This is a brief summary of some of the minuted feedback collected at the "Next Gen Community Challenge" on July 8th, 2009 at Orange Hall.
For the purposes of this discussion, the term "next gen" was to refer to individuals between the age of 18 and 40 who aren't already involved in community leagues. In attendance were both community league executives and members of the next gen age group who self-identified as wanting to participate.
Two Questions were asked:
1. What sort of projects appeal to the next gen demographic?
2. How can Community Leagues better engage the next gen demographic?
This is a summary of the written feedback and some of the discussion that took place.
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WHAT PROJECTS APPEAL TO THE NEXT GEN?
Community league meetings are a place of work, but also a place to get to know your neighbours, to build friendships and to strengthen community bonds. Suggestions to make Community League meetings less intimidating and more fun and inclusive were:
- Having a 30 minute dessert social before the meeting for everyone to meet and socialize first. Or, invite people to stay and talk after the meeting for a potluck. Consider licensing your hall and inviting people to have beer or wine.
- Your AGM/meetings should be welcoming. Events with food and drink are less intimidating and allow for easy conversation and cross-generational bonding.
- Many requests for potlucks, sharing opportunities to bond over libations and nosh. The chance to socialize and bond over coffee or desert before a meeting would help make it less intimidating for new members to come in and share ideas about the neighbourhood.
- BBQs. Always a hit. Even in winter...
Next Gen folks are willing to volunteer, but need clearly defined volunteer positions and expectations. Ask them to volunteer, but be clear about what you are asking them to volunteer for and what their role and obligation might be. Next Gen folks typically don't have kids and can afford to be a little more socially active. They also are looking for volunteer opportunities to aid in their personal and career development. For example asking someone to volunteer as a treasurer clearly defines a portfolio but doesn't give a sense of the obligations involved by taking on the position. Having a directory or list of volunteer opportunities or tasks available in a hall and on the league website would help others to get involved.
Many Next Gen are willing to get involved and run events, but they don't know where to begin or what help is available.
- Sports
Recreational, fun, athletic events are always a draw. Regardless of the activity; Hockey, Soccer, baseball, bowls; Next Genr's are looking for ways to get involved in a fun, affordable way. Publicising your Recreation drop-in times and organizing local "Adult evening Gym Class" at your local school gymnasium are a great way to bring people together. Can your league book local schools?
Whatever it is, make it fun! Street hockey, snow sculpture contests. Sports can be available to all age groups and provide activities for restless teens too!
- Music:
It is a universal language.
Dancing, whether through swing, ball room dancing, or just moving to the beat can be a fun way to get involved.
Local music of all genres is growing in our city and performers are always looking for a great new venue. A local community hall could provide an opportunity to showcase neighbourhood talent and maybe help burgeoning artists of all ages connect to one another.
Not every event has to be a thrashing alcohol-fueled rock concert, but leagues need to be open minded about the potential for new and exciting events. As much as league events can be family oriented during the day, there might be requests to have an 18+ event at night.
- Gardens
Local gardening is igniting passions for green thumbs all over the city. Local food and local agriculture are finding supporters, driven by market uncertainty and environmental concerns about traditional agriculture. For many of the next gen folks that are renting, the opportunity to contribute to a shared community garden, or have a plot of land somewhere is an appealing way to meet neighbors and share gardening tips.
Composting can be expensive for a single individual, but can be economical and environmentally friendly when shared between a neighbourhood of friends.
- Sharing
In an effort to be more environmentally sustainable, and financially savvy, more next gen folks are looking for opportunities to share resources. Opportunities to share community resources- car sharing, BBQ sharing, Costco card sharing-- you name it-- are sought after. Opportunities to leverage community purchasing power and share resources with a neighbour are welcomed and valued. Some suggestions were:
- Car sharing
- Bike sharing
- Community Tool sharing (saws, drills, other resources that might be available)
- health plans or dental plans
- Community kitchens
- Outdoor equipment.
There are many examples of capital items that individuals might want to share or lend to one another and the league can be a great way to facilitate sharing.
Education
Leagues can be an opportunity for interesting and informative events. Professional development, networking nights, and much more can be of value to individuals who are beginning their careers. There are opportunities to teach about zoning initiatives and neighbourhood planning as well as get involved politically through focus groups and community workshops.
Next Gen folks often have many great ideas about how they would like to change their community but sometimes don't know how easy it is to get involved. Lending experience and mentorship to these folks is a great way to empower them to be active leaders in your community. Some leagues have formal mentor positions to ensure that knowledge and experience are passed on.
