Online Legacies: How to build a digital global change making community

In this article, THE REVIVAL team shares with you some on the things we learned along the way about building a global change making community online.

Some of us at THE REVIVAL have not even met one another in real life, so how do you align your team’s mission and vision when you’re on other sides of the world? Here are three steps to building a non-profit team across borders:

1. Trust is key

At THE REVIVAL, we each have our own individual experience and knowledge. Some of us understand the ins and outs of activism, others, marketing, then there’s design and creative and, very importantly, legal and administrative. If you’re leading a changemaking team, work with people you can trust to take the organisation in a direction that resonates, without having rigid frameworks and management.

2. Choose your channels

Just because social media is a powerful storytelling tool, doesn’t mean you need to be on every app. Who are you trying to reach and for what purpose? For instance, at THE REVIVAL we wanted to tap into a network for funding opportunities, so we created and devoted energy to posting educational content on LinkedIn. On the other hand, Instagram has been a great tool for showcasing the more create aspects of THE REVIVAL, such as fashion design, photography and documentary making.

3. Community communications

There’s not use having a great social media campaign if your internal team aren’t all on the same page. Make the most of internal communications tools beyond just emails. When you’re not all sharing an office space, tools like Slack, Telegram, Discord and WhatsApp are vital for sharing moments of inspiration, important relevant events, and business opportunities. The best part about building a global changer making community online is getting creative projects off the ground, so get your team sharing they wildest ideas with one another – you never know where it all could lead.