The Crisis Facing Organizing Isn't Just Scale. It's Also Structure. | Nonprofit Quarterly | Civic News. Empowering Nonprofits. Advancing Justice.

"I already had a handful of years of on-the-ground organizing experience building a base, recruiting people into organizing committees, running campaigns. But I had no experience writing a press release, running a social media account, or coming up with a narrative strategy. I was confused why this digital organizing role would require me to report to the communications director instead of the organizing director."

"To this day, digital organizer positions are often housed within communications teams rather than organizing teams. I think this is a mistake. This profound conceptual confusion between digital communications, digital organizing, and field organizing has led to structural issues within our organizations. But if movement organizers and leaders can start to collapse the distinction between field and digital, then our organizing can become more integrated and ultimately more impactful."

"When digital organizers work within a communications department rather than an organizing department, their success is inevitably measured by reach, impressions, and clicks rather than leadership development and other metrics of power. In a research survey I conducted in 2025, an overwhelming number of practitioners said that in their organizations digital organizing sits in the communications department (28 percent) rather than an organizing department (12 percent). This lack of alignment leads to weakened effectiveness and confusion of roles within our organizations."

Many organizations place digital organizers inside communications departments, causing role confusion and misaligned success metrics. Digital organizing measured by reach, impressions, and clicks undermines leadership development and other power-building metrics. Online and offline organizing occur simultaneously and should be integrated rather than separated. Mobilizing engages people who already agree in coordinated actions, while organizing develops leaders from within the base, including people outside the choir. A 2025 survey found 28 percent of practitioners locate digital organizing in communications versus 12 percent in organizing, revealing structural misalignment that weakens effectiveness and creates confusion of roles.

Read at Nonprofit Quarterly | Civic News. Empowering Nonprofits. Advancing Justice.