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AARP Experience Corps Communications Plan
February 2015
SITUATION ANALYSIS
AARPExperience Corpsnotonlyaddressesacritical needinthe educationsector(the questtogetchildrenreading
at grade level by4th
grade) but alsoprovidesolderadultsanopportunitytogive backtotheircommunities,leading
to improvedphysical,mental andbrainhealth, aswell asarenewedsenseof purpose.
While ourapproach,whichexclusivelyutilizesolderadultvolunteer readingtutorsinclassrooms,isunique inthe
marketplace;there are anumberof competitorsprovidingsimilarin-schooltutoringserviceswhohave better
name recognitioninthe marketplace.
As such, AARPExperience Corpsmusthave acomprehensive communicationsplatformtobuildvisibilityamong
variousaudiencesandstakeholders,whichinclude potential volunteers,donors, the educationcommunityand
otherstrategicpartners. There isreal to alignour networkandincrease publicawarenessof our workusing
commonoutreachthemes. Additionally,there islittle capacityatthe local level toimplementcommunications
campaignslocally.
In 2015, our national effortswill focusoncreatingaseriesof campaignsthatgive individual sitesinournetwork
the abilitytopicktheirlevel of involvementinfive majorcampaignactivitiesthroughout the year. We anticipate
increasedpublicvisibilityandamore cohesive national footprintasaresult.
The campaignapproach isalso intendedtopull togetherexistingandnew strategicexternal andinternal
partnerships;extendingourvisibilityandgalvanizingindividual donationsatthe national level.
EXPERIENCE CORPS & AARP ENTERPRISE STRATEGY
Our social impactworkengagesolderadultsintheircommunities toserve astutorsandmentors to struggling
readersinkindergartenthroughthirdgrade. Thisworkistrulyaboutpersonal fulfillmentforthose 50 and over. So
manyof our volunteerscome tothe workthroughpassionate commitmentoralong-helddreamtoteach;andwe
not onlyhelpthemfindadeepsense of purpose butalsoengage themintheircommunitiesasneverbefore.
AARPExperience Corpsisdeeplyinclusionary aswell;reachingdeeplyintomulticultural communitiestoachieve
our outcomes. The childrenwe serve are mostlyAfricanAmerican(61%) andHispanic/Latino(22%) andthe
majorityof our volunteersare AfricanAmerican(59%) [Note:only2% of our volunteersare Hispanic,andareaof
potential growthin2015 and beyond].
There are some specificAARPinitiatives anddepartments throughwhichwe believe therecouldbe opportunityfor
synergyandcollaboration. We anticipate deeperconnectionsandcollaborationwithotherAARPinitiativesthis
year, witha pilotwithMentorUp inthe works.
Those AARPinitiatives include:
Mentor Up, AARPTek—intergenerationalcollaborationontech(cycle of life trainingopps)
Life reimagined—ourvolunteerstoriesare Life Reimaginedstories
State OfficesandEnterprise Communities—Phoenix andperhapsasecondcommunityin2015
Create the Good,Office of VolunteerServices,National RetiredTeachers’Assn.
MME
Brain Health(researchsuggestsourvolunteershave improved cognitive abilityasa resultof their
volunteerwork)](https://image.slidesharecdn.com/445c261a-f223-4b47-95a8-078038b529a0-150916150711-lva1-app6891/85/AARP-Experience-Communications-Plan_2015-1-320.jpg)
AARP Experience Communications Plan_2015
- 1. 1 AARP Experience Corps Communications Plan February 2015 SITUATION ANALYSIS AARPExperience Corpsnotonlyaddressesacritical needinthe educationsector(the questtogetchildrenreading at grade level by4th grade) but alsoprovidesolderadultsanopportunitytogive backtotheircommunities,leading to improvedphysical,mental andbrainhealth, aswell asarenewedsenseof purpose. While ourapproach,whichexclusivelyutilizesolderadultvolunteer readingtutorsinclassrooms,isunique inthe marketplace;there are anumberof competitorsprovidingsimilarin-schooltutoringserviceswhohave better name recognitioninthe marketplace. As such, AARPExperience Corpsmusthave acomprehensive communicationsplatformtobuildvisibilityamong variousaudiencesandstakeholders,whichinclude potential volunteers,donors, the educationcommunityand otherstrategicpartners. There isreal to alignour networkandincrease publicawarenessof our workusing commonoutreachthemes. Additionally,there islittle capacityatthe local level toimplementcommunications campaignslocally. In 2015, our national effortswill focusoncreatingaseriesof campaignsthatgive individual sitesinournetwork the abilitytopicktheirlevel of involvementinfive