FACTOR #4: Sufficient resources

TOOL: Telling Your Story

1. Identify and communicate how the collaboration satisfies the needs of their partners, stakeholders and community.
   
   
2. Create promotion strategies for the collaborative.
   
   
3. Define actions for moving forward together in ways that highlight the unique purpose of the collaborative while generating support from the partners, stakeholders and community.

Time Needed:

Collaboration

1. Review and discuss the definition of collaboration:
   
   "A mutually beneficial and well-defined relationship entered into by two or more organizations to achieve results they are more likely to achieve together than alone."
   
   

   --	Collaboration Handbook: Creating, Sustaining and Enjoying the Journey; Amherst H. Wilder Foundation

2. Note the two key elements in this definition are ...
   
   
   • benefits, and
     
     
   • results

Benefits

1. Discuss the following questions and use the "Benefits Work Sheet" on the next page as a guide to record your group's answers.
   
   
   • Who are the collaboration's partners?
     
     
   • Does the collaboration provide a benefit to the partners? If so, what are the benefits? How are they provided?
     
     
   • Who are the collaboration's stakeholders -- at the national, state and local levels?
     
     
   • Does the collaboration provide a benefit to each of the stakeholders? If so, what are the benefits? How are they provided?
     
     
   • Does the collaboration provide a benefit to the community? If so, what are the benefits? How are they provided?

BENEFITS WORK SHEET

PARTNERS	BENEFITS	HOW PROVIDED
STAKEHOLDERS: national	BENEFITS	HOW PROVIDED
STAKEHOLDER: state	BENEFITS	HOW PROVIDED
STAKEHOLDERS: local	BENEFITS	HOW PROVIDED
COMMUNITY	BENEFITS	HOW PROVIDED

Results

1. Discuss the following questions and record your group's answers on newsprint.
   
   Results achieved ...
   
   
   • Why did the collaboration form and how has it evolved?
     
     
   • What results have been achieved by the collaboration?
     
     
   • Which of these results were more likely achieve by working together than alone? Why?
     
     
   • How did the collaborative's work help to achieve these goals?
     
     
   • How do these collective achievements benefit each of the partners and stakeholders?
     
     
   • In what way do these achievements help to build a stronger, safer community?
     
     
   Results anticipated ...
   
   
   • What problems and concerns remain to be addressed in the community?
     
     
   • Which of these problems and concerns are more likely to be addressed effectively by individuals and organizations working together, than alone?
     
     
   • What can be done as a collaborative effort to effectively address these problems and concerns?
     
     
   • By working together, what results do you anticipate will be achieved related to these problems and concerns?
     
     
   • Who needs to be recruited to work on these problems/ concerns in order for the anticipated results to be realized?
     
     
   • Why should these "needed" partners participate ... what's in it for them?
     
     
   • In what way(s) will these anticipated results build a stronger, safer community?

Story Telling ... Notes

1. In order for your prevention effort to be sustained, you need to tell your "story."
   
   
2. Your "story" needs to ...
   
   
   • be told, over and over again, to the same audience.
     
     
   • be told, over and over again, to many different audiences.
     
     
   • highlight your success and your vision for how you will address pending community concerns.
     
     
   • address the self-interests of each of your partners and stakeholders, including:
     
     • current and desired partners
     • civic and business leaders
     • current and potential funders
     • elected-officials (local, state, and national level)
     • the media
     • grassroots leaders
     • the community at-large.
   
   
3. Your "story" should be told to help ...
   
   

   ...	interpret events and convey information
   ...	transmit core values and beliefs
   ...	define and build relationships
   ...	establish status and credibility
   ...	recruit and retain members
   ...	secure critical resources
   ...	generate support for the vision, mission, strategies and programs.

4. Your "story" should be told using many different communication vehicles.
   
   
5. Your "story" should be told to elicit a defined and necessary action.
   
   
6. Your "story" should be told using ...
   
   

   ...	language and symbols
   ...	concepts and colors
   ...	facts and feelings.

Crafting the Story

>	Discuss the following questions and use the "Audience/ Message/ Presenter Work Sheet" as a guide to record your group's answers.



