Nonprofit organizations rely on volunteers, donors, and partners. These are what make every program, every charity work, every campaign and affair successful. However, you won’t get the best volunteers or donors if you do not engage with the community.
With a thriving community engagement, your nonprofit organization can get all the recognition you need. From that, you will be able to show people more about your organization, tap onto prospective volunteers, get loyal donors, and more. Just this 2017, an estimated 25.1% of US adults volunteered according to NCCS (2018). And according to Global Trends in Giving Report (2018), 85% of the donors donated to the nonprofit that they volunteered for. This is more than proof that community engagement will do wonders for nonprofit organizations.
So, how can nonprofits increase community engagement?
Participate in local events
First and foremost, start within your own community and participate in the local events. Be it festivals, conventions, get-togethers, community events, or more, it is a chance to get your organization out there. Get a booth and a promotional banner, print some ads and tell people what your group is all about.
Host seminars and trainings
It’s beneficial to host various seminars and trainings for the community. Use your office space to host these community events. Not only will you be able to educate and share knowledge to the people, but you will also be able to tell them more about your organization — your purpose, your advocacy, what you do, and more.
Reach out to influencers
Reaching out to influencers is also good way to boost community engagement. You can talk to influencers in your community or influencers in neighboring states or other parts of the country. With reliable teleconference services for nonprofits, you will be able to communicate with various influential people and coordinate with them on how to spread more awareness about your organization.
Offer a mutually beneficial relationship
Make sure that your relationship with the community is beneficial. Give your volunteers, donors, and partners rewards or certain offers that will let them know you value them and their hard work and generosity. You can offer volunteers and corporate partners exclusive workshops or seminars, skill-development training, and more.
Engage through internet and social media
Never underestimate the power of the internet. Build a website and get it up and running. If you don’t have a web developer dedicated to building your website, you can do it yourself. There are tons of easy website builders out there that will allow you to build a website on your own, customize it, and utilize it to expose your organization to the community, not just in the local community but nationwide as well. There is WordPress.org, WordPress.com, Wix, and Weebly just to name a few.
Apart from your very own website, you also need to establish your nonprofit’s online presence through social media. Some of the best social media platforms you can use for your nonprofit are Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. Introduce your organization to the people, use visuals like photos and videos to show them what you do, interact with the people, and create your own hashtag to get the word out there.
Get help from ambassadors
Ambassadors can be compared to influencers, only they do more hands-on work than influencers who mostly have their impact over the internet. Assign local ambassadors and let them go out to the community and engage. Word of mouth from these dedicated people will surely get the community to be aware of your organization and be encouraged to be a part of it.
These tips are helpful in increasing community engagement but above all, you also have to be consistent. With a steady plan of action, your nonprofit can get more engagement with the community and you can give more and do more in the future.
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