A New Framework for Community Engagement
“Community engagement” is more than just a buzzword; it’s a fundamental shift in how individuals, governments and public organizations operate. Genuine engagement—where community insights directly shape strategies, programs and outcomes—helps to foster mutual trust between nonprofits and their communities. This symbiotic relationship contributes to a more informed and holistic understanding of community needs, ensuring that proposed solutions are not only practical but deeply resonant, bridging potential gaps between nonprofit intentions and community perceptions. Ultimately, this alliance leads to positive and enduring change that is truly by the community, for the community.
Modern Organizations are Prioritizing More Direct Community Input and Co-Creation
Historically, the model for community engagement within nonprofits has been characterized by a topdown approach, where decisions are made predominantly by organizational leadership, with limited input from the actual communities they aim to serve. This method, while structured, often overlooks the nuanced needs, values and insights of local populations, sometimes leading to misaligned initiatives and unmet community expectations.
Over the last two decades, however, there has been a shift in this paradigm. The federal government has recently reported on the value of incorporating individuals with lived experiences into federal initiatives. This brief highlights innovative methods and emerging strategies to involve people with lived experience in federal research, programming and policymaking, synthesizing insights from various federal initiatives across a range of human services sectors.
Informed by previous experiences and driven by a more inclusive mentality, today’s nonprofits are also adopting community-centric strategies. “Having community voice at the center of a nonprofit is really what’s going to keep your services and your staff current with the culture and relevant to the community,” explains Tiffany Howard, manager of community investments and programs at United Way. These approaches prioritize direct community input, fostering a collaborative environment where solutions are co-created based on mutual understanding and shared goals. This shift underscores the recognition that, for sustainable change, community voice must be at the heart of community programming.
Such a community-centric model is rooted in the lived experiences of community members. By providing opportunities for community members to become involved, Omaha-based organizations like inCOMMON and Canopy South have seen the transformative effects of active participation. Not only do they foster a participatory environment where community voices play a decisive role, but they also create space for those who may feel like they have nothing to give, ensuring that everyone is included and valued in the process. Such collaboration strengthens community trust and ensures that initiatives align closely with the needs of the populations served.
Community Members Can Offer Skills and Insights in a Variety of Important Roles
Practices among organizations like inCOMMON and Canopy South aren’t confined to one mission type; they’re versatile strategies that can be embraced by nonprofits across various sectors, including community building, health, food or education. These organizations are trailblazers and offer learnings and insights about how to authentically incorporate community members in solutions – for lasting results. “The work isn’t sustainable if it’s coming from outside,” says Rachel Bahl, Co-Director of inCOMMON. “But if it’s coming from within, you’re developing a community into what community members want it to be. So, there’s ownership there. There’s buy-in there. There’s sustainability.”
But incorporating community voice isn’t a singular approach. It requires a multi-faceted strategy involving community members in various capacities, from providing feedback to making high-level decisions. Beyond individuals with lived experiences, we aimed to identify opportunities for community members to not just share their lived experiences, but to also harness their unique skills and talents in the broader spectrum of community engagement and nonprofit formulation.
The table below illustrates our findings, drawn from research on federal initiatives and our interviews with local nonprofit leaders, delineating the various roles that community members can embrace within nonprofits:
The transformative shift toward community-centric strategies in nonprofit organizations recognizes the intrinsic value and expertise community members bring to the table. As nonprofits evolve, so too must the frameworks they employ. Although the framework originally developed for federal roles provides a robust foundation for engaging individuals with lived experiences in policymaking and large-scale program design, it has several limitations for application in the nonprofit sector. Our model adapts this framework in four critical ways:
1.) Holistic Community Representation:
Although federal roles, like “Storytellers” and “Advisors” are crucial for sharing narratives and offering strategic insights, they might not fully capture the breadth of community interaction needed in nonprofits. Our framework, by introducing the more versatile role of “Community Ambassador,” combines storytelling, advising and a constant two-way dialogue between the nonprofit and the community. The Community Ambassador’s role is two-fold: they echo the community’s perspectives within the nonprofit, ensuring everyone feels represented, and they share the nonprofit’s mission and stories to the public, creating a transparent dialogue that resonates with both sides.
2.) Contribution Potential Across Roles:
In the federal framework, only the highest-involvement role (staff) includes employment by the organization. The current framework, however, distinguishes every role as having the potential to be staff level. Each role exists within a gradient of involvement which may involve compensation or significant time commitment. This helps nonprofits to employ and compensate community members in capacities that best match their skills, passions and the organization’s needs. Furthermore, community voice may also be heard through financial contribution. This does not suggest a pay-for-play interaction, but rather recognizes that individuals deeply invested in community programs often contribute financially to advance this important work. We studied this relationship separately here.
3.) Localized Action and Ownership:
Nonprofits often operate at a community level, maintaining close proximity to the individuals they serve. This intimate connection necessitates roles that facilitate direct and frequent interactions with community members, things that might not be as prevalent in large-scale federal initiatives. While the federal framework includes roles like “Grantees” and “Partners,” that work on policy and practice improvements, roles like “Program Contributors” and “Program Leaders” in our framework are more indicative of the on-the-ground, hands-on approach that is required from most nonprofits involved in the day-to-day implementation and fine-tuning of local initiatives.
4.) Non-Hierarchical Approach
In the federal framework, roles exist along a continuum of increasing levels of shared power, authority and responsibility. Although we acknowledge that there is variability in each role’s level of responsibility and engagement, we deliberately chose not to rank roles in a similar manner. We believe that each role has its own unique value and ranking them may denote that some roles are more important or desirable than others, which would run counter to our philosophy of mutual respect and inclusion.
Authentic Community Engagement Means Every Voice is Heard and Valued
The landscape of community engagement in the nonprofit sector is experiencing a transformative shift, one that fully recognizes the wisdom, expertise and intrinsic value that community members bring. As nonprofits evolve, so must our strategies for involving the community in our efforts. The framework outlined in this report offers a comprehensive yet flexible path for authentic community engagement in nonprofit settings, one that replaces tokenistic involvement with genuine partnerships and mutual respect.
As we move forward, it’s important to remember that the ultimate goal isn’t merely to fit community members into predefined roles, but to foster an ecosystem where each voice is heard, valued and encouraged to contribute in their own unique way. Engagement isn’t about “placing a value on goals but knowing that there’s value across the board—allowing individuals and communities to define for themselves what the goal is, and then supporting them and making sure the organization and the neighborhood has space for all those roles,” Bahl said. By doing so, we come closer to fulfilling the aspiration that community engagement should indeed be “by the community, for the community,” ensuring that the change resonates deeply and is not only sustainable but also profoundly aligned with the core values of the community.
As UWM celebrates reaching 100 years of helping others, we embrace the chance to further open avenues for community engagement – creating space for everyone to be involved in the work of strengthening our community. Whether it’s volunteering through Day of Caring, donating financial resources, serving on a review committee or providing feedback on our direct service programming, we continue to generate a variety of meaningful opportunities for individuals to forge connections and contribute to this work in meaningful ways. Further, our investment process continues to embed equity, prioritizing programs that demonstrate genuine engagement with the communities they serve – the mission to unite the caring spirit for a stronger tomorrow requires the collective power of our entire metro community.
Sources:
Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation: Methods and Emerging Strategies to Engage People with Lived Experience, January 2022.
Community Centric Fundraising: How to Run Your Nonprofit with Care, April 2023.
Interviews with Rachel Bahl from inCOMMON, Cesar Garcia from Canopy South and Tiffany Howard from United Way of the Midlands