By Harleigh Manley
“To provide leadership development opportunities that empower young people to create positive change. “
As members of the best young persons’ organization, how many times have you heard the above statement? Probably more than any of us can count; our mission statement is the core of what we do as members of JCI USA or Jaycees. The true question that remains after that statement is shared, HOW? How do we provide these developmental opportunities? For many of our chapters and even our state organizations the answer is almost always the same – through community impact projects.
More often than not, impact projects looks similar; Many of us host events that serve as a fundraiser for scholarships or ONTO funds to further the professional development of our members. Though our methods may differ across our great nation, two constants can be found throughout all of them. Collaboration and networking, the success of any event or organization for that matter, relies heavily on the leadership’s ability to work as a team as well as building strong partnerships with those in our communities. Although these two are seen as different aspects of planning a community impact event, they are one in the same.
When collaborating, whether it be internal or external, you must look at every aspect and angle of the situation. Are all interested parties striving towards the same goal? Do all of our vendors support the mission and vision of our organization? Is this something that will truly benefit our community, or is this something we are doing simply for the fun of it? Is this a passion project of only one member’s interests that will not be sustainable for years to come? Is this a project that will benefit our community, our chapter, and our members for the next five to ten years?
These are all things we must consider when looking at our community impact projects. While bending to the whims of a few members to host that poker run sounds like a good idea at the time, do you have members coming up in your chapter that will be able to take the committee over in coming years? Do you have the relationships built within your community to sustain the support and continue hosting the annual baseball tournament? These are all important questions to ask yourself and your chapter when considering your community impact projects.
Strong community relationships are what will continue to support these projects in years to come. Making sure that your sponsors are getting recognized for the support they give is paramount to them returning year after year. The first mistake that is often made in creating these relationships is lack of personal interaction with the business community or other organizations in your community. When asking for the support of a local business or the help of a fellow local organization the first step should always be an in-person meeting. It is far easier to say no to an email, a letter, or even a phone call than it is to say no to a real person sitting in front of you. Personal connections are the key to strong relationship building, strong relationships are the foundation of collaboration, collaboration is the foundation for a strong event, strong events are the house that builds community impact, community impact gives us the tools to be stronger leaders, and stronger leaders are the future change makers of the world.
Let’s consider the impact and its long-term sustainability when we’re building these projects and partnerships!