Tips to Gain Support from Families + Stakeholders in Your Community

Promoting Your Program Increase Participation

OVERVIEW

Messaging is important for every aspect of a mentoring program, from securing funding to recruiting mentors and mentees. When promoting the program to families, it’s especially important to use intentional, strengths-based language and make sure that you’re educating everyone about the goals and benefits of your program. Here are some tips to help you gain support from families and other stakeholders in the community.

TIPS TO GAIN SUPPORT FROM FAMILIES + STAKEHOLDERS IN YOUR COMMUNITY

1. Be careful of the language you use when promoting the program. Avoid terms like “at-risk” or “in need.”

2. When profiling your mentees, don’t talk about deficits – poverty, fractious families, etc. – and rather focus on strengths – potential, hopes, and dreams.

3. Be aware of the images you use in your materials.

4. Hold orientation meetings for parents or caregivers and the youth. This can be done in schools, community centers, at PTA meetings, back-to-school events, or your conference room. Don’t single out a specific population to invite to these orientations. Make the event fun, and provide resources.

5. Re-frame your message to change the conversation around the population you serve. For example, if you serve teenage parents, frame your materials to talk about resourcefulness and how these young people can be great parents with the necessary resources and supports.

6. Give youth plenty of leadership opportunities within the program, and help them develop leadership and community service skills outside of the program. When people see the great things the youth in your programs can do, they’ll want to join too!

7. Broadcast your successes, and those of your youth.

8. Give parents as much opportunity as they want to participate in or contribute to the program.

9. Enlist youth and parents as ambassadors to the program,

10. Get your board members to promote the program in your community.