Community Engagement & Outreach Coordinator V

Job Description

Job Description

TITLE:  Community Outreach & Coordinator  VISTA

SPONSORING ORGANIZATION:  The Sanneh Foundation (TSF)

GOAL STATEMENT: The Sanneh Foundation (TSF) is a 501(c)(3) serving the various needs of Minnesota's low-income youth and their families through free youth programming, food pantries, and job training opportunities. The Community Outreach Coordinator VISTA will increase the organization’s capacity by developing a Sanneh Engagement Committee and staff engagement strategy.  By leading a crowdsourcing project to capture details from TSF staff, improving engagement internal communication systems, staff will be empowered to support community engagement, the VISTA will create pathways for TSF staff to better foster new partnerships and an increase new-to-Sanneh low-income participants to participate in TSF programs and improve their long-term economic stability. 

Objective 1: Learn and gain an in-depth understanding of the mission and services offered by TSF, the overlapping needs of various departments, and the specific populations served

• Step 1: Participate in the AmeriCorps VISTA Virtual Member Orientation and TSF’s onboarding orientation.  

• Step 2: Review existing outreach materials, including standard operating procedures (SOPs) for tabling, talking points for different departments, and previous outreach guides, including reviewing drafted Engagement Committee recommendations.

• Step 3: Shadow current staff at community events to observe existing engagement strategies and identify opportunities for growth.

• Step 4: Observe each program and sub-program registration process and membership tutorials on-site with community members. 

• Step 5: Meet with the to assess current gaps in community engagement and event planning and identify a SMART work plan for the year based on VAD.

• Step 6: Assess internal systems for tracking engagement opportunities and post-engagement reflections (Monday.com, Google Workspace & Drive).

• Step 7: Establish goals for partnership development, including deadlines and milestones. Identify professional development resources to increase knowledge related to community engagement and partnership development.

• Step 8: Assess and review the current network of local community partners and identify areas of opportunity to create and expand partnerships.

Objective 2: Refine and build out a Sanneh community engagement committee framework focused on improving documentation of and strategies for tabling and events with a goal of increasing program enrollment, recruiting volunteers, and strengthening relationships with local organizations, schools, and stakeholders

• Step 1: Review community outreach committee planning documents developed by previous VISTA and TSF staff members. 

• Step 2: Observe protocols for scheduling, agenda preparation, meeting notes, and follow-up communications for Engagement Committee meetings. Facilitate and gather feedback for improvements and new approaches to protocols as they are implemented.

• Step 3: Develop a comprehensive community outreach plan specifically designed to increase enrollment in programs such as after-school educational programs, free summer camps, and workforce development job training opportunities.

• Step 4: Access and review the current state of mapping new and existing partner relationships with local organizations, community leaders, and neighborhood stakeholders by the Engagement Committee and TSF staff to ensure ongoing support for Sanneh’s programs and ease of information sharing between programs.

• Step 5: Connect with individual TSF staff to onboard and explain the partnership mapping project and Engagement Committee roles. Document questions and areas of additional training needed for future new staff and volunteers.

• Step 6: Project-manage the ongoing collection of partnership information, context, and details to include in the mapping project. Review emails and referrals and enter information into the tracking system.

• Step 7: Collaborate on researching the best Customer Relationship Management (CRM) system to transition into and host partnership and engagement contacts long-term. 

• Step 8: Lead migration of information from initial tracking system to CRM. Learn the system and train TSF staff and VISTAs on the new CRM.

• Step 9: Provide regular reports to leadership on outreach efficacy, community engagement levels, and program enrollment numbers to ensure continuous improvement. 

• Step 10: Monitor and identify areas to improve systems for tracking outreach metrics and communication effectiveness, focused on user experience and feedback from Engagement Committee members.

• Step 11: Create or update templates, checklists, and documentation to ensure events and programs can be replicated sustainably

• Step 12: Draft an outline of a new community partner CRM training handbook and remaining areas of need for documentation.

Objective 3: Design and pilot internal training methodologies and resources for Sanneh staff and volunteers to more effectively recruit and enroll community members and youth in TSF programs and understand post-event engagement and follow-up systems and procedures.

• Step 1: Connect and shadow volunteer program leaders (Volunteer Manager and Volunteer  Engagement VISTA), identify highest traffic touchpoints amongst TSF programs as areas of potential engagement opportunities.

• Step 2: Identify and learn existing notable TSF partnerships and cultivate relationships with local businesses and community partners that have connections to families, seniors, and young adults interested in TSF Programming.

• Step 3: Research best practices and recommend strategies to improve community engagement and increase program visibility for youth, parents, senior citizens and other demographics.

• Step 4: Summarize findings of observed challenges and successful strategies for engaging community members at events and follow up protocols and roles and responsibilities after event.

• Step 5: Collaborate with our Data & Evaluation and Compliance team to create measures to evaluate whether outreach strategies are increasing participation and resources;

• Step 6: Establish pilot post-event engagement protocol including a chain of communication follow-up guide that is understood by TSF staff and volunteers (who contacts whom and how after the event, how and when do contacts get added to mailing list, etc).

• Step 7: Compile Frequently Asked Questions from events and interactions with the community for placement on the TSF Website and in preparation for AI enrollment support in future.

• Step 8: Finalize and polish reusable outreach templates and partner-engagement materials & infographics. Create complimentary scripts for volunteers and TSF staff to use when at events and outreach opportunities.

• Step 9: Train designated staff and prepare sustainability or transition materials so that the systems can continue after the VISTA completes service.