Building a community-wide coalition involves coordinating resources with various community groups and stakeholders. Combining the efforts of these various groups and stakeholders may lead to more rapid results as the community planning process unfolds. In many communities, various groups or organizations are already committed to improving community health and may be sponsoring health promotion activities and services. Government agencies, including public health, schools, public safety, and social services agencies, have a mandate for protecting and improving the quality of life of the citizens and may be encouraged to use their resources and policies to address issues of obesity and overweight. These specific target groups or organizations can include religious institutions, businesses, schools, social service programs, hospitals, clinics, and community groups. In addition to identifying specific target groups or organizations it is also beneficial to identify participants representative of the community. These people should be citizens or residents who have a stake and voice to be shared throughout the planning process. Their contributions include knowledge of the community, voluntary time, space for meetings and activities, funds, and other resources. Some questions to consider as stakeholders are selected include:

• What skills, information, and resources will be needed?
• What assets already exist in the community?
• What services and expertise can other groups offer?
• What members of the community would help get the message across or bring credibility to the cause?

A table of some potential partners and their contributions is provided to help illustrate possible stakeholder involvement in the community planning process:
Key Stakeholders, Roles, and Contributions. To collect information about community organizations, contact the chamber of commerce, public libraries, United Way, city and county planning agencies, local media, and community leaders.