How to Start a Community Outreach Program

Starting a community outreach program can be personally rewarding as well as a big help to your local community in providing much needed resources and services. Outreach work is beneficial to both the recipients of the resources and services as well as to those who volunteer their time and efforts to a worthy cause.

Difficulty: Challenging

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Volunteers
• In-Kind Contributions
• Donations
• Grantwriting expertise

1. Get a group of volunteers to work with the community and find out the needs of the people in your community. Volunteer your time to meet the needs such as cleaning up the streets, working with low substandard housing.
   
   Map out a community outreach plan by meeting with the group of volunteers and deciding how much time and effort you plan on giving to the community. Write down a list of projects that need to be done and set up a plan on how to complete the projects.

2. Let people in the community know what you are doing by giving your group of volunteers a name, such as Neighbors Helping Neighbors Outreach organization. Come up with a mission statement for your outreach group and make a list of goals to accomplish for the year.
   Promote your mission and goals.
   
   Write press releases, flyers, and meet with local churches, non profits, and community officials to let them know what types of services you are providing and the work you are doing. Take pictures of each project you complete and get letters of support from peole that you have helped in your community.

3. Start a non profit organization by getting with your state government and finding out how to complete an application to start a 501c3. Write letters to obtain donations and sponsors for the work you are doing.

4. After getting donations, completing some of your goals, and obtaining a 501c3 status, write your local banking institutions to get funding through the Community Reinvestment Programs

5. Write grants to obtain funds from the Private Sector Corporate foundations and the government.

6. Use the monies from the grants, donations, and sponsors to purchase an outreach center. Conduct a Fundraiser and continue to do more community assistance projects and conduct Public Service Announcements regarding the work that you are doing. Let both local and government officials know what you are doing and continue to enlist support from faith based organizations.

Tips & Warnings

• Project Management is key in staying organized
• Find people who have a passion to help and want to make a difference in their community to volunteer
• Be prepared to work hard
• Don't sway from your mission or purpose
• Don't get discouraged if and when you get turned down for funding. Keep trying
• Keep a budget and list of expenditures

[abutaariq]

on 3/4/2009 To whom it may concern; I would just like to say thank you for the article posted about starting a outreach program. I have been thinking about this for a very long time and now I believe is the time for me to do it because I feel it in myself.