Attracting people to join an existing grassroots organization is a little like a first date, it all depends on the interaction. The best sort of first date is one in which you learn important things about the other person and the other person learns about you – and you feel that the other person is interested and receptive to you, your questions, and your ideas, and vice versa. Dates that don’t work well for most folks are those where the other person talks about themselves most of the time and doesn’t ask any questions about you, or it seems that the other person is interviewing you for a job – there are many questions about who you are, what you do, and what your preferences are – but not much of a conversation. Which sort of first date is more engaging and likely to result in a second (or third) date?
What have your experiences been like when attending an outreach meeting of an organization? What sort of date was it like? If the purpose of the group session is to invite new persons to join a collaborative, grassroots group effort then the process that is likely to work best is one that invites meaningful conversation. In an engagement process, meeting facilitators could quickly present the vision and recent accomplishments of the organization, then engage the participants in a meaningful exchange by asking open-ended questions, and fostering open discussion that explores how the attendee’s interests, concerns, needs align with those of the existing organization. Organizational details that are important but are not raised in the course of the conversation can be provided in handouts.
Attracting new folks to join a grassroots organization is a lot like dating. An engaging interaction is between the organization and the prospective new person is best. Ever go to a first meeting, thinking that you might like the organization and that it might meet your needs, and basically get told about the organization for an hour or more and have only a few minutes to ask questions and explore your needs at end? Ever walk away feeling that there was no chance to explore whether the organization would meet your needs or not, or be receptive to your questions or ideas? Ever attend a meeting that didn’t explore what you might need from it but were asked to consider volunteering to work for the organization? If the purpose of the group session is to invite new persons to join a collaborative, grassroots group effort, such as a Village, then an engagement process is likely to work best – by briefly presenting the central mission and vision of the existing group and progress to date, and the engaging the participants in a conversation. Engagement can be facilitated by asking open-ended questions, and then having an open discussion that will seek to understand how the attendee’s interests, concerns, needs, and vision aligns with the existing organization’s. Essential information about the organization can most often be provided in the context of a discussion or covered in handouts.
Important to any successful outreach effort is getting feedback from participants on how the session differed from their expectations, what would have made the session more relevant and valuable to them, and what would have worked better to inform them, encourage them to join the existing organization in a collaborative effort. An advantage of the engagement process is that feedback is often offered in the course of the discussion and may make a formal survey process unnecessary. In any case, when inviting new folks to join an existing endeavor; including them in an open discussion process gives them a initial understanding of how welcoming and receptive to ideas and contributions your organization actually is – helping them decide whether to join or not.
Here’s an example of how in March 2015 (early in its developmental phase), River West Village conceptualized its public information session as engagement process.
The River West Village Information Session (101): Stages and Process – March 2015
The overarching metaphor for the 101 educational session is an inclusive and participative process that mirrors the collaborative of village network that we currently envision.
Stage 1: Vision: After introductions, present the vision that we currently have of the operational village network we wish to create, mentioning briefly that the village network will provide volunteer services, lower-cost and vetted professional services, and social, recreational, and educational activities. Give examples of the vision through concrete stories and role-play; flesh out the vision is much as possible while moving around the audience and making eye contact. Stories about transportation and changing light bulbs in darkened rooms may be good examples for role-playing. As part of the vision, briefly describe in one or two sentences the process of planning a village that leads to an operational village that provide services. Answer questions or post questions to a bike rack on a flipchart page, as time permits.
Stage 2: Engagement: Then ask members of the audience to describe the vision they have for what an aging in place village might look like. Ask why they are interested in an aging in place village. Ask specifically what they foresee they might need from the village, now or in the future. Write down responses and information on a flipchart page. Answer questions or post questions to a bike rack flipchart, as time permits.
Stage 3: Planning Process: Then we may proceed to more fully describe the River West Village network planning process, where we are in the planning process, the activities we are currently engaged in, and the activities that we have planned that we hope will lead to a functional Village in about two years. Describe how we are planning for volunteer and paid services that will complement existing services in the community. Provide a brief history of the village movement in one or two sentences, a history of the River West Village in one or two sentences, and the existence of seven other villages in the metro area that are coordinated by the hub – also in 1 to 3 sentences. Describe some of the skills that we already have among planners and briefly describe the skills that we need to create the village. Answer questions or post questions to a bike rack page on a flipchart, as time permits.
Stage 4: Next steps and Q&A: tell attendees that we welcome them to join us in creating an aging in place village . . . by providing their contact information and briefly describing the ways in which they might want to contribute to the planning process (by means of a contact sheet that will be passed out). Inform attendees that if they fill out an interest form, someone will contact them and provide more detailed information about the villages and the planning process if they desire, and assist them to become integrated into the ongoing planning process in a way that works for them and for us. We are just at the beginning of the village planning process and we invite interested persons to join us in creating our mutual vision of a village network. Answer questions or post questions to a bike rack on a flipchart, as time permits.
Aging in Community 