majorcampaignactivitiesthroughout the year. We anticipate increasedpublicvisibilityandamore cohesive national footprintasaresult. The campaignapproach isalso intendedtopull togetherexistingandnew strategicexternal andinternal partnerships;extendingourvisibilityandgalvanizingindividual donationsatthe national level. EXPERIENCE CORPS & AARP ENTERPRISE STRATEGY Our social impactworkengagesolderadultsintheircommunities toserve astutorsandmentors to struggling readersinkindergartenthroughthirdgrade. Thisworkistrulyaboutpersonal fulfillmentforthose 50 and over. So manyof our volunteerscome tothe workthroughpassionate commitmentoralong-helddreamtoteach;andwe not onlyhelpthemfindadeepsense of purpose butalsoengage themintheircommunitiesasneverbefore. AARPExperience Corpsisdeeplyinclusionary aswell;reachingdeeplyintomulticultural communitiestoachieve our outcomes. The childrenwe serve are mostlyAfricanAmerican(61%) andHispanic/Latino(22%) andthe majorityof our volunteersare AfricanAmerican(59%) [Note:only2% of our volunteersare Hispanic,andareaof potential growthin2015 and beyond]. There are some specificAARPinitiatives anddepartments throughwhichwe believe therecouldbe opportunityfor synergyandcollaboration. We anticipate deeperconnectionsandcollaborationwithotherAARPinitiativesthis year, witha pilotwithMentorUp inthe works. Those AARPinitiatives include: Mentor Up, AARPTek—intergenerationalcollaborationontech(cycle of life trainingopps) Life reimagined—ourvolunteerstoriesare Life Reimaginedstories State OfficesandEnterprise Communities—Phoenix andperhapsasecondcommunityin2015 Create the Good,Office of VolunteerServices,National RetiredTeachers’Assn. MME Brain Health(researchsuggestsourvolunteershave improved cognitive abilityasa resultof their volunteerwork)
- 2. 2 Low-income Financial Outreach—sharingwithournetwork Tax Aide andfinancialfreedom information; potential exampleof complete schoolservicesmodel –we deliverbenefittoparentsaswell aschildren CommunicationsLandscape The topic of education andmentorship isalwaysgettingmediaattention.Mostrecently,trendingnewsstories covereducationunderthe followinglenses (thisisnotanexhaustivelist): State lawsstipulatingspecificreadingtestscoresinordertopass intofourthgrade Summerlearningloss Academicperformance (e.g.,lowscores, highschool graduation,literacyrates,racial/ethnic disparities) CommonCore challenges BuildingSTEMsuccesses Othertrendingstoriestoconsider: Boomerschangingtraditional retirement Seniorsusingtech Importance of intergenerational connection Keychallengesandopportunitiesforbuildingvisibilityandawarenessforthe AARPECprogram inthe general communicationslandscapeare asfollows: Yearly EC program evaluationsprovide benchmarks thatsuggestthe programhasa measureable impacton the students,teachersandvolunteers ;butno There are several competingvolunteerorganizations whohave similarmodelsas AARPEC, howeverAARP EC focusesonintergenerationvolunteerismandthe K-3demographic(CityYearisfrequentlycitedasa majorcommunicationssuccessstory) AARPExperience Corpsisnota national program at thistime,sothere are limitationstoourabilityto garnernational Local mediacoverage ismore likelyandwe mustbuildonournetwork’s presence intheir communities. Growth plansandstrategicpartnershipscouldincrease opportunitiestogarnernational mediaattention. TARGET AUDIENCES We have identifiedthe followingtargetaudiencesfordevelopingcommunicationstoadvance AARP ECprogram and communicationsgoals.Witheachaudiencebelow,we aimedtooverlayAARPsegmentationdataaswell as general intelligence we have onthese audiences. Keyaudiencesinclude: Traditional Media EducationWeek NonprofitTimes JohnMerrow,EducationcorrespondentforPBSNewsHour NBS Nightly News,“PayingitForward” CBS NightlyNews,“Onthe Road” ABC News NY Times WashingtonPost CNN USA Today NewMedia
