1. [DATE]
Collegiate
Volunteer
Community
Outreach Plan
A c o m m u n i t y o u t r e a c h p l a n t h a t
u t i l i z e s c o m m u n i c a t i o n s & c o n t e n t
m a r k e t i n g m e t h o d s f o r s t u d e n t s
i n t e r n i n g f o r N Y C P a r k s f o r e v e n t
c o o r d i n a t i o n & v o l u n t e e r r e c r u i t m e n t .
Acknowledgements
Works Cited
Miller, Kivi Leroux. Content Marketing for Nonprofits. San
Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 2013. Print.
Peterson, Dane. “Recruitment Strategies for Encouraging
Participation in Corporate Volunteer Programs.” Journal of
Business Ethics. Vol. 49, No. 4. (2004): 371-86.
Ward, Kevin. “Cultivating Public Service Motivation through
AmeriCorps Service: A Longitudinal Study.” Public
Administrative Review. Vol. 74. No. 1. (2014): 114-25
Thapa, Brijesh & Gage, Richard. “Volunteer Motivations and
Constraints Among College Students: Analysis of the
Volunteer Function Inventory and Leisure Constraints Models.”
Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly. (2011).
Some of thisinformation was collectedfromfirst
hand experiences of coordinating an event and
community outreach.
Several professors and campus organization
members have guidedand helpedthroughout this
learning experience.
The definitionsused in thisguide are from the work
cited,Content Marketing for Nonprofits.

2. LidijaPiper Urban StudiesServiceLearning Practicum Semester Project: Spring 2015
[DATE]
72
As your deadline approaches, continue to repeat your main
messages over different channels & rephrasing it because
it will take multiple times for the information to register for
your prospective volunteers.
NYC Parks may have a tool such as a webpage that collects
the information and the number of people who intend on
volunteering. If there is no tool in place, Google Forms is an
easy tool to send out and collect the needed information so
that you know where you are in relation to your goal.
Last Hard Push: To remind everyone about the upcoming
event. You do not want people forgetting about you!
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Page 3
Step 1) Establish Your Goal
Step 2) Build Your Foundation and Get Organized
Page 4
Step 3) Planning
I. Plan of Attack
Page 5
I. Plan of Attack (Continued)
Page 6
II. Engaging Your Prospective Volunteers
III. Communications Timeline
Page 7
Step 4) The Last Leg
- After You Succeed Your Goals -
Step 4: The Last Leg
After You Succeed Your Goals
Thepurpose of this manualis to give students who
are interning at NYC Parks that are given thetask
tocoordinate an environmentally focusedevent
that requires volunteerand community outreach
who do not havea background in content
marketing andcommunications thetools that they
need to accomplish their goals.
This manualwill give a brief overview of
terminology andconcepts within content
marketing anda series of steps that can be usedas
a guideline towhomeveris coordinating a
community event.
The work is not over once theevent has passed. Building
relationshipshas been a key part to thistask & it is important
to maintain them.
Be sure to express your appreciationforevery person that had
a hand in making your event a successful one.
Take timeto review what methodsyou hadused & howyou
approachedthem.Revise and improve your tacticsfor future
events.
Breathe!

