Tips for Community Organizers: How to Build A Mutual Aid Group

There is a saying: “If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.”

Few people have the skill set to build a group, the drive to follow through, and the focus to make it a priority. Normalcy bias causes most people to treat group-building as a low priority — they're busy, they have jobs, hobbies, and families pulling at their attention. Someone has to be the driving force that gets a group into motion.

It doesn't help that the “best” people you want in a group are usually the most active people, already juggling important and urgent priorities of their own. That means you're recruiting people who work, have families, and bring real skills or resources — exactly the people with the least free time. But with a plan, and by working through the steps one at a time, you have a real chance at building a successful team.

Here are ten recommendations drawn from a decade of experience building a group of preppers. I'm currently the elected leader of a team of over 30 men from all walks of life.

Track progress through these steps using the Mutual Aid Platform course feature. Join now →

Step 1: Accept That You Have to Be the Leader

At least initially. Every group starts with just you and one other person. You don't have to lead forever — or maybe you will. But someone has to get the ball rolling. It won't roll on its own. Take action.

Be Confident in Your Cause

You are on a righteous mission: helping people become resilient and more self-reliant.

• Resilient describes someone able to withstand or recover quickly from difficult conditions, stress, or change — the flexibility to “bounce back” from adversity.
• Self-reliant means depending on your own judgment, abilities, and resources to manage your life, solve problems, and achieve goals — trusting yourself rather than depending on others for daily validation, direction, or support.

You want a group of generally self-reliant people who join together to make a powerful team. But no one is perfect — everyone has areas of weakness that can be covered by others who are stronger there.

Step 2: Determine Your Group's Organizational Structure

Some different structures to consider:

• CERT team
• Mutual assistance group
• Neighborhood protection team
• Church preparedness group
• Homesteading group

What about friends and family — will you turn them away? If not, they need to be included in your plans.

“If you can't see someone from your front porch, they really aren't able to help you when SHTF.” Proximity is a factor in a disaster — you may be cut off from the help you planned on.

Plan on having small trusted teams, a core of fully committed people, and the wider community you support — plus a network of associates who live outside your area of operation.

Decide your area of operation:

• Neighborhood
• City or county
• Region
• Church community

Step 3: Decide the Purpose of Your Group — and Write It Down

Define what value the group provides to its members. Something like:

• To protect our community from fire, looters, and criminals when first responders are unable to respond in time.
• To organize and train citizens for disaster and emergency response and personal preparedness, in order to prevent loss of property or life.
• To prepare the members of our church congregation for disaster or emergencies so they can be strong together and assist our community.

You need people who share some of the same common values you do — and realize you need a wide range of different skills and abilities.

Step 4: Develop and Agree on Group Goals and Standards

Write down minimum standards and expectations for every aspect of the group, along with the type of leadership it will have. This last point will evolve with the group over time. At a minimum, define:

• Goals
• Rules and regulations
• Frequency of meetings and minimum participation

Step 5: Overcome Your Fear of Sharing Too Much Information

• Some people worry about having personal information exposed and being seen as doing something wrong. We're not forming a militia here, but a community of prepared, law-abiding citizens. Privacy is important, but if you never reveal basic information — even to some vetted friends — you'll probably never form a group.
• Give enough information to connect with other people who are probably as OPSEC-minded as you. Be the first one willing to be vulnerable, and others will follow your lead.
• You can incorporate a basic background check into your process. Decide what standards will keep someone out of your group — felonies, domestic violence, crimes against children, and similar disqualifiers.

Step 6: Start Reaching Out to Potential Members

Good places to start looking:

• Friends — the easy one
• Your neighborhood — get to know them, just be friendly
• Your church
• A local CERT team
• PrepperNet
• ReadyCorp

Commit to responding quickly to anyone who reaches out to connect with you. Try to recruit people with valuable skills — doctors, dentists, mechanics, plumbers, carpenters, gardeners, combat veterans. Ask yourself:

• Can this person hold up under stressful situations?
• Does this person have something to bring to the table — some kind of contribution?
• Are you willing to stay and help group members when bugging in?
• Are you willing to bug out when the group decides to bug out?

And always emphasize the benefit of the group to them.

Step 7: Set Up a Social Gathering for a Meetup

• Neighborhood BBQ or picnic
• Meet at a park pavilion
• Back room at a local restaurant

If you hold a meetup, write out an agenda. Plan either focused activities that help people learn about each other, or simple training everyone can benefit from — like Stop the Bleed or an introduction to GMRS radios.

Step 8: Build a Script That Clearly States Your Purpose

• “I live in your neighborhood, and I'd like to build a group that can help protect each other from fire, looting, or criminals in case first responders aren't able to show up due to an emergency or disaster. Would you be willing to come to a meeting with some other members of our neighborhood to talk about the group?”
• “I'm starting a preparedness group in our church so we can be more self-reliant and ready in case a disaster or emergency strikes. If something like that happened, we'd be strong and able to help the community.”

Step 9: Set Up Communications for the Group

Use a secure messaging platform, such as the MAP app or Signal, to communicate with the people you connect with.

• Get an email address from everyone. Encourage members to use Protonmail, since it's encrypted and values privacy more than most other services.
• Connect by text or phone call after meeting in person. The MAP app gives you a secure messaging board where you can create topics and communicate as a group.
• Overcome your fear of the unknown and share your phone number. Fear is a real feeling, but it's mostly a story you make up that isn't true. At some point you have to trust that there are good people out there who want to connect — just like you.

Step 10: Plan the Next Meetup — and Keep Inviting

Present action steps to complete before the next meeting.

• Every time you connect, plan the next meetup.
• Meet up in person. Then meet up again.
• Not everyone can make every event, so plan several.
• Always close with action steps — for example: Action Step #1, join the Signal chat group. Action Step #2, announce the next meetup.

New Group Readiness Checklist

• Be the leader
• Determine the structure
• Determine the area of operation
• Write down the purpose of your group
• Develop group goals and standards
• Overcome your fear of providing too much information
• Start reaching out to potential members
• Set a social gathering for a meetup
• Refine the script that clearly states your purpose
• Set up comms for the group
• Plan the next meetup and constantly invite others

Track progress through these steps using the Mutual Aid Platform course feature. Join now →