- 3. 3 HuffPo NextAvenue/Forbes RedditEducation Explore: NowThisNews – The news in your pocket. NiemanJournalismLab – Publishingthe future of journalism (Harvard). BusinessInsider– Tech, finance, media and other verticals under one roof. ProPublica– Journalism in the public interest. Worldcrunch – Selecting, translating and editing content from top foreign outlets. The Epoch Times – Uncensored news that values freedom of the press and humanity. On The Media (OTM) – Tackles sticky issueswith a frankness and transparency (NPR). Strategic partners: Currentvolunteers—role inschool iscritical Potential volunteers—AARPmembers,corporate employees/retirees,others Schools/Administrators/Teachers—currentandpotential Leaders inthe educationspace—GLR,America’sPromise Alliance,CNCS/AmeriCorps Internal AARPpartners—MentorUp,CreatetheGood,MME,OVS,state offices Parents—notcurrentlyaddressedasan audience butshouldbe included AARPExperience Corpsnetwork—consideradditional commstools Donors Corporate Foundation Government Individual COMMUNICATIONSGOALS& OBJECTIVES Goals: Increase awarenessof the unique contributionsof AARPExperience Corpstothe educationspace through our intergenerational approach Improve onexistingcommunicationspartnershipswhileexpandingtoinclude largerarrayof partnerships Betterarticulate the AARPExperience Corpsvalue propositionforourspecific audiences Objectives: Create fourcampaignsthat frame mediaandpublicoutreachopportunitiesforourentire network and yieldanoverall increase inthe numberof new andtraditional storiesaboutthe workof AARPExperience Corpsin communitieswe serve.(Campaigns) Cultivate anetwork-wide,story-tellingculture throughnational storycontest,photoshoots andincreased use of storiesinall communicationschannels (Collaborations)
- 4. 4 CAMPAIGNS We’ll engage infourlarge-scalecampaignsin2015 throughwhichwe’ll channelmediaandpublicoutreach opportunitiestoournetwork. Campaignswill be month-longunless otherwisestated. Summer LearningLoss Timeline: April/May Leverage existinglocal andnational partnershipstoembarkona campaignto provide one bookto everyAARP Experience Corpschild,aswell astipsheetsandresourcesforparents,tohelppreventsummerlearningloss. Use researchand child’sstory(if we canfindone) ConsidercreatingAARPExperience Corpssackpacksto send resourceshome onlastdays of school. Audience(s): Parents,Educationcommunity,individual donors For parents: Create a “report card” for parentswhichaccompanySummerLearningLossresources.General message that providesencouragingwordsaboutchild’simprovementandneedforcontinuedsupportoverthe summer.Perhapsdirectingparentstolocal summerprograms? Education community: Increase awarenessof AARPExperienceCorpsineducationcommunitythroughcoordinatednetwork outreachto preventsummerlearningloss. Selectpartner(s) inoutreachtoinvesttime andresourcesincampaigntogetbooksintothe handsof kids indisadvantagedneighborhoods.Firstbook,PBSKids,andpotentiallyBoysandGirlsClubs/YMCA/local afterschool programs. Individual donors: Booksfor Kids Utilize ourAmazonSmile accounttodrive individual donorstocontribute booksforSummerLearning Loss campaign. Buildtrafficthroughsocial mediaadsinourmarkets. Distribute booksbasedonzipof donor? Potential strategic partners: PBS Kids,DoE,YMCA, Boysand GirlsClubs,local libraries WhySummer Learning Loss? While we donot have a program, thisis an area inwhichthere isstatistical evidence thatourtargetdemographic(childrenindisadvantagedneighborhoods) suffersmore than others fromsummerlearningloss. Lastyearwe partneredwithPBSKidsto putresourcesinthe handsof these children.We couldexpandthisbyengagingthe parentsdirectlyinthateffort,increase our collaborationwithPBSKidsandcreate strongerpublicawarenessof the programand the issue through the individual donationsthiscouldgenerate. We couldalsolookforpartnershipwithstrategicpartners that offersummerprograms,perhapsprovidingadiscounttoAARPExperience Corpsstudents. Tiers ofparticipation: Tier 1: SendoutonlyPBS Kidsresources withParentReportCard (all sites) Tier 2: Engage in summerlearningloss online campaign,including blog/webarticlepostsoncitypage and state webpage,social mediacampaign. (All siteseligible) Tier 3: Ideas:Hostbook drive event topreventsummerlearningloss.Joinlocal summerprogram(YMCA, Boysand GirlsClubs,other) inannouncingdiscountedrate forAARPExperience Corpsstudents. (Upto foursites)
