By Jeanne Atkinson, Senior Consultant

This happens all too frequently (at least to me): The end of a typically crazy day finally comes, and the only thing you’re looking forward to is going to sleep, sweet, sweet sleep.

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By DeRondal Bevly, Community Outreach Executive

Last week, I wrote a post about the initial steps in beginning the community engagement process.  In this post, I present two essential steps in finalizing the process, evaluating the engagement and creating an ongoing process.  I see many organizations fail in their community engagement by forgoing these critical steps.  The process of engagement goes beyond beginning the process and cultivating stakeholders.  Near-sightedness in evaluating these relationships and maintaining them is recipe for disaster.  Each engagement should be considered a valuable tool for any business.  The opportunities presented allow a business or organization to hear about the crucial community issues directly from the front lines.  That kind of intel, when used correctly, is priceless.

Most of us evaluate the results of any business strategy or implementation, so I often wonder why the community engagement process is not measured.  Defining a purpose and cultivation of stakeholders are the logical first steps in creating a foundation. Proper evaluation of the entire process allows you to build upon that foundation and adapt to any challenges that may arise in the future.  In this economy, the successful organizations are those that pro-actively seek ways to adapt their business models for potential change.  The evaluation process does not have to be long and complex, it can be as simple as informally surveying participants, reviewing notes or placing a few strategic phone calls to gauge sentiment.  The power of the process lies in the feedback.  Internal and external feedback can be used to streamline the process during the next engagement.  Internally, team members can explore best practices and tactics to avoid.  Externally, checking in with stakeholders to receive their input allows the organization to create better ways to engage the community on subsequent projects.  The evaluation step creates the groundwork for the final step in community engagement, creating an ongoing process.

As an organization moves through the steps of engagement, key relationships are built and valuable alliances are born.  Once a project crosses the goal line, most celebrate the accomplishment, take a short break if they can and then head to the next project.  However, by quickly running through this final step, you can assure yourself of locking in the gains of the hard work you and your team just spent days/weeks/month/years of your professional and personal lives seeking to accomplish. 

As a marathon runner, I know in order to lock in the cardiovascular benefits and prepare myself for the next run, I have to take a few additional steps post-run:  stretching, icing and eating.  The more emphasis I place on those latter activities, the easier the next run becomes and so on. 

This same principle should be applied to community engagement.  Why go out of your way to identify potential community partners, work with them on a project/iniative, see that project through to completion and then pick up and leave everything cold?  Beyond thanking them for their time and efforts, explore reciprocity in the relationship and think of ways you might be able to help them.  Also offer to keep them abreast of upcoming projects to see if they might be interested in participating.  I find that this is extremely crucial for those in community, economic or workforce development.

While community engagement is not as glamorous as marketing or sales, at the end of the day, the field and more importantly, a commitment to it, can help complete one project and create long lasting partnerships to help with future projects.  By clearly defining the purpose and outcome, engaging stakeholders in the process, evaluating that process and finally continuing to develop those relationships, you can create additional value for your organization while developing a go-to network of supporters to assist you in the future.

By Jodie Shpritz, VP of Media Relations and Branding

I’m beginning to wonder if a good PR stunt, like putting a large macaroni noodle outside of Wrigley Field, is going to always have a place in the world of public relations.   Like many, I like a good PR stunt as much as the next.  But with the diminishing newsroom media and tight budgets, there seem to be more traditional ways to get news coverage without dropping a Hershey’s Kiss off the top of the Hancock Building. 

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By DeRondal Bevly, Community Outreach Executive @dbevly

For past eight years, I have spent many hours assisting Chicago area nonprofits and community organizations.  Each experience allows me to gain a first hand knowledge of not only how these groups help improve society, but also how they function internally.  Whether it’s pediatric cancer, youth music education or community involvement, each opportunity allows me to learn something that I can build upon to more effectively help the organizations I assist.

While thinking about the “field” of community engagement, I thought about ways to best articulate the skills needed to effectively help organize/lead/volunteer community groups and nonprofits.  In addition to researching my own experience and ideas, I came across this fantastic resource.  Michael Wilkinson, CMF, and his team created the “Seven Strategies for Effective Community Engagement.”  Based on the collective experience of his team, this curriculum teaches organizations ways to better implement community engagement strategies.

While I will not bore you with recapping the full list in this post, I do want to focus on the first two strategies; knowing your purpose and utilizing stakeholders.  Pro-active leadership in organizations should employ these simple concepts to leverage the existing relationships in order to maximize the value to all stakeholders.

The first step in knowing your purpose provides clarity and cohesion for the task at hand.  The purpose of the engagement, when articulated correctly, provides a blueprint to help navigate community organizations and ensures that you stay on the right path to accomplish your task.   No matter how complex the issue becomes, a baseline will allow you to always have a guide. Often I see the community engagement process well into the later stages only to have the stakeholders’ wander aimlessly, trying to figure out the objectives. Creating a simple, clear mission statement for the engagement will save many headaches later.

The second step in the process centers on effectively utilizing community leaders and allowing them to become stakeholders in the issue or project.  Many companies today arrive in a community with bundles of cash, a PowerPoint presentation and an arrogant misbelief that they can bend the community at their whim.  However, the world around us paints a different story.  With the power of the Internet and social media today, almost anyone with a determination to incite change can create dramatic shifts in sentiment.  Grassroots community groups are often more organized and efficient all while proving they are capable of delivering the knockout blow to any project, initiative or campaign.

