The CADCA report stresses that their is no simple recipe for success, but noted that the coalitions studied shared a number of common elements, including:

• a mission statement
• a strategic plan
• a well-defined organizational structure
• an understanding of the local community
• strong leadership and volunteers
• representative membership and staff
• diverse partners
• access to community leaders
• clear expectations
• strong communication skills
• professional development opportunities
• the ability to make purposeful decisions
• diversified and relevant funding
• up-to-date technology
• evaluation

"In the first year we started our staff and baord members made a decision not to spend our time making up rules," said Carol Stone, executive director of Portland, Ore.'s Regional Drug Initiative (RDI), one of the coalitions examined for the report. "We said let's get started on our work and we'll recognize later when its time to make rules. Over the years, we've had to put some strictures in place, but always reluctantly, and in response to a problem. When an issue comes up we seek consensus on what to take on, and we often have passionite discussions, but if its an issue that somebody can't live with, then it's not appropriate for the group."

Coalitions also succeeded by giving recognition for accomplishments to member organizations. However, as CACDA noted in its report, "While this ensures that partners receive recognition for their work with the coalition, the coalition sometimes suffers for lack of attention in its own right."

The most successful coalitions let the community's needs -- and not funding -- drive their work. Obstensibly founded to fight substance abuse and/or crime, coalitions have had to be flexible enough to grapple with a host of related issues that, in many cases, and more pressing concerns in the minds of local residents, such as economic development, poverty, community infrastructure, and racism. "Coalitions address these issues in order to make progress on others," notes the CADCA report.

At the same time, coalitions stressed the importance of staying true to their mission, especially where funding is concerned. "All of the Executive Directors in this study warned of the troubles that result when a coalition accepts funds that divert its attention from its mission," according to CADCA. At Portland's RDI, for example, coalition members spent a year discussing whether the group should get more involved in violence-prevention, In the end, RDI's Stone tells Join Together, the members decided not to expand their role, because other groups in the community were "doing just fine" addressing the issue.

It is encouraging to note, however, that many coalitions began their work before securing funding, and, "In every case, funding eventually followed."

Notwithstanding the recent influx of federal support via the Drug-Free Communities Act, successful coalitions said they preferred to have foundation or corporate funding underpinning their efforts, not just government grants.

On the administrative end, one key characteristic shared by most successful coalitions is sustained, visionary leadership: Five of the eight program directors in the study, for example, have been with their coalitions since they were founded. More practically, many of the coalitions have a lead agency while takes care of administrative functions such as bookkeeping and payroll. "This enables the coalition to concentrate its efforts on coalition-building tasks," noted the CADCA report. RDI, for instance, contracts with the city of Portland to handle its fiscal management, and with Multnomah County for personnel administration.

Despite their documented successes, however, the coalitions in the study groups share many of the same frustrations and face the same challenges as their peers. For example, all of the coalitions are trying to come up with new ways to fight the perception that the nation's drug crisis is over and engage the public on the issues of treatment and prevention. "The coalitions agreed that their ability to do this will be the ultimate determinant of their success or failure," the report said.

The model coalitions also have struggled with quantifying their data, and called for a coordinated effort to help the coalition movement measure and evaluate their efforts. Stone said that while RDI's annual Drug Impact Index -- a compilation of substance-abuse related statistics -- has been a useful tool, the group is currently working with the state of Oregon to develop a more comprehensive outcomes evaluation system.

Coalitions also said that the public needs to be educated about the factors that contribute to substance abuse, and that both citizens and funders need a clearer understanding of the coalition movement and its successes.

The eight coalitions studied were the Boston (Mass.) Coalition, the Community Coalition for Substance Abuse Prevention and Treatment (Los Angeles, Calif.), The Miami (Fla.) Coalition for a Safe and Drug-Free Community, the Nashville (Tenn.) Prevention Partnership, the Bering Strait Prevention Partnership (Nome, Ak.), the Regional Drug Initiative (Portland, Ore.), San Antonio (Texas) Fighting Back, and the Troy (Mich.) Community Coalition for the Prevention of Drug and Alcohol Abuse.

CADCA: 800-542-2322.

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