In meeting the goal of significantly increasing the number of community coalitions, the Community Anti-Drug Coalitions of America (CADCA) has written and developed a series of technical assistance manuals for communities assisting them in establishing a coalition. In this manual, CADCA identifies and presents seven steps to follow in the initial stages of coalition development. The intent is to help make the collaboration process less challenging. The seven steps to forming a community coalition include: (1) defining the problem and its impact on the community and offering a number of different ways in which a community coalition could collect data about the problem and use it to formulate a plan; (2) identify the key stakeholders who will help accomplish the mission; (3) convene a meeting; (4) share perspectives to learn about the potential people involved and their unique perspectives; (5) discuss the current substance abuse reality in the community, as well as the ideal; (6) create a plan and vision statement for the community, indicating what the group is striving for; and (7) determine the next steps and establish a timetable for accomplishing each step. It is important to remember that building a coalition takes perseverance, compromise, patience, and a long-term commitment.