Section 2. Promoting Participation Among Diverse Groups

 

Groucho Marx once said, "I'd never join any organization that would invite me to be a member." Well, we'd want Groucho to know he was welcome to participate if the work mattered to him. That's because strong community efforts benefit from people with a wide range of experiences, perspectives, skills, and community connections. And that's what this section is about.

What does it mean to identify potential participants among diverse groups?

Who are the potential members or participants in your group or organization? The answer may be broader than you first think. Many people in your community could contribute something useful if the issue is relevant to them, the role is meaningful, and participation is reasonably accessible.

Of course, you probably don't want or need everyone in the community to join your organization. Different people may also prefer different kinds of involvement: long-term membership, a short-term project, occasional advice, representation from a partner organization, or another form of participation. The important thing is to keep your eyes open to all parts of the community rather than repeatedly turning to the same familiar circle.

This section will help explain why. Next, it will show you how to identify different sectors, networks, and perspectives within a community and then begin preparing a broad and diverse list of people and organizations that may have a meaningful connection to your work.

 

 

Why identify potential participants among diverse groups?

• Because involving people from different parts of the community can help your group better understand the community it hopes to serve or influence and can strengthen relationships and support.
• Because people with different experiences, knowledge, and perspectives may raise questions or possibilities that others have not considered, which can improve decisions.
• Because broader participation can bring additional skills, knowledge, lived experience, resources, and community relationships to the collective effort.
• Because the connections made in a diverse, multi-sector group can lead to new relationships and collaborations. Those relationships may spark community initiatives that might not otherwise have developed.

When do you identify potential participants?

Anytime. But it's an especially good time when you are:

• Starting a membership or participation effort
• Running a campaign or community initiative
• Wanting to broaden participation, relationships, or representation

Participation has no single season. It's useful to think regularly about who is involved, whose perspectives may be missing, and where new relationships could strengthen the work. The best time to start may be now.

How do you identify potential participants?

The basic process has two steps:

• Understand the different sectors, communities, networks, and perspectives connected with your community and issue
• Identify potential participants, partners, or contacts within those areas

Identifying people is only one part of the process. The next step is respectful outreach: explaining the purpose of the effort, listening to people's interests and concerns, and inviting them to participate in ways that are meaningful and realistic for them. Not everyone you identify will want to join, and that's okay. Strategies for reaching out to potential participants are covered in the next sections of this chapter, Writing Letters to Potential Members and Making Personal Contact with Potential Members.

What are the different sectors of a community?

Communities are made up of many overlapping institutions, organizations, networks, neighborhoods, identity groups, informal relationships, and individuals. One useful planning method is to think about these as different sectors of community life. These categories are not rigid, and many people and organizations belong to more than one.

Think of sectors as pieces of the pie. Here's one way to slice them.

Social institutions

These are major institutions and systems that influence community life. Depending on the community, they may include:

• Schools and educational institutions, including public schools, private schools, colleges, universities, vocational and technical programs, and other learning organizations
• Faith communities and religious organizations, including churches, mosques, synagogues, temples, interfaith groups, and other communities organized around faith or spiritual life
• Businesses and employers, including local businesses, major employers, worker-owned businesses, business associations, and chambers of commerce
• Media and information networks, including local newspapers, radio and television stations, digital news outlets, community newsletters, nonprofit media, and other trusted sources of community information
• Government -- including town, city, county, tribal, regional, or other relevant government agencies and public bodies

These are several important sectors, but not the only ones. Should some or all of them be involved in your group? That depends on your purpose. Ask what perspectives, responsibilities, knowledge, and resources are relevant to the issue rather than assuming that institutional status alone should guarantee a place at the table. There may also be other institutions important in your community. Add them to the list.

