Coffee and Calendars: the antidote to "I wish I'd known about that!"
Becky McCray
I help you shape a brighter future for your small town, giving you practical steps you can put into action right away.
Ever found out about an event or project in your town only after it was happening?
Ever wish you could have helped with something or offered some insight, if you only knew it was coming?
You want to collaborate more with local and regional organizations, but you can't possibly know everything that's going on.
Even in a small town, we don’t keep each other informed like you’d think.
Here's the simple solution:
Why not just get folks together and compare organization calendars once a month or so?
Keep it simple:
That’s all. Just share coffee and calendars.
Who to invite:
Start with people who are part of any organizations related to your ideas. Think of arts or history groups, town or county government, the chamber of commerce or schools. You can start with a few and grow over time. Reach out to all kinds of community groups, local boards, churches, organizations, clubs and everyone. Have them bring their calendars, too.
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Yes, declare it as an official public meeting of government groups if the law requires. Whatever you need to do to stay legal, but keep the coffee discussion itself informal.
What to talk about:
The only goals (at first) are to share what you have planned and get to know each other better. Coffee and calendars.
Later, people will naturally start talking about maybe cooperating, or doing shared projects, or noticing when they have shared goals. Then even later, maybe people can talk about collaborating in bigger ways.
It will all start with just a few folks sitting down for “Coffee and Calendars.”
Avoid this common trap:
Don't try to replace the in-person get together with a combined online calendar. The calendar is not the goal. The conversation is the goal.
Your homework:
Invite one person who is working on good things in your town to join you for Coffee and Calendars. Forward this story to them and suggest a specific day next week to get together.
You can also get these stories weekly by email at SaveYour.Town or read them on Medium.
Building Connections. Building Community. An advocate for authentic small town growth.
7moI’m newly stepping into the role of executive director for our small town chamber. Absolutely love this approach to getting the connections (and the events!) rolling!
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7moThis shows how simple things can be. Calendar - Coffee and Conversation! As always - a great share Becky McCray 🤗
Rural Small Business Advocate 🌟 Growing small-town success stories🌳 Can be found hiking, kayaking, or enjoying a local music venue🌿🚣♀️🎵
7moGreat idea! One of the communities we work in, Morton, IL, does something like this. The Chamber of Commerce holds a monthly Coffee and Connections at a different local business and invites local business owners and organizations. Everyone has a couple minutes to share what is going on and upcoming in their business/organization. It keeps everyone in the know and sparks collaboration. It's brilliant!
I help people and communities love where they are through practices, planning, and connection.
7moWe do this by bringing in the major nonprofits together each month to help us all understand what's happening across the community. So helpful Becky McCray!
Native American Consultant — Indian Tribes & Enterprises :: Family Offices :: Film, TV, Music Entertainment :: Global Brands
7moLoved "conversation is the goal." Great read!