How can you engage with non-profit community members who are not traditionally involved?

1 Assess your current situation

Before you plan any engagement initiatives, you need to understand who your current community members are, what their needs and interests are, and how they interact with your organization. You can use surveys, interviews, focus groups, or other methods to collect data and feedback from your existing stakeholders. You also need to identify the gaps and barriers that prevent some community members from getting involved, such as lack of awareness, accessibility, trust, or representation.

2 Define your engagement goals and objectives

Once you have a clear picture of your current situation, you can set your engagement goals and objectives. What are the outcomes and benefits you want to achieve by engaging with non-traditional community members? How will you measure and evaluate your success? How will you align your engagement goals with your organizational mission and vision? You should also consider the level and type of engagement you want to offer, such as information, consultation, collaboration, or empowerment.

3 Develop your engagement plan and tactics

When designing your engagement plan and tactics, you should consider your target audience and how to reach them, the channels and platforms to communicate and interact with them, the incentives and motivations for them to get involved, the resources and capacities you need to implement your plan, and how to ensure your engagement is ethical, respectful, and culturally appropriate. These aspects are all crucial for achieving your goals and objectives.

4 Implement and monitor your engagement activities

After you have developed your plan, you can start implementing and monitoring your engagement activities. You should keep track of the progress and feedback of your engagement initiatives, and adjust your plan as needed. You should also communicate regularly with your target audience and existing stakeholders, and acknowledge their contributions and feedback. You should also be transparent and accountable about how you use the information and input you collect from your engagement activities.

5 Evaluate and report your engagement outcomes

The final step is to evaluate and report your engagement outcomes. You should use the indicators and metrics you defined in your objectives to measure the impact and effectiveness of your engagement activities. You should also collect and analyze the qualitative and quantitative data and feedback from your engagement participants and stakeholders. You should then report your findings and recommendations to your organization and your community, and celebrate and recognize the achievements and learnings of your engagement project.

6 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?