- 5. 5 VolunteerRecruitmentCampaign Timeline: June/July/August Theme: TBD/Loosely basedon Life Reimagined Work collaboratively with state offices to engage in outreach campaign to AARP members and general public regarding opportunities to contribute to their communities by tutoring children in reading. Leverage the stories of local volunteers and their testimonials about the volunteer work to engage others. Audience: AARPMembersandgeneral 50+ public Potential Strategic Partners: state offices,schools,NRTA State offices: Leverage existingpartnershipandexpandittoengage AARPmembersdirectlyinourwork Schools: Potential toprovide neededservicesthroughvolunteeractivities.Possible collaborationwith principals/teacherson“graduation”ceremony. Tiers ofParticipation: Tier 1: Meetwithstate offices andprovide AARPExperience Corpsrecruitmentmaterialsforuse at eventsthe state office isattending.Alsomeetwithandshare recruitmentmaterialswithNRTA leaders. (all sites) Tier 2: Sitescouldrequestemail blasttolocal AARP andNRTA memberstoengage theminvolunteer activities. Inpitch,highlightone volunteerstory. Providesocial media,web/blogposts.AskforanAARP BulletinstoryinMay/June/July/August. (All siteseligible) Tier 3: Ideas: Do year-end“graduation”ceremonywithkidsandtutors.Give certificatesof “graduation” at ceremony. Highlightstoryof one volunteer/child. Use asa mediaop to engage potentialvolunteers. Host a volunteeroutreacheventlike a school beautificationprojectata local school and invite AARPstaff and AARPmemberstoattend. Workwithstate office andAARPExperience Corpsnationalstaff to promote. (Upto four sites) Back to School Timeline: August/September/October Theme: Attendance AwarenessMonth Promote AARPExperience Corpsback-to-school effortsthroughAttendanceAwarenessMonthactivities. Utilize storiesgeneratedthroughBostonandBaltimore toengage audience inbarrierschildrenface ingettingtoschool. Audience(s): parents,educationcommunity,AARPmembers Parents: SendAttendance AwarenessresourcestoparentswithintroductoryinformationonAARP Experience Corps. Increase parentawarenessof AARPExperience Corpsasa supportintheirschools. EducationCommunity: Increase visibilityof AARPExperience Corpswithkeypartnersineducationspace throughAttendance AwarenessMonthactivities network-wide. GaincredibilitysothatAARPExperience Corpsis a go-toorganizationwhenseekingcampaign partners. AARPMembers: Create awarenessof importance of attendance forchildrentosucceedtobe delivered throughstate office aswell asotherAARPoutreachchannels.
- 6. 6 Potential Strategic Partners: schools,otherlocal nonprofits, CampaignforGrade Level Reading, America’sPromise Alliance,Attendance Works,UnitedWay,Pointsof LightFoundationandMentor WhyAttendance? We knowthat the social emotional bondbetweenourvolunteersandthe studentswe serve anecdotallycorrelatesinsome waytoimprovedattendance inteachers’minds.We alsoknowfrom researchthat attendance hasa directimpacton learningthroughthe researchfieldedbyAttendance Works. We include attendance inourdashboardandhave at leasttwopilotscurrentlyoperatinginthe field. The opportunitiesforpartnershipwithimportantstrategicpartnersineducationare compellingas well. Tiers ofParticipation (TBD): Tier 1: Postat leastone bannerper city,postactivitytoAAMmap (All sites) Tier 2: Social media,webarticle/blog(All siteseligible) Tier 3: Ideas: Host a parentengagementactivitywhere youdistribute informationonimportance of attendance.Participate inschool backtoschool nights. Announce partnershipwithotherservice groups to workcollaborativelyonbreakingdownbarrierstoattendance. (Upto foursites) COLLABORATIONS Cultivate anetwork-wide,story-tellingculture throughnational storycontest,photoshootsandincreaseduse of stories inall communicationschannels Host a story tellingcontestin January/February withprizesforbothsitesandvolunteerswhoare able to share the beststory Create prizesforbothvolunteersandsitesthatmake itworthwhiletoparticipate Highestvalue storiesshouldalsohave achild’sstorycomponentandpermissionfromthe child’sparents to use that storyand image Create flyertoshare contestrulesandprizes Distribute storyform,storyarcs and contestflyerin December Storycollectionends2ndweekof February Determine whoevaluatesthe stories—CAG? NICgroup? Work withAARPExperienceCorpsFieldServicesand Education&Evaluationgroupsindeterminingpilot opportunitiesin2015 to integrate MentorUp volunteersintoourworktrainingthe volunteersontechnology Meetingin1st quarter 2015 to fleshoutdetailsof opportunity withAiyshenPadilla,JulieHeckerandothers as appropriate Evaluation Methodology Increase inmediaimpressions –bothtraditional andnontraditional Increase insocial mediaengagement --likes,reposts,increase infans/followers (15%) Increase intotal numberof volunteersidentifiedthroughAARPchannels Numberof sitescollaboratingincampaignworkandbuildingonthe ideaswe’ve putforth Staff feedbackthroughsurveytool atyearend