Public Will Building Tools and Resources

Toolkit to help build public will around the importance of afterschool and youth development programs!

Using this online toolkit: Although this toolkit was developed primarily to support public will building campaigns focused on raising awareness of the role afterschool and youth development programs play in contributing to healthy behaviors in youth, it contains useful resources for carrying out other public will building efforts. You will find ideas, examples, and links to other websites. If you are planning an event, especially one targeting principals and/or municipal leaders, we have another toolkit, Guidebook for Planning Your Innovation Event, created several years ago for you to access.

How to identify stakeholders/develop partnerships: Often the first step to carrying out a successful public will building effort is to identify those organizations and individuals to establish partnerships with. To start, brainstorm a list of organizations (private, public, etc.) who would benefit from and stand behind better afterschool and youth development activities in your community. Partners can include city government, law enforcement, school district staff, community leaders, youth advocates, etc. With an exhaustive list of potential partners, now you can hone in on which of these organizations would be critical to the success of your project. One publication in particular from the National League of Cities is a valuable resource in building partnerships, Strengthening Partnerships and Building Public Will for Out-of-School Time Programs.

In the example of the Healthy Youth, Healthy Futures, Washington Mini-Grant, afterschool and youth development programs were asked to partner with schools and health organizations to work together to raise awareness about the importance of afterschool and youth development programs in supporting healthy behaviors among young people in their communities. Below are some tips for how to partner with these two types of organizations:

Partnering with schools: Several papers explore the connection between schools and the afterschool programs that serve their students. The Afterschool Corporation's report, Out-of-School Time: Leveraging Higher Education for Quality describes the connection and the National Association of Elementary School Principals publication, Making the Most Out of After-School Time , profiles 10 different programs from around the country and describes the important role of the principal in the success of the program.
Partnering with health departments: A recent publication from the Center for Disease Control describes step by step how to partner with health departments, Partnering for Success: How Health Departments Work & How to Work with Health Departments – School Health Council.

Painting the picture of your community

One of the best ways to convey the importance of any type of intervention is through sharing data around its impact. Then, if you can link some of that research to the current state of your community, people can visualize how their community might benefit from further investment. For instance, research indicates how afterschool programs contribute to academic success. Then, providing culturally relevant afterschool programs to Latino youth will help keep them on track to graduate from high school on-time. Here are some excellent sources for obtaining data to help you paint the picture of your community:

Washington Kids Count Data Center: This online resource allows you to download data in a user-friendly way. You can find data, download it, or create a chart. For many indicators, data is broken down by county. However, if you need more specific data such as a city or school district, then you may need to go directly to the source of the data like your local State Department of Education, Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI) or the U.S. Census.

Ideas for will-building campaigns, activities, and events: The following are some sample ideas for how to mobilize your community around the connection between afterschool and health:

Organize a fun run/walk partnering with afterschool programs, schools, and /or fitness organizations. Youth could log their miles for the month as they train for the event. At the end of the event, booths could be set up to promote afterschool organizations and health organizations as well as showcase healthy foods and/or beverages.
Create a public service announcement to be aired on local public radio stations or a DVD that promotes healthy youth and healthy behaviors. Local health organizations along with youth-serving organizations and youth themselves could collaborate on the production.
Develop a planning committee of interested stakeholders including a team of community leaders and afterschool providers who have developed a partnership to provide school-based afterschool programming. Organize an event that showcases a health and fitness activity organized by an afterschool program and allow time for networking and conversational activities. At the end of the event, encourage each participant to fill-out a commitment card outlining how they will further the goal of building partnerships with afterschool programs and create a planning committee to continue engaging community leaders.
Build a community garden and then host an event to serve some of the foods harvested. Follow-up with a cookbook to share healthy recipes and/or tips on how to start a garden. Put on a health fair or family fitness/nutrition night where organizations can showcase their services and efforts to address healthy behaviors among youth and the benefits of afterschool programs.

Reaching the media: As you plan your event, it is important to get the word out through diverse media outlets. Depending on who you are targeting, there are several different types of publicity that you can do. To start, a press release or media alert outlines the main facts about your event. On the Afterschool Alliance website you will find additional tools and samples that will help you in your outreach. You may also contact Danielle Baer for assistance, help with editing your documents, and to find out more about contacting the media.

Media alerts & press releases: Send them to local radio stations, newspapers, listservs, and other media. Here is a sample of a media alert used to spread the word about a health carnival organized by one of the recipients of the Healthy Youth, Healthy Futures Mini-Grant.
Newsletter articles or Op-Ed pieces: Write an article about the importance of what you are doing.
Social media: Spread the word about your event and/or your activities on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, etc.
Radio: Contact your local radio stations to see if they can interview you about what you are doing and help you publicize your events.

Inviting community leaders and elected officials to events: One of the most important parts of planning an event targeting extremely busy educators and community leaders is to ensure a connection is made to the relevancy of the content with their work. An effective way to do that is by having the letter of invitation to the event come from a peer, such as a principal, superintendent, local police chief or other leader on board with the importance of afterschool programming. We have found that members of certain constituencies are more likely to attend an event if they see that their peers are involved in the planning. Highlighting in the letter the benefits of participation or how attending can help them with a particular challenge is another successful approach.

Below are two sample letters we used in planning our two sector events. Both were sent from Gary Kipp, the Executive Director of the Washington Association of School Principals, who serves on the Washington Afterschool Network’s Panel of 50 advisory committee. These events were specifically targeting principals as the primary audience. Including afterschool champions who either work as educators or in another leadership role in the planning and outreach process for your event will help ensure a higher attendance rate among the targeted constituency at your event.

Sample letter #1
Sample letter #2

Evaluation: The purpose of carrying out an evaluation is to measure the magnitude of impact your campaign had on your target audience. Measuring to some degree this impact will inform your next steps and can be used to provide data for future grant applications. You will also gather feedback from your constituents that can help you frame future communications.

Sample evaluation for an event
Sample commitment form

Resources: Here are some on-line publications and websites that you might find useful in your project. Please contact us as well if you would like additional help finding resources. An exhaustive list with links to research on the field is also available on our website.

School's Out Washington fact sheets:

If you have any questions, or would like more resources or assistance in planning your public will building campaign, contact Danielle Baer, 206-323-2396.