Tip Sheet #1: Motivating People
What often differentiates an effective and responsive neighborhood group from less effective ones, are the ways that the organization communicates. Here are some ideas for tools you can use. Choose the ones that will work best for you—and select a variety to reach more people in your neighborhood group.
Community Values
- Sponsor a town meeting to create a vision and build commitment to it
- Be pro-active instead of expecting the government to do it for you
- Build leadership and empower people
- Listen, listen, listen
- Ask why, why, why
- Invite a community police officer to discuss the benefits of knowing your neighbors
- Let neighbors know you are one of them, not a professional organizer, and that you have the same concerns that they do
- Let them know your experience is that there are far more good people out there than bad
- Give neighbors ownership of the problems as well as ownership of the good things
- Build relationships among different groups in a neighborhood - churches, PTA’s, or local businesses
- Develop questionnaires to find out what neighbors want
- Hold community conclaves to determine the results of the survey, then create an action plan
Strategies for Initial Involvement
- Use a meeting topic that attracts a crowd, even if your ultimate goal is slightly different
- Gather donations of food or clothing for a free distribution center
- Make up a flyer and get kids to help pass them out to each housing unit
- Door prizes and food
- Provide free child care with snacks and activities - ask teens to help
- Everybody brings one person to a meeting
- Fire up neighbors with free food
- Pay a small stipend for gas and time for attending meetings. When word gets around, be ready to dig deep
- Get kids involved and the parents will come
- Use recorded telephone messages to inform members about important issues
- Make sure people in the community know about events in the community - store openings, school events, etc.
- Tap into the informal networks that exist - e.g. the guy who fixes bikes, the porch where seniors gather. Get those recognized leaders to promote their issues through the neighborhood group
- Start with the barking dog rather than the corner crack house. First things first - move up to larger tasks and goals.
- Personally invite people to join committees - don’t wait for volunteers
- Focus on smaller sections of the neighborhood to encourage involvement
- Create a group identity within the community as an entity that is working on issues
- Call people by name and make introductions for them, to make them feel comfortable and valued
- Use media, radio, print or public access TV to report on group activities