Dear Charlene,
This is a little beyond the scope of Ask and Advisor, but I will try to help.
First, there is an effort that might be similar enough to serve as a guide for you. You can read about it here: https://ctb.ku.edu/en/community-stories/mending_fences
If this does not help you, I suggest reading about some of the skills under "Learn a Skill" and reading our approach in Chapters 1 and 2. Then I recommend reading Chapters 30-35:
ORGANIZING FOR EFFECTIVE ADVOCACY
Information on advocacy principles, advocacy research, providing education, direct action campaigns, media advocacy, and responding to opposition.
But our general recommendation is to get as many people cooperating with you as possible. As you describe, there are many potential communication channels to get residents involved. Are you or someone else living in the building? I have lived in condos in which fliers were slipped under our doors to get people involved in the Board and elections. If there is a Board manual, you could start there on getting a communications resolutions in front of the Board.
Longer term, it seems that you have to engage additional collaborators, which are the building management and residents. Together, perhaps you can decide on the best form of communication is the one that the target audience will notice, read (or watch or listen to), and engage with. As the residents what forms of communication typically work best? Do people in the building notice flyers or posters? Do you have an internal, unit-wide newsletter or forum that could be used for this purpose? Does your building use email, and will people read it? If you have a weekly unit meeting, could you use some or all of the time to make an announcement? It may be that different people in your unit would respond better to different forms of communication. Door-to-door vs. fliers, etc. If so, it’s ok to use more than one approach to ensure everyone receives the information.
Of course, all of the above suggestions should take available time and resources into consideration. If you are short on either, that will help you narrow down your list of possible communication plans.
But getting the building or services management involved is crucial. Remember that the people that make up the organization. If there are problems they probably already know about them. If you approach the Board in a collaborative vs. confrontational spirit, they will be more likely to accept the requests and be willing to work with you to identify and implement solutions. For more information on communication planning, you might want to review some of the materials in Chapter 6 Section 1, “Developing a Plan for Communication.”
We hope this information is at least helpful for getting you started. If you have a specific question about a Chapter or a Toolkit after looking them over, please get back to us!
Good luck!
Ask an Advisor
