Here's how you can effectively engage with stakeholders in a Community Outreach career.

My community outreach knowledge stems from my father. My father is a Vue Clan leader, whose help our clan maintain healthy and prosperous relationships with the other 17 Hmong clans for well over 50+ years. Here are three of his gold nuggets: - Identify key opinion leaders and community historians, these may not always be those with know titles. - Be vulnerable but intentional, share stories and have a call to action. - Be willing to resolve any conflicts, past or present, to show the other party your commitment to the future of this relationship.

To engage stakeholders effectively, you must first understand their needs and concerns. Start by conducting thorough research or holding focus groups to gather insights. This will not only inform your outreach strategy but also build trust as stakeholders see their input valued. Tailoring your approach to address specific community issues demonstrates empathy and commitment, laying the groundwork for meaningful dialogue.

To understand the needs of stakeholders, and to productively engage with them and their needs, we need to first and foremost care about the people we are seeking to engage with. It is best to talk with them, spend time with them, and do the things they do with them. For example, attending a church of predominantly a certain ethnicity... then reach out to them... Theodore Roosevelt once said, "People don't care how much you know until they know how much you care." What's more, don't fake this. We need to genuinely care and desire to be in relationship with these people, they are not a project...

Building the right relationship with the like minded individuals is key aspect of community outreach. Aligning a vision and contributing together adds tons of value to the community, but this also helps to amplify your opinion and enhance your personality. So, meet as many individuals as you can and empower partnerships.

recognising that everyone has an opinion that may not always align with your own but could contribute to collectively addressing issues and challenges faced by offering options and alternatives is the reason why inclusiveness becomes the keyword in any building relationships exercise.

Authentic and genuine relationship is the key. I believe we don't necessarily need to not think about our goals and objectives. But, those goals and objectives need to take a backseat to relationship.

Find like-minded people in the community that you can serve in both big and small ways. Contributing to their success will come back around in time. When you have something planned invite those people on board first!

Clear and honest communication starts with being who you are - as opposed to being a version of yourself or a persona that is seeking only to be associated with certain people. Expressing ourselves from within, being congruent with who we really are and how we think and feel about things, will connect with most people.

This is simple... talk with them, get under the surface, and find out what they think. Read between the lines as well, sometimes what's not said is actually saying something.

Again, this kind of gets back to caring and relationship. Everyone matters. And we need to really feel like everyone matters. What they think is important to us. While everyone is not necessarily going to agree with everyone on everything, the dignity and respect accruing to relational outreach is something to commit ourselves to.

Usually, strategies are developed to tackle specific objectives, which are then assessed through indicators to ensure they are met within the specified time and budget, and to the satisfaction of the client (community and project sponsor). However, the project design may only focus on delivering the outputs that address identified issues, without fully considering the behavioural changes that the project aims to influence. These behavioural changes may not be measurable until a review is conducted at a later time, which can reveal the project's success or the community's frustration and lack of trust if the issues reoccur after the project is handed over.