Other common organizations

Many communities also include smaller organizations, networks, and associations that may be important to your work. Examples include:

• Clinics and community health organizations
• Childcare and early childhood organizations
• Cultural, ethnic, immigrant, and community associations
• Hobby and interest groups
• Hospitals and health systems
• Housing authorities, tenant organizations, and housing groups
• Libraries
• Neighborhood groups and resident associations
• Parent, caregiver, and school organizations
• Professional associations
• Professional, technical, and vocational schools
• Recreational and sports groups
• Religious and spiritual groups
• Service organizations and civic associations
• Social service and human service organizations
• Veterans organizations
• Disability organizations and accessibility advocates
• Youth-led organizations and student groups
• Labor organizations and worker associations

Specialized groups

There may also be specialized organizations or informal networks in or near your community that have knowledge, experience, or connections related to your cause. Which ones matter will depend on your group's purpose.

For example, suppose that:

Your group is interested in:	Then useful groups or partners might include:
Adolescent recreation	Parks and recreation departments Youth organizations and youth leaders Coaches and sports organizations Schools and after-school programs Local health clubs and gyms
Wildlife conservation	Conservation commissions and environmental organizations School and university biology or environmental science programs Hunting, fishing, outdoor recreation, and conservation groups Outdoor stores and recreation businesses Tribal, land-management, or other groups with relevant environmental knowledge
Mental health	Community mental health centers Mental health and behavioral health organizations Provider and professional associations Peer-led, family, advocacy, and support organizations People with relevant lived experience who choose to participate

 Some specialized groups may not be very visible in your community or may operate informally. Ask community members and trusted partners where people with relevant interests or experience connect. Finding the right groups may take time, but it can broaden your understanding of the community and strengthen your effort.

Individual community members

Finally, there may be individual community members you know -- or whom others can introduce you to -- who are interested in what you are doing and may want to participate. They may bring lived experience, local knowledge, relationships, skills, or perspectives that aren't captured by organizational categories.

Remember that people don't need to hold a title or formally represent an organization to make a valuable contribution. At the same time, no one person should automatically be treated as representing an entire demographic group, neighborhood, or community.

These are useful starting points for thinking about the different parts of a community. But eventually, you need to move from broad categories to specific organizations, networks, and people. So how do you identify them?

How can I find these names?

You probably already know some people and organizations connected with the issue. Those relationships are valuable, and you don't need to start from scratch. Once you've exhausted the contacts you already know, communities offer many additional sources of information.

The sources that make sense for you will depend on the purpose of your group, the size and structure of your community, and the time and resources you have available. Here are some possibilities:

• Online and community directories. Search local government directories, chambers of commerce, nonprofit directories, professional associations, organizational websites, community-resource databases, neighborhood websites, and other reliable sources. Browsing categories related to your issue can also trigger ideas about organizations or professions you had not considered.
• Local community guides and resource directories. Libraries, local governments, neighborhood associations, community foundations, universities, and civic organizations may maintain current guides to local organizations, services, and institutions.
• Human-service and community-resource networks. United Ways, 211 services, local health departments, community foundations, coalitions, and other coordinating organizations may maintain directories of local services and organizations. Some communities also offer specialized or multilingual directories.
• Libraries. Public librarians and other library staff often know a great deal about local organizations, public records, community events, databases, and other information sources. Libraries can also help you locate reliable information without assuming that every useful contact can be found through a general internet search.
• Community events and meetings. Public meetings, neighborhood events, fairs, conferences, workshops, cultural events, and other gatherings can help you learn which people and organizations are already active around an issue.
• Social media and community communication networks. Local online groups, organizational pages, newsletters, listservs, and other community forums may help identify active organizations and publicly visible community leaders. Use public information thoughtfully and don't assume that someone's online activity means they want to be contacted privately.

There are also specialized public or professional directories that may help identify organizations or appropriate public contacts.

• Public information about elected officials, public boards, agencies, and other government contacts
• Publicly listed parent, family, school, or youth organizations rather than private information about individual families
• Neighborhood associations, tenant groups, homeowner associations, and other publicly listed community organizations
• Professional directories and licensing-board information for occupations such as physical therapists, electricians, architects, health professionals, or other specialists when their expertise is relevant

Use personal information responsibly. A list being legally available or technically public doesn't automatically mean every use of it will feel appropriate to the people named. When possible, contact people through organizational or professional channels, ask for introductions, or invite organizations to share your opportunity with their own members rather than collecting unnecessary personal information.

