Building Your Network: Recruiting Nonprofit and Education Partners

Capitalize on each partner organization's reach and influence to ensure that campaign PSAs run locally and that students and their influencers are aware of the campaign and how to access campaign information.

Your current allies and partners are likely to be well positioned to quickly spread the word about the campaign. Begin expanding your network by reaching out to non-profit and education allies that work directly with students and their influencers:

• Local schools and school districts
• Local colleges and universities
• State and local government agencies serving youth
• Teachers' associations
• Mentoring organizations
• Parent organizations
• Youth-serving organizations

Next, consider the wide range of organizations that influence students and play a critical role in the lives of families in your community. Bringing these organizations on board as partners will strengthen the campaign's reach:

• Coaches' associations
• Community sports leagues
• Places of worship and associations of religious leaders
• Professional associations, such as Chambers of Commerce or the Rotary Club
• Local business serving students and families. See How-To Guide Leveraging Assets: Engaging the Business Community.

You most likely have relationships with many of these organizations or have worked with them in the past. Below are some refresher tips for reaching out to potential partners about the campaign:

1. Research organizations that you don't know well. It is vital to determine where there is overlap between their mission and the campaign's goals.

2. Initiate contact by sending a personal letter and information package about the campaign. Be sure to explain why they should be involved.

3. Schedule a meeting or a series of meetings with potential partners. It is important to discuss the campaign in detail and determine levels of interest.

4. Ask for organizations to “officially” join the campaign. Have organizations register for the campaign at KnowHow2GO.org. Also ask them to complete a form with their contact information and list the elements of the campaign they are interested in working on within the community. It is important to clearly define the strength and skills of each partner and the role each will have in the campaign, whether large or small.

5. Consider forming an advisory committee. Some potential partners will be very enthusiastic and want to take a lead role in campaign implementation. Harness their energy and enthusiasm by delegating distinct responsibilities to organizations ideally situated to lead components of the campaign.

Maintaining Communications

Once organizations have signed on and identified how they will support the campaign, it will be necessary for you to maintain regular contact with each group. This will help you to mobilize the network as needed. Maintain contact with partners by doing the following:

• Encourage all participating organizations to sign up for the Partners Newsletter to ensure they receive regular updates about the campaign and best practices.

• Maintain regular contact with your partner network by e-mail and phone to share information about local campaign activities.

• Host quarterly meetings to keep partners abreast of campaign developments and share ideas for growing KnowHow2GO.

Spreading the Word

One of the simplest things you can do to engage partners is to ask them to run a newsletter article about the campaign in their publications and on their Web site. A sample newsletter article follows. You can also ask partners to link to the KnowHow2GO Web site. See the Online Possibilities section for specific information on how to provide partners with links to the KnowHow2GO Web site.  

Template Newsletter Article

KnowHow2GO Comes to (insert community name)

In order to continue guiding local kids on the path to higher education, (insert organization name) recently joined the national KnowHow2GO campaign. The campaign, which launched in January 2007, is sponsored by the Ad Council, the American Council on Education and Lumina Foundation for Education, to fulfill the college dreams of low-income students as well as those who are the first in their family to attend college.

U.S. Department of Education studies show that 8 out of 10 students expect to earn a bachelor's degree or higher – but few students understand the steps it takes to be fully prepared to go to college. This helps to explain why low-income students are badly underrepresented on college campuses. In response, KnowHow2GO took the extensive to-do list for planning for college and created four simple steps that students can follow with the help of adult mentors.

The four steps are:

1. Be a pain – in a good way. Find an adult who can help you with the steps to college. Let everyone know you want to go to college. And don't stop until you find the adult who can help.

2. Push yourself. Colleges require you to take certain classes in high school. Find out which classes and sign up!

3. Find the right fit. Think about interests and activities that you enjoy. Explore colleges with programs that suit your interests.

4. Get your hands on some $$$. There's money out there to help pay for college. Apply for it!

The KnowHow2GO campaign includes national public service advertising on television and radio, on billboards and in malls and schools. You can see the new advertising and learn more about the campaign at KnowHow2GO.org. On the local level (insert organization name) is working with local youth to (insert information on local activities).