Donor Relations Outreach to donors began in the winter of 2016/2017 when the first VISTA arrived. An Excel file was created that included all local farms, their contact information, types of produce they grow, and an indication of if they were a new or returning…
The Community Visioning Process is a grassroots approach to planning with community input. Community input is valuable because it provides insight that organizations may not be aware of, builds relationships, and invites collaborative approaches to solving regional issues. After the initial data collection phase of the Palouse Tables Project, there was an analysis of the data phase..
Mapping is a great way to communicate data, especially at the regional level. It makes a diagram out of data that correlates spatially, making information easier to grasp. In the initial stages of the Palouse Tables Project, mapping was used to communicate statistics about the Palouse region..
Facilitating Community Engagements is all about starting a dialogue with potential key community stakeholders and members, maintaining and engaging those relationships, and working together where needed..
The second year VISTA took on the role of creating handouts, flyers and posters through Microsoft Office for the classes and demonstrations that were offered by the Community Food department. The templates for all these advertisements were saved to the host site’s server so that they can be replicated and reused for future programs..
Considering the difference of the Palouse Tables Project and the Community Educator Program to the more usual work of the HAH VISTA, donor relations amongst growers, farmers, and gardeners were not explored..
The team of volunteers that was created prior to the 1st year VISTA, called the Food Assessment Collaborative Team (FACT), consists of members from the Community Action Center, Backyard Harvest, Washington State University Center for Civic Engagement, Council on Aging, and various other community members..
Providing vegetable starts to clients at your organization is a great tool to reduce food insecurity and empower community members with free fresh produce. Not everyone has the space, time, or skills to have a garden, so use vegetable varieties that grow well in pots and don’t need too much advanced work..
Raising awareness and recruiting volunteers take a significant amount of planning time when done correctly. When engaging community members, it’s important to have a strategy behind your interaction..
Creating a strategic plan for donor outreach makes the growing season more bountiful for farmers and food banks alike. Winter is an excellent opportunity to take advantage of farmer downtime to introduce one’s organization or build on an existing relationship..