FUN!:
People of all ages want their community league to be fun. If you are the only person under 40 at an event it can be kind of intimidating to get to know your neighbours so the more welcoming and inclusive you can make your events, the better. Some of the suggestions were:
- Friendly community competitions
- Outdoor movie nights
- Make public facilities such as the community hall free for activities and events
- Coffee shops poetry slams/music
- More cultural events like aboriginal night
- Wine!!!
- Singles mixers
- Crafts, scrap books
- Adult game night
- Stitching, sewing, knitting
- speed dating
- pay per view games/parties
- Pub night
- Sleigh rides
- Walking/running groups
- Block Parties and other events that are not too intimidating.
- More flashy events (wine and cheeses, zombie walk, Hawaiian party)
Other tips:
One of the biggest inhibitors to involvement for young people was raising awareness that the league exists. Leagues need to work on identifying new and innovative ways of marking their communities and directing new residents to the hall or central meeting place. Building relationships with local businesses, services, and taking any opportunity to recruit new members is crucial to building the next generation of community leaders.
HOW CAN COMMUNITY LEAGUES BETTER ENGAGE THE NEXT GEN DEMOGRAPHIC?
Go Digital. Websites and digital information are a must. Online social networking tools were frequently listed as a free and easy way for community leagues to reach out to new members, organize events, and provide information. Just as 'Google' has revolutionized how we search for information online, Facebook and other similar tools like twitter or meetup.com are new tools to make it easier for people to socialize. Facebook and social media are not replacing websites, but are supplementing them and making information more interactive.
Every league should have contact information, a calendar, upcoming events, information on their hall etc. all online and updated.
Every leagues should have websites that are regularly updated, and they should have a person who regularly checks the league email. *The EFCL will train an individual how to update pages and offer a free website for a league who doesn't have one, just email communications@efcl.org.
Each league should have a Facebook group or fanpage. It is free and takes only a few minutes to set up. If someone now types in the name of their neighbourhood or league on Facebook, the group will appear, connecting them with other members and ways to get involved. For example, Pleasantview Community League has a great page that has events and a way to message group members, have discussions, share photos and media, and much more. These tools empower people to get involved and start activities or programs.
Twitter was raised as another opportunity for leagues to get the word out about upcoming events in their area. Though Twitter only has a paltry 50 million users compared to Facebook's 300 million, it is free, easy, and another way to promote your league.
The EFCL has provided, and will provide more social media workshops. *if you are interested in learning more about how to use these technologies, please email michael.janz@efcl.org
Online, maps with clearly defined boundaries should be posted as some confusion existed regarding who is a resident of which league.
Outreach
Don't give up on people just because they are young or renters. Renters often can get involved and may be volunteers for at least a couple of years. They could make many positive contributions in this time. Engaging renters should be a priority.
Newcomers may not know what leagues do or why they should join: help young people understand importance of leagues in communities
Create a "Next Gen Advisory Committee" to the Community leagues or create a board position in each league deliberately for a "Next Gen" person to help with outreach and recruitment.
General tips:
- Marketing efforts and outreach campaigns (increase)
- Communicate to the Next Gen newsletter database
- Reach out to schools and post secondary/colleges in the city of Edmonton
- Leagues should offer free memberships to students in post-secondary to increase awareness and to get volunteers.
- Each Community League should send out a welcome to new residents in their area
- Community Leagues should put up posters in bars, cafes, farmers markets and common places to tell people when the meetings are and how to get involved.
- Every community league member should go out and rush another community league member. A "Knock Your Block" strategy should be developed. Outreach is everyone’s responsibility.
- Newsletters should indicate geographic boundaries of Community Leagues
- Community leagues should have a presence at Edmonton festivals and Edmonton events (Taste of Edmonton, Street performers’ festival, heritage days)
Partnerships
Leagues should have a presence in local businesses and shopping centers. Said one individual: "If my grocery store sold or promoted community league events I would know about them."
- EFCL should present at Pecha Kucha
- EFCL should build relationship with Edmonton Real Estate Board
- collaborate with resource centers and libraries
- Promote flexible, transferable benefits around the city
- Improve connections to community league buildings and management of condo associations
- Target condo boards
Mentorship
- Job descriptions should be clearly displayed on websites for Community League executives. Each position should also set up a mentorship program so that anyone who is interested may have the chance to learn how the leagues work and what volunteer jobs entail. That way there is also a sustainable supply of volunteers.
- Why do you have to buy a membership? Should everyone be a member? Are the benefits of CL are not currently in line with 18-40 year old lifestyle?
- Community leagues are political, but do they have too much politics?
- Some of the old executives may have a set agenda and may not want new individuals in their leagues.
- Build awareness of community league issues, new residents may not know the history.
- Give young people responsibility: make them community league executives to show them how easy it is