Identifying and courting these key stakeholders is not difficult if you properly articulate what you want and who can help get you there.    Dialogue must be transparent, two-way and honest.

The community engagement process can and should be an exciting one.  Working with the community to get an understanding of their goals/wishes/turn-offs can help you build a project or launch an initiative that is not only successful, but also sustainable.  By providing a clear vision of where you want to go while creating the advocates to help you get there ensures that your presence in the community is a welcome one.  But please remember, no matter the situation; treat those across the table from you with respect.  The community leaders you will meet with are often volunteers dedicating their excess time and efforts to improving their community.  Adding a dose of empathy to the engagement process helps create a positive experience for everyone.

In part two, I will focus on the ending stages of the community engagement process and how the proper steps can ensure successful partnerships heading into the future.

As far as epic Twitter battles go, the recent Hilary Rosen/Ann Romney throw down reminds us of the power, perils and instantaneous response capability afforded by this social media platform. The response from the left, right, punditry and media helped take this moment and elevate the exchange of tweets and helped define this moment as a teachable moment in Twitter and campaign politics.   

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By: Jodie Shpritz, Vice President of Media Relations and Branding 

When I was a television reporter, I saw the way the industry was changing and decided I wanted to go to the other side, aka “The Dark Side”.  Not because I wanted to be behind the scenes, but because I realized I could use my skills to help clients and build brands.  With that being said, more so now than ever, my skills are truly coming into play. 

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Dear Family and Friends,

As many of you may already know, we are involved in March of Dimes March for Babies.  Every day, thousands of babies are born too soon, too small and often very sick. We will be walking in the March for Babies and need your help.  The mission of March of Dimes is to improve the health of babies by preventing birth defects, premature birth, and infant mortality.

This year we will have our March for Babies on April 29, 2012 in Naperville, IL at the Naperville River Walk.

For those of you who are not familiar with our organization, when you walk in March for Babies, you give hope to the more than half a million babies born too soon each year. The money you raise supports programs in your community that help moms have healthy, full-term pregnancies. And it funds research to find answers to the problems that threaten our babies. We have been walking since 1970 and have raised an incredible $2 billion to benefit all babies.

We are asking you to help us out this year by giving a tax-deductible donation to the March for Babies. Your gift will support March of Dimes research and programs that help moms have full-term pregnancies and babies begin healthy lives. And it will be used to bring comfort and information to families with a baby in newborn intensive care.  Please note that any donation amount is always welcomed.

If you require additional information about March for Babies, please contact me and I will be happy to answer any questions you may have. You may also visit www.marchforbabies.org/cullotonstrategies

Thank you for your time and consideration. We look forward to whatever support you can provide. If you are able to donate privately, please also check for matching funds through your employer. Many companies have matching programs, which you may not be aware of.

You can also donate online, or if you are sending your donation in the form of a check, please make it payable to March of Dimes.

Thank you for your consideration. March for Babies could not do it without the generosity of donors like yourself!

By Tracey Mendrek, Senior Consultant @TraceyMendrek

The Chicago Tribune, in their ongoing profile of local executives, dedicated a large portion of their Business section today to Ann Lurie, the acclaimed Chicago philanthropist.  One cannot argue that title as it relates to Ms. Lurie and the Ann & Robert H. Lurie Foundation, which has given over $331 million to a variety of charities over the last 20 years.  That number alone must put them at the top of anyone’s list of potential donors.  But there is something else that struck me about Ms. Lurie’s giving and that is her gift of time and her sense of ownership to the organizations she supports.  The article which you can read yourself (http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/ct-biz-0409-executive-profile-lurie-20120409,0,724401.story) mentions her fingerprints, her voice, her hands-on approach and her time.

We could all learn a lesson from Ms. Lurie – and no it’s not about the amount of money she donates – it is about the approach she takes.  Yes, there are those major charities that have large staffs to facilitate all the various activities, but then there are the smaller ones that need simple fingerprints, voices and hands to make ends meet. 

Charity Navigator, http://www.charitynavigator.org/, a website with some excellent guidelines for volunteering, suggests that per year the average American spends “52 hours on their volunteer endeavors”.  Those are hours that have nothing to do with the checks they write. This begs the question – Only 52 hours, one hour a week?  Of course we volunteer in ways that are largely impossible to measure; the volunteer soccer coach, the volunteer band uniform organizer or the volunteer driver.  But do we really put our imprint on the charities we support or do we simply write the check and check that off the list?

In the age of social media and the internet, it is without question, easier to “check” on the charities you support.  Following them on Facebook, Twitter or subscribing to their blog posts makes it so much easier to see what your favorite charity is up to.  But nothing beats the chance to be hands-on. 

At Culloton Strategies, we support several charities, but at a recent fundraiser we had the chance to touch and feel the artwork of the kids, shake their hands and talk to them about their experiences.  Of course there is the sad fact that no matter what we do sometimes the result is heartbreaking, but what was clear is that hope truly springs eternal.  The chance to offer our fingerprints, our voices and our time to a charity makes our monetary gifts that much more meaningful and fulfilling. 

While we may never have the capacity to affect a charitable organization the way Ms. Lurie has, we have the unlimited capacity to model her gift of time and attention.