TC-TAT's Online Toolkit for Starting a Community Action Team (CAT) to End Domestic Violence

Use this carefully selected set of tips, tools and exercises to start up a Community Action Team (CAT) in your neighborhood, city, faith-based group, school or place of employment. This toolkit is designed primarily for use by domestic violence and public health organizations that have the staff, structure and resources needed to launch a community mobilization campaign. It can also be adapted and used by individuals and groups that are not affiliated with a domestic violence organization as a guide for planning and carrying out awareness events in the local community.

The nine INSTIGATE! modules are arranged like a series of stepping stones to guide you step-by-step through the exciting (and challenging!) process of launching a CAT campaign or community event. You can move through each of the modules in sequence or go directly to a module that best fits with your group's current aims, needs, or interests. You can go directly to a specific module from the contents page, or by clicking on the initial of INSTIGATE! running down the left-side of the window.

Each of the nine INSTIGATE! modules includes an Introduction page and several practical tools that you can access by clicking on the Tips and Tools buttons. The first three modules (I, N and S) contain tools to help your team flesh out its vision, recruit new members and start to build teamwork. The next four modules (T, I, G, and A) focus in on practical action planning, developing outreach skills and learning to use media to get your message out and to gain publicity for community events. The last two modules (T and E) offer examples of successful mobilizing campaigns and tools for evaluating the impact of your team's efforts.

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Note about Gender-Based Analysis Used in this Toolkit

Funding for the INSTIGATE Online Toolkit was provided by the California Office of Criminal Justice Planning, Domestic Violence Branch, Grant Award Number FV00031181. © 2001. This toolkit is adapted from a conceptualization of "Stages of a Community Action Team" created initially by Lisa Hoffman and subsequently reformulated by Janey Skinner as Transforming Communities' "INSTIGATE!" flyer.