Community groups are invariably established with the best of intentions. They want to bring together people of faith, or people with a shared desire to learn or to indulge in their hobbies and interests. It could also be a mutual love of local or national heritage that brings a community together. 

The unfortunate reality is that good intentions can’t do everything that such an organisation needs. Below are some important management tips for community organisations:

1. Nothing Can Happen Without Insurance

Insurance for community, education, faith, care & heritage organisations is not a suggestion, it’s a must. Your good intentions in setting up your organisation do not make you impervious to the many potential risks that you face. For example, community organisations often hold events for children and the elderly, two very high-risk groups when it comes to safety issues and other problems.

Any education, faith, care or heritage-loving group that is working with the public needs to be fully insured. The more they reach out and try to interact, the more very real exposure to legal liability they always have. That’s just a reality they have to deal with. 

2. Engage and Communicate with Membership

Hard financial matters aside, another important thing to do is connect and engage with your membership both existing and potential. Organisations live or die on being able to attract new members to replenish those who leave because they move away, grow too old or infirm, or even just lose their interest or passion in something.

Good engagement begins online these days. Promotion of your activities and meetings via social media (see more below) is a good first step. As you establish a membership, you need to keep them informed with email newsletters, regular meetings or activities, and other things that keep everyone connected and engaged. Any gaps in the program can cause links to break away from the chain.

3. Actively Promote Your Organisation

If you have a strong organically formed following online, then promotion of your organisation is as simple as posting news and updates on Facebook and Instagram and then asking your followers to share them. If you’re a bit short on followers right now, then it’s a good idea to maintain a promotion/advertising budget to help grow your local following. Target your ads to your local area and push them out to a wider audience. 

Don’t forget to use some old-fashioned methods here and there if they apply to your community. Do people still receive church newsletters or local newspapers? Partner with them to promote your activities and what you do in the community. These methods don’t have to cost any money and can get some much-needed eyeballs onto your latest information.

4. Promote Inclusion and Diversity

Even a well-meaning community organisation can become more like a clique when it ignores the importance of being inclusive. Reach out to everyone in your community and be sure to make a point of promoting inclusivity. It will mean casting a wider net in your promotion and advertising, but that can only be a good thing.

This isn’t about ticking boxes or filling quotas, but about creating community organisations that are more reflective of the real, wider community where you are. Also remember that diversity and inclusion doesn’t just refer to skin colour, but also faith, professional background, socio-economic status, education level, age and more.

5. Organise Events

Finally, if you really want to keep the heart of your organisation beating, you need to organise events that bring people together in solidarity and fun. It doesn’t have to be anything fancy. It could just be a barbecue, or a community picnic. You could hire out a swimming pool venue and invite members to enjoy the facility privately for an afternoon, perhaps while running an event that raises money to support that community pool, or another charity. The scope is potentially endless.