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Form a Local Sponsoring Community
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Steps to Forming a Sponsoring Community

Begin by becoming familiar with G.A.P. What is the program, what are its guiding principles, how did it start? Read About NISGUA and the Introduction to G.A.P. Early in the process of forming a Sponsoring Community, please contact the G.A.P. office. We can offer guidance, as well as up-to-date information about where accompaniment support is most needed.

1. Invite others to join you in learning more about Guatemala. Talk about the need for accompaniment. Create excitement to continue learning together.
   
   
2. Create a committee. Identify a core group of individuals who will ensure ongoing creativity, communication, and who will do work! Making a group effort to form a Sponsoring Community will be more sustainable than having one person try to do it all.
   
   
3. Name your group. You may want to consider how your name would be interpreted in Spanish.
   
   
4. Identify roles, which could include:
   
   

• Contact person, to be the principle communicator with the NISGUA office and initiate an emergency response in the event of a human rights violation (also name a back-up).

• Treasurer, to keep track of income/expenses and to ensure that money is sent in a timely manner to the accompanier.

• Press contact, to coordinate media contact for publicity and education.

• Fundraising coordinator, to ensure ongoing plans for financing accompaniment are implemented.

• Education coordinator, to ensure ongoing community awareness-raising about Guatemala and the work of the Sponsoring Community.

• Logistics/meetings coordinator, to arrange location/logistics of Sponsoring Community activities and events.

• Community liaison/outreach coordinator, to facilitate communication/contact with people interested.

• Correspondence coordinator, to coordinate sending thank you letters to supporters; letters to community and to the accompanier.

• Accompanier liaison, to be in touch with the accompanier's family; keep track of birthdays, special needs, etc.

To coordinate does not mean to have to do all the work! A coordinator's job is to ensure that work gets done.

5. Invite community involvement. In creating initial events, consider ways to invite/include individuals who can provide contact with other organizations that may become interested. Farm or labor organizations may become involved. Religious groups may have Peace and Social Concerns committees. A Rotary Club member may have traveled to Central America. University students, especially those in Latin American Studies, pre-law, or Spanish departments, may be interested. Involvement of various sectors is possible and notifying people from a broad spectrum will facilitate their continued involvement. As individuals become interested, they will tell their friends who will become interested, and they will tell their friends.

6. Establish an Emergency Response Network within the community for disseminating Action Alerts in the event of a human rights violation. An email list for quickly sending written materials is recommended, along with a phone tree to respond to the most serious violations requiring immediate and more nuanced action.

7. Recruit accompaniers from your area to apply to attend the G.A.P. training. If there isn’t a qualified candidate with ties to your community and whose timeline for service matches the Guatemalan region where you support accompaniment, an accompanier from elsewhere will be paired with you.

8. Gather letters of support from local and state officials, in addition to national Congresspeople. This is also an opportunity to make an initial visit and raise your concerns about the human rights situation in Guatemala.

9. Accords between the Sponsoring Community, the accompanier, and NISGUA are signed, outlining the responsibilities of each.

10. Accompanier departs for Guatemala, regularly receiving reports from the Sponsoring Community about their activities in addition to their financial support.

11. Sponsoring Community meets regularly to continue educating themselves, build community among the members, brainstorm creative fundraising ideas, and make contacts that will be useful – such as with the media – when the accompanier visits.

12. Accompanier returns and visits Sponsoring Community to share her/his experiences in Guatemala, do public presentations and fundraisers for the Sponsoring Community. This is an ideal time to use your media contacts.

13. A new accompanier is placed and the process of support, community building, activism, and education begins again.

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