Local journalism can also be useful because it helps you understand what is happening in the community now. Newspapers, news websites, community newsletters, local radio and television, and other reliable outlets may identify new organizations, public events, leadership changes, neighborhood efforts, businesses, public meetings, or people working on issues related to yours.

Local news can also help you understand the context around potential participants -- what projects they are involved in, what issues they have discussed publicly, and what community developments may affect your work. Use that information to learn about the community, not to make unsupported assumptions about what someone believes or whether they will join you.

There are plenty of possible sources. Before leaving this section, let's mention two especially important ones:

• Ask partner organizations to make introductions or share your invitation. Rather than borrowing or trading personal contact lists, ask trusted partners whether they can introduce you to appropriate people or distribute information through their own networks.
• Ask friends, colleagues, participants, and community partners. You can ask, "Who has experience with this issue?" "Whose perspective are we missing?" "What organization should we talk with?" or "Who would be a good person to ask about this?" Sometimes they may also be willing to make an introduction.

Making Your Contact List

Once you have identified useful sources, begin assembling a working contact list. Record only the information you reasonably need for outreach -- for example, the person's or organization's name, role, organizational contact information, why the contact may be relevant, who already has a relationship with them, and any appropriate notes about outreach.

The task may sound simple, but doing it thoughtfully takes time. Set aside enough time to make the list accurate, useful, and respectful. Here are some tips:

• Be broad at first. Consider more possibilities than you will ultimately contact. You can narrow the list later based on relevance and the needs of the effort.
• Cast a wide net. Don't prejudge an organization simply because it isn't an obvious partner. Ask whether there may be a genuine connection between its interests and your work and give people an opportunity to decide for themselves.
• Get details as needed. Sometimes you may know the organization but not the appropriate contact person. Record the organization first, then use its website, public directory, general office, or a trusted introduction to identify the right person.
• Use a system appropriate to the size and sensitivity of your list. A shared spreadsheet, contact-management system, database, or another secure organizational tool can help you sort contacts, assign outreach, record follow-up, and keep information current. Limit access to people who actually need it and avoid storing unnecessary personal information.
• Follow community news and networks. Pay attention to local journalism, newsletters, public meetings, community calendars, organizational announcements, and other sources that can help you identify new organizations, leaders, partnerships, and emerging issues. Save useful links or notes rather than relying only on paper clippings.
• Prioritize your outreach thoughtfully. Consider which perspectives are missing, which relationships are especially relevant, what skills or knowledge the group needs, which communities are most affected by the issue, and where participation could meaningfully improve the work.

You may find it useful to organize contacts into outreach stages -- for example, people to contact first, people to contact later, and possibilities that require more information. Avoid ranking people simply by prestige or by how much you "want" them. The priority should reflect the needs of the work, the importance of affected-community participation, existing relationships, and the likelihood that the invitation is relevant to them.

Keep in mind that names, positions, organizations, and contact information change. Review your list regularly and remove information you no longer need. Building a useful contact list will take time, but a thoughtful list can make outreach much more organized.

Your contact list should support relationship-building, not become a general-purpose database for any future use. If you collected someone's information for participation outreach, don't automatically add that person to fundraising, marketing, or other communication lists they would not reasonably expect. Respect requests not to be contacted and follow any applicable organizational policies or legal requirements.

Next Steps

Of course, a list is just a list. The people and organizations on it may know little or nothing about your effort, and identifying them doesn't mean they will or should become members.

The next step is relationship-building. Reach out thoughtfully, explain why you believe the issue may be relevant to them, listen to their interests and concerns, and be clear about what participation could involve. Some people may want to become active members; others may participate in a specific project, offer advice, connect you with someone else, or decide not to become involved at all.

Good outreach requires thought and planning, but it also requires respect for people's choices. The goal is not simply to turn names on a list into members. It is to create meaningful opportunities for participation and to build relationships that can strengthen both the organization and the community. The next two sections, Writing Letters to Potential Members and Making Personal Contact with Potential Members, discuss how to begin that process.