Community.
A strong word that holds incredible value.
Value, not only for the people within the community but also for the businesses and causes associated with the community.
Communities, when engaged and connected, can be a resilient, positive force, providing a solid foundation of support to charities and their work.
And this is key.
Engagement.
In this post, we look at the values and benefits of building communities and some practical ideas for community engagement, and campaigns that can increase your visibility and involvement.
Value in engagement
Heading into spring there is a feeling of fresh energy and a sense of renewed thinking.
A time when many charities ramp up campaign activity and enhance communications, all to secure long-term relationships with supporters and donors.
This is where community engagement plays a pivotal role.
When you engage with your local community AND the communities in which you serve, you can gain value in:
• Increased resources
• More effective and innovative solutions
• Enhanced visibility, and
• Increased community support.
With regular community engagement you can build:
• Trust
• Reputation, and
• Greater resilience.
These benefits are invaluable to charities, helping you achieve your core mission more effectively, providing you with further opportunities, and ultimately creating greater impact.
But how do you do it? How can you reap the benefits, better serve the community, and engage the community to help serve you?
Practical tips for community engagement
Engage with meaningful campaigns
What campaigns and initiatives can you run that will increase your visibility and showcase your involvement with your community? For example, are there any public speaking opportunities you could link into, offering valuable insight while shining a light on your work?
Can you run a series of case studies highlighting the work you do and how it has benefited others, ending with how people can get involved?
Tell your story. What is the background of the charity? How can you make yourself and what you do more relatable to show the people behind the charity? Remember, people buy from people, and in communities people support people and causes they can relate to.
Important note: Throughout all of your campaign work, look to personalise your communications.
Engage with your fundraisers
Think of meaningful ways you can engage with your fundraisers and volunteers. What local events could your organisation participate in and play a part in supporting?
Could you offer specific volunteer opportunities at set times for various elements? Recruiting volunteers and building a strong support base.
Is there an opportunity to connect with your local community through various initiatives? For example, could you host community workshops? Offer community outreach programmes? Work in collaboration with other local businesses to offer employees volunteer opportunities and work-related experience.
Is there an opportunity for you to use social media to engage with fundraisers, showcasing their support, and highlighting why it is so important? Making them feel part of a wider campaign and proud to remain a long-term fundraiser.
Work with other businesses in the community
Are there others in the community who have the same values as you? Who, when you link up together could provide additional resources to support an even wider, local campaign?
Collaboration and working together to share resources while boosting visibility can be a lifeline to many charities as we head into 2025.
Provide regular updates
This leads us to keeping people in the loop.
People like to know what other people are doing, and those doing it love to feel valued.
What better way to tick both boxes than to provide regular updates and keep donors up to date and informed about the impact of their contributions, showing the value of your partnership with them.
Regular updates can come in the form of newsletters, which you can schedule into campaign promotion; meetings, hosting a tea and biscuit round table catch up, providing donors with the opportunity to come into the charity and see the impact, to meet the people, and to hear the stories first hand; social media, there’s no escaping it, social media is huge, and often sending your latest fundraiser a thank you for walking 10 miles to raise money with their picture and link is huge. You can also use social media to update donors instantly on your work, projects, and some of the exciting things the charity is up to/achieved.
However, a word of caution: if you do opt for social media, please make sure that messaging remains consistent, and you engage with online users in a timely manner.
Charities and community building
As we know, the more engaged people are, and the more the charity fosters a sense of community and builds on this, the more people want to stay and be part of it.
For charities, this brings considerable value, allowing you to increase the level of support you receive, build on donations and long-term donors, and better serve your community and the people who rely on your services.
The National Council for Voluntary Organisations offers guidance on partnership building and community engagement to help charities grab the value from community engagement and to show businesses the benefits of engaging with local charities.
Check out our ChariTEA and Biscuits Podcast too, where you can listen to information and advice from those in the charity sector.
