This community organising workshop will develop your understanding of how to work in communities, bringing people together on a local basis to achieve a common goal.
What is community organising?
According to expert community organiser and SMK Associate Dami Makine, community organising is how to build relational power by growing leaders. It involves identifying, recruiting, and training future leaders in a relational, distributed way, growing community around those leaders to achieve goals.
Why is community organising important?
Community organising is an incredibly powerful way of making sure that you can achieve change at a local level. It combines effective leadership with empowering and building lasting communities of change. Communities that are then self-led.
What do I need to know about community organising?
To be a community organiser, you’ll need to know:
- How to learn to let go of and share your power
- The principles of community organising and how to apply them in practise
- The tools others have used successfully to achieve change
- Best practice and lessons from experienced community organisers
In SMK’s Community Organising workshop, you’ll learn just that.
Please note that this workshop has participatory elements. If you are unable to participate for any reason or in a specific manner (e.g. speaking, camera on, chat function, breakout rooms, etc.), please put that in the “Accessibility Requirements” section during checkout, and remind your facilitator at the beginning of the session.
Workshop dates
Tues 19th May 2026, 10am-1pm
Tues 27th Oct 2026, 2-5pm
Thurs 25th Feb 2027, 10am-1pm
The Campaign Carousel runs on a progressive pricing model.
- Small orgs: turnover of £10k-£100k = £850 + VAT
- Med orgs: turnover of £100k-£1M = £1250 + VAT
- Large orgs: (tier 1) turnover of £1M-£10M = £1950 + VAT
- Large orgs: (tier 2) turnover of £10M+ = £2250 + VAT
Individuals not affiliated to an organisation pay the ‘small orgs’ fee.
*There is also the option to purchase an hour’s mentoring session with one of our expert Associates for £250 plus VAT
If you would like to speak to someone further, please email megan.poyiadzis@smk.org.uk
Campaign Carousel start dates
Jan 2026
Apr 2026
Sept 2026
Jan 2027
Campaign Carousel start dates
Jan 2026
Apr 2026
Sept 2026
Jan 2027
Dami Makinde
SMK Associate
This workshop is led by SMK Associate and experienced community organiser, Dami Makinde.
Dami is a highly skilled community organiser who focuses on youth participation. In 2021, She set up her own consultancy and has assisted various organisations in the following: strategic planning, youth participation, facilitation, recruitment and funding committees. In 2019, Dami co-founded We Belong, an organisation that fights for the rights of young migrants in the UK, which led to major national campaign wins. In 2017, she was seconded to the London Mayor’s office as a Policy Advisor to help with their Social Integration Team. She’s an Eisenhower youth Fellow and has spoken out worldwide against the UK’s hostile environment towards migrants.
What participants say:
Holly Rothwell
Campaigner, Oxfam GB
‘’Some really useful tips around working with communities, including the time you should allocate to working with different types of community members. I thought the whole thing was brilliant’’.
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