“The whole is greater than the sum of its parts”  

                   -Aristotle

You’re probably wondering why a blog dedicated to association and nonprofit advocacy is quoting Aristotle... 

Consider this post a reminder that an association’s grassroots advocacy efforts are only as strong as the efforts of its membership. That’s why making advocacy easy and empowering for your members is the key to successful government relations. 

So, how exactly does the above quote by the famed Greek philosopher relate to advocacy in today’s political climate?  

The functionality of the whole is great because of how each part works

The sum of the parts make up a whole

This whole is greater than the individual parts

The functionality of the parts together is what make up the functionality of the whole

If we replace “parts” with “membership” and “whole” with “association” in terms of advocacy, we are reminded that the power of an association is based on the individual power of each of its members. Or more precisely, the advocacy efforts of an association is dependent upon the individual advocacy of each of its members. So, in terms of Aristotle’s musings, powerful association advocacy is dependent on its members, and looks like this:

“The association’s voice is powerful as a result of each individual member’s voice, but the voices alone, without the association, are not as powerful.”