STRATEGIC FOCUS #2 – COMMunity
Facilitating participation and collaboration.
To create opportunities for co-creation of our programming we will launch a community outreach campaign to engage our peers, seek out feedback to inform our offerings and build the foundation to restructure Better to Speak as a cooperative membership organization.
GOALS
Develop an intentional partner journey for our peers and community stakeholders– including contributing writers, podcast guests, interviewees, clients, volunteers, and the community at large – with frequent opportunities for community feedback for our learning and growth.
Explore alternative pathways for ownership and governance of Better to Speak to ultimately establish a cooperative, membership-based organization for Black youth storytellers and changemakers.
TACTICS
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Intro + Discovery and Community Hours Sessions
Intro + Discovery sessions are dedicated space and time for Better to Speak and our partners to meet and build community before getting into the actual demands of the work. Here, we focus on each others’ goals and how we can co-create mutually beneficial outcomes.
Community Hours sessions are dedicated space and time set aside for 1:1s, random check-ins and introductions with our broader community.
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Partner Briefs
Using Notion, we will create public-facing pages with comprehensive information about our programs and their goals for our partners to use for their reference to understand what we’re asking of their time, energy, voice and story.
As of March 2022, we have these pages set up for podcast guests, The Right to Read partners and contributing writers.
See an example below!
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Feedback Forms
We will gauge community stakeholder feedback and satisfaction on our external programming and internal processes to inform our learning and growth and evolve Better to Speak to have a culture rooted in peer co-creation of content and advocacy programs.
We will use that feedback to reassess our strategy and plans monthly, quarterly and annually, and update/refine them if needed.
GET INVOLVED
Here’s how you can support our community-building goals in 2024:
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Support our peer community outreach efforts to connect with young Black folks as a…
Storyteller: Contribute written pieces to Stories by Better to Speak on a regular basis with a column or series!
Changemaker: Contribute to on-the-ground organizing and outreach by hosting text banking, teach-ins or other events of your choice!
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Reach out to join a growing community of young Black leaders ages 18-30 who are working to transform silence into language and action across disciplines, industries and walks of life; and provide key insight on what types of programming and offerings from Better to Speak would most benefit you and your work!
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We’re seeking out Black folks ages 13-18 and 30+ to advise the Better to Speak team on its current and future programming.
If you have lived, professional or academic experience with a particular social issue or experience leading advocacy and/or media organizations, please reach out!
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Make a one-time or monthly donation to support our community engagement work! This money will go towards supporting our team and maintaining our operations.