

Topics to explore:

• How city park systems work

• Friends-of-the-park models

• Volunteer stewardship and programming

• Navigating park improvement processes

Helpful Links

• Trust for Public Land – Community Resources: https://www.tpl.org

• National Recreation and Park Association: https://www.nrpa.org

Recommended Reading:

• Parks for Profit: https://cup.columbia.edu/book/parks-for-profit/9780231194051/

Parks for Profit — Lessons for Fonde Park

Parks for Profit explores how public parks can be shaped by private interests, development, and governance decisions that don’t always prioritize local communities. This resonates strongly for Fonde Park and Superneighborhood 69, where residents formed Friends of Fonde Park in response to concerns about outside nonprofit influence over park decisions, including debates around the SmokeSax sculpture.

The book emphasizes that parks should serve the people who use them every day. Key takeaways for Fonde Park include:

• Community Leadership: Local residents must guide park planning, programming, and safety.

• Equitable Access: Parks should remain welcoming and affordable for everyone.

• Accountability: Partnerships and funding should be transparent, with residents retaining meaningful decision-making power.

• Anti-Displacement Awareness: Park improvements should strengthen the community without driving out long-term neighbors.

Friends of Fonde Park embodies these lessons, ensuring the park reflects and benefits the Superneighborhood 69 community first.

Environmental & Public Health Advocacy

Environmental conditions are deeply connected to community health. Our work includes learning how to understand, document, and respond to environmental impacts.

Topics include:

• Air and water quality monitoring

• Environmental justice basics

• Working with universities and researchers

• Community-led data collection

Helpful Links

• EPA Environmental Justice Toolkit: https://www.epa.gov/environmentaljustice

• Air Alliance Houston: https://airalliancehouston.org

Urban Planning, Transportation & Infrastructure

Residents deserve a voice in how their neighborhoods are designed and connected.

Key areas:

• Understanding planning terminology

• Participating in public meetings

• Reviewing plans and proposals

• Transportation and mobility advocacy

Helpful Links

• Project for Public Spaces: https://www.pps.org

• Link Houston: https://linkhouston.org/

• Houston-Galveston Area Council (H-GAC): https://www.h-gac.com

Funding, Partnerships & Sustainability

Grassroots groups often operate with limited resources. Learning how to sustain the work and advocate effectively is critical.

Topics include:

• Fiscal sponsorship vs. nonprofit incorporation

• Understanding advocacy vs. lobbying rules

• Small grants and community funding

• Building partnerships without losing community control

• Reporting and accountability basics

Helpful Links

• Bolder Advocacy (Alliance for Justice): https://afj.org/bolder-advocacy/

• Candid Learning (formerly Foundation Center): https://learning.candid.org

• Texas C-BAR Community Resources: https://www.texascbar.org

Tools We Use

These are simple tools that help us stay organized and transparent:

• Google Forms & Sheets for surveys and tracking

• Shared calendars for meetings and deadlines

• Public agendas and meeting notes

• Social media for outreach and accountability

Learn With Us

This hub will continue to grow as our work evolves. Friends of Fonde Park views learning as an ongoing, collaborative process grounded in community experience and strengthened through partnerships.

We welcome collaboration with:

• Community-based organizations: check out the organization we currently collaborate with here: Get Involved 

• Academic and research institutions

• Public agencies and planning bodies

• Philanthropic partners and funders

If you are interested in contributing resources, aligning programs, or exploring partnership opportunities that support resident-led initiatives, we invite you to connect with us.

Contact Us
📧 karina@friendsoffondepark.org

Together, we can advance community-informed solutions that are equitable, sustainable, and rooted in local leadership.