As a member of your association's board, you're tasked with handling your community's official business. However, residents still play a vital role in the development and maintenance of the community. For example, performing work via volunteer committees, implementing neighborhood watch programs, and reporting rules violations all require the participation of residents.
If your neighborhood is looking for ways to get more community involvement, below are some highly effective ways to do it.
Sending out newsletters twice a month is a good way to keep residents apprised of opportunities to attend meetings, volunteer, attend social events, etc. In the winter months, it isn’t uncommon for community participation to hit a lull, as residents prefer to stay inside where it’s warm.
Even so, your community can schedule fun winter events that break this trend, such as decorating a community Christmas tree, ice skating parties, and sledding parties, to name a few.
Some communities hold a few social gatherings but still expect residents to be involved with the community. More often than not, the more community members are involved with each other, the more likely they are to be involved with the community at large.
If you need ideas for holding fun social events, seek out the help of an event planning company. If you need help managing the events, request the help of your homeowners association management company.
For residents, perhaps the greatest lack of involvement comes from feeling disconnected from community business, which inevitably happens when they don’t attend board meetings.
As much as possible, publicize the dates, times, and locations of board meetings, and do so as far in advance as possible. If necessary, offer beverages and snacks to help bring people out. The more board meetings residents attend, the more they really feel like residents of the community.
Sometimes receiving participation from residents is all in how you ask for it. Some effective strategies for recruiting volunteers are: developing volunteer opportunities that are important to residents, asking people personally to volunteer, providing training to volunteers, and holding volunteer appreciation events. Your community’s management company can suggest additional strategies for encouraging residents to volunteer.
By actively engaging residents, HOA boards can cultivate a strong sense of belonging and create a cohesive community that benefits everyone living in the neighborhood.