Activity: Start with who you know!

Complete worksheet

Think about who you already know! It is helpful to reflect on what resources you and others have – sometimes people do not realize what they have until they are asked about it! Take about 15 minutes to complete the Community Resources Worksheet for your community as best as you can.

Who to leverage

Once you have completed an activity like the one here, you might want to have a conversation about who to leverage and when. Sometimes you will want to have a broad approach, reaching out to as many folks as possible, and sometimes you will need a targeted and personal approach to get what you need. Consider the topic, people served, and who are you trying to reach. Who can bring it all together?

Stay up-to-date

To make the most of your rural community networks, it is helpful to stay up on where people are at. It is not unusual for nonprofit staff to move to other organizations.

Some strategies for staying up-to-date include:

• Inviting people to your board meetings
• Providing disability awareness sessions or workshops
• Attending other meetings such as the city council; Grow, Gather, and Gab meetings; NAACP; 100 Black Men of Rome; Latinx groups; NAMI, Chamber of Commerce; or energy companies

Other opportunities

In addition to this activity, you may want to consider applying for opportunities for raising awareness or donations such as being selected as Nonprofit of the Month by a local business.