What can you do?
Large and small cities across the country are looking for answers to resolve local issues. Oftentimes, leadership is disconnected from the reality of what is happening on the ground. How do you, as a resident or small business owner make your voice heard?
Tip:
Form a local coalition of your neighbors, friends, and anyone who seeks positive change in the community.
Here’s how to do it:
Make a list of people to invite. Bigger is not necessarily better. Invite those who are passionate about the issue and who can bring constructive input to the meeting.
Make an Agenda. What topics are most important to your community? Homelessness, Poverty, Safety? Pick one topic and build upon it. Free Event Marketing websites like Eventbrite make it easy to track your invitations, create sign-in sheets, and track attendance.
Invite subject matter expert(s) to present to your group. County and regional government employees work specifically on community projects and can help educate your group about statistics, trends and provide contacts and resources to support your effort.
Make sure you involve city leadership and keep them informed of your efforts. This should be a mutually-beneficial, collaborative effort, not a whining and gripe session. If it becomes the latter, nothing will get accomplished.
Send out invitations 1 month before the meeting, and follow up with reminders. Make sure you have your presenters and meeting location confirmed before you send the invites.
Be organized and don't waste anyone's time by getting off-topic. Identify a facilitator who can keep the meeting on track and interesting. Use interactive teaching techniques to keep everyone engaged. For instance, hold meetings outdoors or organize group observations about the issues in the community.
Be gracious and, if you are able, serve light snacks.
Agree on Next Steps and Action Items and follow up. Schedule meetings on a quarterly basis. This will give you time to organize the next meeting. Send out updates as needed, in-between meetings.
If you need help in organizing your Community Event, please email me at gail@carlson-and-associates.com
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