Get your project off the ground

Starting or getting behind a local community campaign or project is a powerful way to organise action. It shifts mindsets, lifts mood and gives your community positive goals to work towards and to commit to. 

Steps for launching your community project

• Identify your project – this could be a park clean-up, a project to repaint kerbs and road markings, a library book collection drive or anything else that contributes to the upliftment of your community by bringing more people together. Choose a project that means something to you personally and that will hold your interest for the long run.

• Spread your idea to get others involved: Put your idea to community social media groups and pages. Be clear about the objectives, intentions and what’s required from volunteers. Check out the appetite for your idea and invite people to get in touch. Connect with the people who are interested in getting involved and in committing. 

• Match your project with your capacity: Volunteers may have energy and enthusiasm to begin with but can also lose interest and commitment fast. So keep things small to begin with and don’t be tempted to keep adding to your original idea before it’s had a chance to take off. 

• Make sure everyone knows who will do what: Share tasks with volunteers. Make sure everyone knows their role and what is expected of them. Update everyone and make follow-ups so that everyone is properly prepared for the launch and execution of the project.

• Promote your community project: Use local media, social media and word of mouth to get the message out about your project. You want to be as visible as possible and build on enthusiasm and momentum. Invite the media to your launch through a press release and follow-up with a phone call.

• Execute the project: Don’t aim for perfection – just start and learn as you go along. 

• Be consistent: If your project will need ongoing attention, like a monthly or biannual event, then make sure you plan for this with updates, clear communication and by rallying volunteers (old and new) as the months go on.

• Balance flexibility with your original objectives: As the project proves to be successful, more people will have opinions and ideas they think should be included. Be open enough to take on fresh ideas but be careful to stick to your objectives and to consider your capacity to add more to your and your volunteers’ plates. 

• Celebrate, review and keep everyone updated: Celebrate your successes – committed volunteers are a treasure. Review what worked and what didn’t and be quick to make changes if needed. Update all the media and social media of your successes and invite them to future events. Include contact details and details on how to get involved. Don’t forget to tell fixlocal - we want to hear about your good work and share it with others!