Community Engagement

Comment

Comment by Kevin O'Meara on June 15, 2010 at 12:15pm

My objective in joining this group is help "connect the dots" in neighborhoods where community groups and local small businesses can each benefit by posting information where local residents are looking. In my mind community engagement means local participation through getting found online in local search sites like Google Maps and Yahoo Local.

Comment by Linda D. Granderson on April 5, 2010 at 4:58pm

Hi all I am happy to join this group. I am now working on a new project to enlist homeowners to get involved with their community by starting off with their block. In West Englewood the foreclosure rate is so high there is not a lot of occupied homes on certain blocks to forms a block club. There are some block where there is 5 occupied homes and 10 vacant homes to the west and 3 occupied homes and 12 vancant homes to the east. Now we are looking for block representatives.

Comment by Tom Austin on February 24, 2010 at 10:18am

Just posted to NeighborWorks news blog some examples of how affordable housing nonprofits are making inroads with their social media. http://bit.ly/bOi4EU

Comment by Reemberto Rodiguez on February 22, 2010 at 3:31pm

Here's yet another new blog that may interest some of you as an example of how one local community is doing 'virtual conversations'... The name of the blog is "Silver Spring Speaks". It can be found HERE

Comment by Reemberto Rodiguez on January 15, 2010 at 3:22pm

Here's one example:

IMPACT Silver Spring, a local grassroots leadership program, in collaboration with Montgomery County (MD) uses a blog to keep up the enthusiasm regarding its 'door knocking' "Neighbors Campaign". See the blog at
http://neighborscampaign.wordpress.com/

Comment by Mark Robinson on December 1, 2009 at 3:49pm

Hi everyone, how is it going? Seems we need to get this discussion up and running again.

Comment by Reemberto Rodiguez on August 11, 2009 at 4:04pm

Hope to see many of us at the NeighborWorks Social Media Symposium next week!

Comment by Louis Brown Jr on August 5, 2009 at 10:20pm

Glad to join

Comment by Mary Luketich on August 4, 2009 at 3:49pm

Community engagement is getting people outside to meet their neighbors and become involved in their neighborhood. It improves quality of life, home values, safety and security, and brings people closer together.

I publish a newsletter of tips on community engagement, the Property Lines Newsletter. Its a short free weekly newsletter about building up your community by getting people involved.

Go ahead, read the last one here.

Comment by Reemberto Rodiguez on May 13, 2009 at 3:13pm

Tapping Volunteers: Up front questions to ask of the individual, the organization, and the community.

Why do people volunteer? To what end? Altruism, self interest, or a little bit of both? (Ayn Rand, are you listening?) “Take care of numero uno”, we are told. But, “love (serve) your neighbor” we are also told.

In the USofA the value of helping others is deeply rooted and has a rich history. Today, the “call to service” resonates loudly with the aging baby boomers and the younger generation. Our current economic crisis coupled with the innate willingness of both of these generational cohorts – and the rise to the Presidency of a man that clearly ‘gets it’ – seems to be a perfect storm for a ‘new age of volunteerism’. For those of us fortunate enough to be paid to think about such things and operationalize systems or create curriculum to maximize this ‘volunteer energy’, these are exciting times indeed.

More people in need. More people willing to volunteer. An understanding President… A perfect storm… What an opportunity! What excitement! What challenge!

However, before we jump in the volunteer bandwagon, we’d better think through the implications for the individual, organization, and community… Why do people volunteer? What organizational outcome can be expedited by the use of volunteers? How can volunteers weave into the fabric of the community rather than be seen as opportunistic outsiders? There are a gazillion other questions that we could ask. Three simple ones to consider include:

[1] Meaning for the individual: How meaningful should the volunteer activity be for the individual? (Are they looking to exercise their profession and/or skills ‘for free’, enrich themselves spirituality, and/or create consciousness for a cause? What is their time commitment, restrictions and/or demand/expectations? How do we ‘segment’ the volunteer pool – youth, elderly, retired, stay-at-home parent; etc. )

[2] Organizational purpose: What is the purpose of using volunteers in the organization? (Is it to alleviate a current condition – i.e. address staffing shortage; or is it to more effectively and efficiently meet a particular organizational objective? Are there internal opportunities for volunteers to get involved in systemic change – or would their participation be ‘busy work’ only? Is our purpose to ‘create consciousness’ – or is immediate resource savings driving the use of volunteers? What is the organization’s capacity to recruit, train, and supervise volunteers?)

[3] Community Context: How will the community benefit from the use of volunteers? (What types of volunteer activities already exist in our community? What is the “demand”? What is the “supply? Who are the existing ‘opportunity providers’? Are the opportunities “one time only”; do they ‘sunset’; or are they permanent and ongoing? Who controls the process? Are they willing to partner?)

The exact nature of the question is not that critical – as long as it is asked of prospective volunteers, leaders in the organization, and residents of the community. There is no right or wrong answer. If the questions are framed correctly, their answers will lead to efficient and effective use of volunteers. If the questions are not framed correctly, the use of volunteers can lead to individual frustrations, organizational loss of resources, and unmet community expectations.

So, what are other questions that should be asked?... Please provide yours. Do please indicate whether the question is of an individual, organization, or community; and, who should ask the question.) Chime in!