Community Engagement to Increase Not-for-Profit Sustainability

Abstract

The Boys & Girls Club of Bowling Green (BGCBG) is a youth-serving not-for-profit (NFP) located in Bowling Green, Kentucky. BGCBG currently has three full-time administrative employees and a 20-member Board of Directors. Discussions with BGCBG leadership identified a need to diversify funding streams, focusing on building and expanding local business partnerships. These conversations guided the creation of the following research questions: RQ1: What is the current level of awareness of BGCBG within the Bowling Green community? RQ2: How can BGCBG increase engagement with current and potential stakeholders? Inductive grounded theory coding and descriptive statistics were used to investigate the awareness level of BGCBG and internal and external perceptions of current engagement efforts. In short, the results indicate: 1. there is a low level of awareness of BGCBG within the Bowling Green business community; 2. the community views BGCBG as a community asset; 3. once people become involved with the club, they stay with the club; 4. donors feel less recognized for their contributions than volunteers do; and 5. champions need additional tools to spread information about the club. Based on findings and relevant literature, we recommend that BGCBG: 1. add an action section to the existing one-page club accomplishments shared at board meetings; 2. restart and restructure meals with board members; 3. create a community event potentially led by the new BGCBG staff member; 4. adjust the automated donor ‘thank you’ email; 5. implement handwritten ‘thank you’ letters from board members, and 6. hold a training session for board members and staff to learn how to promote BGCBG