I think the world should be one community. ~Neil Tennant
Cath Duncan wrote a comprehensive lessons learned report about her experience raising funds for a cause she believes in. If you want to learn more about the, challenges, and triumphs in building community and fundraising online for a good cause, this report is worth reading. . I add my thoughts on what they did right and what needs to happen next. You can find the full report here.
Engagement done right
I am all about building community. It’s what I blog about and is an integral part of my consulting practice. I am a big believer in the power of community and the transformative power of connection when communities work together to solve a problem or to support a goal. I am also a big believer, supporter and friend of Team Juggernaut. I knew that whatever they put in place would be impressive….and it was.
What was their goal?
To Raise Awareness, Funds and Hope
They set a goal to raise $45K for kidney research.
It was engagement done right.
They highlighted a few key strategies for building community. These served as learning models to determine which strategies work best and which were replicable and sustainable.
Key Lessons:
- They were not afraid to try new things. They offered multiple avenues for engagement and made it easy for people to participate in a risk tolerant environment.
- They facilitated ongoing assessment and evaluation while implementing engagement strategies. They kept their finger on the pulse of what people needed, when and where—then they provided it.
- They built a strong, collaborative, effective team. They were agile and responded quickly to feedback.
- They identified champions and leaders as the initiative was implemented and replicated more widely. They identified the Connectors-those individuals who know lots of people and like to spread the word about innovative ideas and resources- and the Salespeople- individuals with the power to persuade people to action- and got them on board.
- They engaged a wide variety of volunteers from the initial design and throughout the process.
We are all too familiar with big initiative roll outs. They are usually filled with lots of sizzle and very little steak, but even worst those things are normally not sustainable. Team Juggernaut built a pretty strong infrastructure from which to do their work. They were out to raise awareness and funds. They did something more than that— they changed our perception of kidney disease. They educated us on the issue and they engaged us in a meaningful way.
What should happen next?
Follow –up, follow-up, follow-up. Cath and her team have engaged thousands of people around a cause and raised thousands of dollars. Do not squander this moment. Now take these folks to the next level and build advocates. Continue to engage us and offer clear, easy ways for us to stay involved and invite our friends and family to participate. Make sure we see video and pics as you brave ladies walk the 100KM..Share your stories and your struggle during the next part of this journey. Help all of us feel like we are taking every step with you.
You have got us…now keep us.