Coalitions play a crucial role in fostering robust community development. Four tools were developed using the Coalition Check-Up to support the well-being of your coalition and its activities to ensure success! Coalition Check-Up Resource 3 – Action Planning for a Strength Worksheets: Is something about your coalition going really well? Do you wonder how to give attention to that success and sustain the focus or practice going forward? Then, this is your resource!
Category: Coalitions, Community Engagement & Systems Building
Coalition Check-Up Resource 4 – Action Planning Progress Tool
Coalitions play a crucial role in fostering robust community development. Four tools were developed using the Coalition Check-Up to support the well-being of your coalition and its activities to ensure success! Coalition Check-Up Resource 4 – Action Planning Progress Tool: Need a tool to help you track implementation progress of your action plan? And find solutions to barriers you encounter along the way? Then, this is your resource!
What is the Community Tool Box?
The Community Tool Box is a long-standing, mission-driven resource created to promote community health and development by connecting people, ideas, and practical tools. Launched in 1994, it was designed to provide accessible, real-world guidance on core community-building competencies—such as leadership, program evaluation, and grant writing—that can be used by both professionals and community members across diverse issue areas. Over time, it has grown into an extensive, multilingual resource with more than 340 sections and thousands of pages of content, serving community leaders and practitioners, organizations that support community change, and funders seeking to strengthen and sustain effective community improvement efforts. In addition to its extensive content, the Community Tool Box is designed for ease of navigation and practical use. Each section follows a clear, practical structure explaining what a skill is, why and when it matters, and how to apply it, supported by curated resources, real-world examples, tools and checklists, and ready-to-use PowerPoint slides that facilitate training, technical assistance, and real-world application.
The Community Toolbox: Resources for Building Stronger Prevention Efforts.
The Community Tool Box is a free, comprehensive online resource designed to support professionals in building healthier communities through effective prevention and community development strategies. It offers practical, step-by-step, evidence-informed guidance across core areas of practice, including community assessment and planning, program implementation and evaluation, coalition building, stakeholder engagement, communication, leadership and organizational development, advocacy, cultural responsiveness, and sustainability. Together, these resources provide practitioners, coalitions, and organizations – particularly in child welfare, mental health, and prevention fields – with actionable tools and examples to plan, strengthen, and sustain meaningful, positive change for youth and families.
The Community Toolbox: Learn a Skill
This webpage offers a wide range of free information and tools to support community work, all organized for easy access and practical use. Users can browse 46 chapters comprising more than 300 sections that provide step-by-step guidance on essential community-building skills. In addition, concise toolkits cover 16 core competencies, including conducting community assessments, developing strategic plans, writing grants, and evaluating community efforts.
Evidence2Success® Action Guide 3: Fostering Long-Term, Multi-Sector Engagement in Communities
This action guide and its 2-page preview companion outlines the benefits of using a coalition building approach to foster long-term, cross-sector engagement in communities. It highlights data and experiences from six communities who used a coalition building approach to improve youth well-being, inclusivity, and participation, particularly among racially and ethnically diverse groups.
The Community Readiness Model
The Community Readiness Model (CRM) toolkit provides a comprehensive approach to assessing and improving a community’s readiness for change. The document outlines key components of the CRM, explaining how to evaluate when both individuals and entire communities are ready to alter behaviors or attitudes. It includes a detailed guide on conducting a community readiness assessment, offering step-by-step instructions for defining the issue and community, preparing interviews, selecting key respondents, and analyzing data. The toolkit also emphasizes the importance of setting goals, developing action plans, and using tools like SWOT analysis to strategize for change. Additionally, it covers how to communicate effectively with the target audience and foster relationships, with practical activities and examples to guide the process.
Evidence2Success® Guiding Collective Change Action Guide 4: Placing Communities at the Center of Coalition-Driven Change.
This action guide and its 2-page preview companion offers insider tips, check-lists, and stories from real communities to guide practitioners in creating and sustaining efforts to improve youth and family outcomes.
Afterschool Alliance – Lights On Afterschool Event Planning Kit
The Afterschool Alliance’s Event Planning Kit provides prevention professionals with comprehensive guidance for organizing Lights On Afterschool celebrations. It includes a detailed planning timeline, checklists, and templates to help teams coordinate logistics—from budgeting and securing venues to inviting media and policymakers . The toolkit also offers event ideas and activity themes like community festivals, performances, or STEM showcases to spotlight youth achievements and civic engagement. Downloadable resources include sample invitations, flyers, press release templates, branded artwork, and social media messaging to enhance outreach and visibility. Ideal for prevention-minded leaders aiming to mobilize support, raise awareness, and build partnerships, the kit makes planning accessible, scalable, and policy-relevant.
Focus on Prevention: A SAMHSA Community Planning Manual.
The Focus on Prevention manual (SAMHSA Publication No SMA 10‑4120), first published in August 2020, provides communities with a structured framework to design, implement, and evaluate substance use prevention initiatives. Covering the full prevention continuum, it offers practical guidance on conducting community needs assessments, identifying and partnering with stakeholders, developing targeted strategies, marketing prevention efforts, and setting up monitoring and evaluation systems, including a sample timeline of tasks. Intended for non‑profit and faith‑based organizations, this resource equips local coalitions with the tools needed to tailor culturally appropriate and evidence‑informed prevention programs. By emphasizing community collaboration, strategic planning, and measurable outcomes, the manual supports sustainable and effective substance use prevention at the grassroots level.