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Managing your time as a student is crucial to not fall
behind in any part of life. In order to stay on top, create a
timeline plan for yourself to help manage your time.
Start with the big picture with a list of long term goals &
then break it down into smaller parts that each have their
own short term list.
People volunteer for several of reasons such as Public
Service Motivation (a basic desire to serve a public good),
which may not be enough. Additional tools are:
Recognition: Make sure to consistently to reinforce that
every ones help really does matter. As you ask professors
if you can speak to their class, ask them if they would be
willing to offer extra credit for participating. As school
officials for volunteer hour benefits (i.e. offering students
to gain a full hour for every actual half hour complete).
Incentives: NYC Parks may already have prizes set up
though it does not hurt to see if you can get more for
your events specifically. Ask local businesses for prizes
that you can raffle.
Step 1: Establish Your Goal
Before youbegin, it is important to know your goalsuch as
How many volunteers do you need? (Set your goal at least
20% higherthan you need to compensate if peoplecannot to
come last minute.)
What is thetime frame?
Understand what NYC Parks wants and needs from you.
Step 2: Build Your Foundation and Get Organized
Once you know your goals, brainstorm on whom you want to
engage(getting peopleto interactwith the purposeof your
internship/event that buildsa relationship betweenthem & your
cause, so theyare more likelyto followthrough on actions that
help you achieveyour goal).
Understand your event/cause thoroughlysuch as how it
benefits thelocalcommunity, why this event is necessary,
who benefits from it, why/howit helpsbenefit thebig picture
& backgroundinformation.
Research campus organizations & clubs that share an interest
with your cause.
Think about theresources that you have access to such as
professors, personal & professional contacts, & faculty
associatedto student affairs.
Beginimmediatelyreaching out to campus organizations&
resources that youhave to ask for adviceon obtaining your
goal,to discuss your cause, howit relates to them, & and if
you can speak to their class or meeting. (Keep in mind there
are many groups (fraternities, sororities, & clubs) that need &
focus on volunteer hours & opportunities.
II. Engaging Your Prospective Volunteers
III. The Communications Timeline
Create a contact database for yourself: As you begin to communicate with
various groups & people & they introduce you to more contacts, record all
contact information and important information they give. (Google Tools is
recommended)
Start big and cover as much ground as possible in the beginning. You can
then focus into smaller groups whom are very interested in your cause.
1stMonth
• I. Establish Goal
a. Date & Time
b. # ofvolunteers
• II. Begin reaching
outand finding
contacts
a. create google
docto collect
contact
information.
2nd Month
• I. Start Big
a. Meet with
groups and faculty
members who can
offer support.
b. Send outmany
emaills to be
forwarded.
3rd Month
• I. Continueto
exploremore
communication
channels.
• II. Build a
relationship with
the local
community.
Final Month
• Remind everyone
aboutevent!
Anexample of a timeline: There is no right or wrong way on building a method so
that you can visualize your timeframe and what needs to be done.

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I. Plan of Attack
Content Marketing (creating & sharing relevant & valuable
content that attracts, motivates, engages, & inspires your
participants, supporters, & influencers to help you achieve your
mission) is an important part of community outreach.
Since you know who you want to engage, you can now
create your strategy from that.
Make sure strategy can be adaptable so that you can
tweak it for different environments.
Communication skills are helpful by being able to read
social cues and understanding the people who you want
to engage. You want to make sure you are sharing
information that is relevant & valuable to your audience.
Step 3: Planning (in 3 parts)
Helpful Marketing Definitions:
InboundMarketing: tries to attract people to yourcause by creating
contentthat people are interested in and let themselves knownto
be interested.
OutboundMarketing: Pushesyourtopic in front ofpeople.
Communication Channels: theinstrument used to send out a
message. Examples are social networks, email, & presentations.
Customize youtone (attitudeormoodof your
communications) & style (themanner of which you
share your voice & tone) for allthose youare looking to
engage.
NYC Parks will have languageand terminologyplanned
out which you can use. From that language,create more
personable versions for emails, speeches, and for all
otherchannels youplan to use.
Email everyone: send emails to advisors, department
chairs, professors, organizationpresidents, & allothers
whose information youhave collected.With a personal
statement to theindividual and a request to forward
information of your event, have a short & direct message
that attracts& informs peopleabout your event.
Use Social Networks: Talkto the campus officialswho are
in charge of theschool& departmentalsocialnetwork
accounts to see if theywould be willing to post about your
event. If you are comfortable,use your personal account to
create a Facebookevent that peoplecan see & share.
Have Signage: NYC Parks will have officialsignagemade
for advertisement. Do not be scared to illustrate directly
onto the signagemore information about your event/cause
in particular. You can personalize it with your school,
dates, & means to find out more information that youcan
put up throughout campusand thelocalcommunity.
Gain awareness with tabling: Most schools have different
staff in chargeof renting tableson campus in each
building.In order to avoidthecost, you can ask to join
anothergroups tabling event.
Get the local community involved: Reach out to the local
schools, housing developments, religious groups, &
businesses. If groups are interested, ask for donations such
as incentive prizes for volunteers or even food& drinks for
theevent. Continue to use similar tacticsthat you used on
campus to off campus. Talkto peopleand explainhow
your event is going to improve theirneighborhood.
If a campus organization offers their resources & help in
anyway, make efforts to attend their meetings and event to
show your support & appreciation.
Do not be afraid to ask for things. The worst that will happen is No.
You will hear NO a hundred times before you hear a Yes.
It is important to get the local community
involved so that they can play a part in benefiting
their environment.