* Gathering Members (prioritization of stakeholders; initial focus on those most supportive or people/organizations who will have an impact; value of inclusiveness; understanding that each member has, and maintains, own self interest in a coalition, methods for reaching out to other stakeholders)

* Establishing A Shared Agenda through the use of Basic Coalition Documents (identifying areas of agreement; articulating a set of values to guide coalition work; developing a compelling vision and clear, written coalition mission statement; developing coalition by-laws; samples of mission statements and by-laws)

* Forming a Leadership Team (identifying the form/structure of the coalition; identifying coalition range as to time limited or broader based goal(s); determining need for a steering or advisory committee with positions and terms of office; identify strong leaders that have a strong public voice and model the behavior you wish to create; plan lines of succession up-front; fostering power sharing within any steering or advisory committee to sustain the effort)

* Articulating the Message (focusing a coalition message/tag line; choosing a logo; using examples, stories and images to clarify, motivate and solidify, sample of coalition logos, messages, tag-lines)

* Paying Attention to Coalition Basics (craft strategic plan; recognize that starting small is ok; choose realistic, short term projects for initial work while keeping longer term goals in sight; define how coalition will make decisions, pass motions, define consensus; establish a regular meeting schedule; share meeting business via complete and timely distributed meeting minutes/notes; samples of issues management/consensus documents)

* Working the Coalition (providing educational opportunities; promoting networking and information sharing at every meeting; promoting active, working committees; communicating coalition activities; fostering growth of member interpersonal relationships; building a sense of community and connection; conveying a sense of shared ownership)

* Attending to Financial Issues (establishing a coalition budget; forming a fundraising committee; soliciting local foundation and business grants; sample more generic grant packages, sample coalition business plan)

* Watching Little Items Easy to Forget Along the Way (allowing for mechanism to orient and update new members on the history and past successes and challenges of the coalition; making sure there is always room for new ideas within your coalition; regularly reviewing coalition resources and productivity to ensure you are keeping pace with objectives, ideas, and commitments even when no one wants to do it; recognizing that levels of support and involvement of coalition members will vary and that coalition work is usually an ‘extra’ on top of members job; tips for when organizations have staff changes; publicly recognizing and thanking coalition members and supporters; celebrating coalition accomplishments; thinking about burnout before it happens; self-assessment)

* Re-assessing Coalition Need, Membership, Leadership and Activities (establishing schedule to regularly reassess the need(s) which created the coalition; regularly assessing membership composition; value of steering/advisory committee members meeting with key players needed but not involved in coalition; regularly assessing whether membership needs are being met; assessing coalition effectiveness; recognizing and responding to people, system, regulatory, legal and other barriers to coalition vision, samples of coalition member surveys and steering/advisory committee self-assessments)

* Specific Project Ideas

* Reaching Out to Like-Minded Others (frame prospective collaborations in terms of mutual benefit; establish connections to other state and/or regional coalitions, external community education for doctors, nurses)