The movement can only be deemed successful if it has a strong community around it. Without people, it can never reach its goals. And communities can only be vital and sustainable if people are active and engaged.
Community outreach is essential in creating a civically engaged society, a prerequisite for a vibrant democratic world.
At Qela, our mission is to help organizations worldwide build strong communities using innovative volunteer management tools.
Earlier, we discussed civic engagement and its importance in our blog article, "What is Civic Engagement and Why is it Important?"
What is Community Outreach?
Community outreach is a process of communicating with people in the communities a grassroots movement focuses on to raise awareness about an issue or provide necessary support or services.
Community outreach is one of the most effective ways for organizations and grassroots movements to connect to underrepresented populations and involve them and their issues in their missions. Outreach activities can include educational programs, public events, workshops, or direct services such as health screenings or legal assistance.
Tip: Community outreach works well only when it is a part of a bigger comprehensive campaign. To make sure the impact of your movement’s actions is long-term and sustainable, it is essential to use the campaign-oriented approach in your everyday life. We talk more about how and why it’s important that grassroots movements build their agenda based on campaign cycles in our article Campaign-Based Planning Approach for Grassroots Organizations.
Why is Community Outreach Important?
Community outreach serves as a bridge between an organization and the community it is trying to help. It ensures that the voices of the people from those communities are heard and influence the decisions that are made on their behalf. It also guarantees that the resources are allocated to the areas that need the most attention.
Community outreach fosters an environment of mutual understanding and trust. Because of this, the organization has a more profound awareness of the concerns, values, and priorities of the people it serves, which makes the work more effective and enjoyable for all stakeholders.
In Qela, we offer easy-to-use solutions for community-oriented feedback and research. Using the quests “Feedback” or “Survey”, you can quickly gather opinions or stats from your supporters on any matter interesting to you.
It is crucial to integrate feedback-gathering into all stages of your grassroots campaign. That is the only way to ensure that you are moving in the right direction and your community is still on board with you. That is why we recommend including a feedback-oriented quest in every milestone of your campaign. Learn more about our methodology here: https://www.qela.app/
Community outreach empowers individuals and groups by providing access to information, resources, and opportunities. It encourages civic participation and increases community members' awareness.
Lastly, it ensures a long-term impact through increased collaboration, resource sharing, and sustained community-driven solutions to challenges.
Foundations of a Great Community Outreach
Community Needs Come First
It is called community outreach for a reason. If you make sure that at the center of your community outreach strategy is the desire to learn about the actual needs of your movement's beneficiaries, your chances of organizational success are going to be much higher.
Inclusivity
One of the principles of community outreach is ensuring that all voices in the community are uplifted and heard, especially the ones that tend to be underrepresented. This way, you will ensure that your movement's efforts are based on the needs of the whole community, not just the most privileged members of it.
Sustainability
The true success of any community outreach program is establishing long-term self-sufficiency in the community. While it is crucial to address immediate issues—for example, food shortages or housing crises—it is essential to make sure your efforts also focus on the underlying roots of the surface-level problems. Understanding the reason behind existing issues will also help you predict the future needs of the community, guaranteeing the sustainability and success of the whole operation.
One of the best ways to ensure the sustainability of your movement is to allow its next-generation leaders to emerge from within. For that, you need to invest in educating your community about the issues you work with and create an environment that allows skill-sharing and growth. In Qela, we offer digital solutions for gamified education. You can organize your supporters’ education online — from creating interactive quizzes to hosting online lectures and workshops. Sign up for a free 14-day trial here: https://www.qela.app/
Conclusion
Community outreach should be an essential part of any grassroots movement’s program to ensure it is focusing its efforts on the relevant issues of its beneficiaries. A great community outreach effort puts its community’s interests first, focuses on creating sustainable self-sufficiency within it, and makes sure it is as inclusive as possible.
In Qela, we help our clients build the most effective outreach strategy with our gamified tools focused on volunteer retention and engagement. Currently, we offer free access to our volunteer management software to nonprofits that have <100 supporters. Learn more about us here: https://www.qela.app/