1. Identify your audiences and their self-interests:
   
   
   • who are the individuals and organizations ...
     
     partners
     funders
     stakeholders
     community leaders
     potential collaborators
     local, state, federal government officials
     community/ grassroots/ business/ civic leaders
     media
     foundation community
     local institutions, etc.
     
     ... that can help sustain your prevention efforts?
     
     
   • what's their self-interest?
     
     what's in it for them? why would they want to help sustain your prevention efforts?
     
     
2. Identify a message for each audience that:
   
   
   • speaks to their self-interest.
     
     
   • remains consistent with your overall "story"
     
     

     ...	your vision, mission, accomplishments, objectives, tactics, membership, image.

   • makes a specific request for action to help sustain the prevention effort.
     
     
3. Identify the presenter/ communication vehicles:
   
   
   • who can best present the message to each audience?
     
     
   • which communication vehicle/ technique would be most effective in delivering these targeted messages?
     
     Examples of communication vehicles:
     
     advertising, billboards, annual reports endorsements, direct mail, editorials, feature stories, letters to the editor, news conferences, newsletters, posters, talk shows, press releases, videos, public hearing, community forums, contests/ award programs, presentations, word of mouth, etc.

AUDIENCE / MESSAGE / PRESENTER WORK SHEET

AUDIENCE / SELF INTEREST	MESSAGE	PRESENTER
national level:
state level:
local level:



>>> Follow these directions for crafting your story


4. Based on your team's discussions ...
   
   

   ...	on collaboration, benefits, and results ...
   ...	audience, message, and presenter ...

   brainstorm the words, pictures, colors, sounds, shapes, symbols, etc., ... which illustrate the vision, approach, achievements, future direction, emotions and desired image of your prevention effort.
   
   
5. Form into small work groups of 3-4 members.
   
   
6. Identify one influential stakeholder to whom you would like to tell your story -- promote the work of your prevention collaboration -- in order to solicit their support for sustaining the effort.
   
   
7. Remember: a promotion story should ...
   
   

   ...	speak to a self-interest.
   ...	be inspiring.
   ...	be informative.
   ...	speak to an audience's frustrations.
   ...	generate feelings of hope and optimism.
   ...	capture the audience's hearts and minds.
   ...	convey a sense of power.
   ...	be clear and to the point.
   ...	build bridges and relationships.
   ...	motivate and activate a well defined and do-able response.

8. Craft a 1 minute story that answers the following question from the perspective of your identified stakeholder:
   
   * "Why should I help you sustain the prevention effort?
   
   

   NOTES

Telling the Story

1. After each of the small work groups has finished crafting their story ... the groups should present their stories to each other.
   
   
2. After each presentation ... team members should critique the story ... to identify what was and what was not effective.
   
   
   • Did the story speak effectively to the partner's or stakeholder's self-interest?
     
     
   • Was the story inspiring and informative?
     
     
   • Did it speak to the audience's frustrations?
     
     
   • Did it generate feelings of hope and optimism?
     
     
   • Did it capture the audience's heart and mind?
     
     
   • Did it convey a sense of power?
     
     
   • Was it clear and to the point?
     
     
   • Did it help build bridges and relationships?
     
     
   • Did it motivate/ activate a well defined/ do-able response?
     
     
3. After all of the presentations are made ... the full team should create a new story using the best elements from each of the small work group stories.
   
   

   NOTES

Draft an Action Plan

>>>	Discuss the following items and use the "Planning for Promotion Work Sheet" as a guide to record your group's responses.



1. Identify upcoming opportunities for telling you "story" and for promoting the work of your prevention collaborative.
   
   
2. Identify the actions steps that your team can do within the next 3 months to tell your story as many times as possible to multiple audiences. Be specific.
   
   
3. Attach a start and finish date to each proposed action.
   
   
4. Identify who best should implement each of the proposed actions.
   
   
5. Identify who else needs to be involved in implementing this promotion action plan.
   
   
6. Determine how your team can recruit the necessary individuals to help tell the story and generated the critical support for sustaining the effort.
   
   
7. Decide how best to implement these promotion activities.

PLANNING FOR PROMOTION

WORK SHEET