…And that’s a wrap!
Starting way back in September 2021 and finishing September 2022, Michael and Steve Connelly hosted 11 masterclasses as part of Ipswich City Council’s Stronger Communities project. These masterclasses saw over 150 attendees come together, from more than 100 local community organisations, clubs and associations.
“I really enjoyed it. There was so much great content.”
“Quality information and excellent presentation, both visually and verbally.”
“I learnt several things that I was able to take back to our committee to be actioned.”
These masterclasses were designed to cover the common pain points volunteers face, give them practical tools and provide the techniques to implement those tools within their organisations. The topics covered:
Committee Coaching
Engaging Young People
How to Recruit and Retain Volunteers
Forming Partnerships, Building Networks, and Better Engagement Techniques
Constitutions
An online constitution Q&A session
Building Welcoming and Inclusive Organisations Through Cultural Awareness
Marketing and Branding
Dealing with Difficult People
Using Social Media - An online crash course
Asset Management
It was important to lay the foundation of the series with topics such as committee coaching and knowing good governance, and understanding how to retain volunteers, especially young people.
Michael demonstrated powerful influence and engagement techniques to form stronger partnerships and to understand the networks that exist in and around each organisation. Part of growing a network involves cultural awareness, so it was essential that people realise that everyone has blind spots and biases. It’s the tactics people use to overcome these blind spots and biases that help build inclusive and welcoming places for members and the community.
“Michael is a very engaging presenter providing a light-hearted and balanced interaction with all participants whilst remaining professional. It provided me with useful and practical ideas that can be incorporated and utilised to be able to provide more well-rounded service in my chosen field of Youth Work.”
With over 25 years of experience, the passion Michael and Steve have for helping organisations, clubs and associations was obvious to all of the participants. Feedback following the sessions focused on how the masterclasses provided the type of practical support volunteers need to be the best they can be.
Non-profit organisations often overlook opportunities to make the most of their marketing and branding, so it was great to see so many groups register for the Marketing and Branding Masterclass. This in-depth workshop provided volunteers with the necessary techniques to make the most of their brands and to use social media in ways that deliver results. The content really hit the mark and some groups immediately updated their online presence to put the session's take-aways into practice.
“The Masterclass has increased my organisation’s capability with more specific knowledge about how to market to the right groups of people, and what works for different age groups. Regarding social media marketing, it has given me a more thorough understanding of the different community groups we have in our area.”
Dealing with difficult people in clubs and associations was another popular topic, because sometimes good intentions turn into bad behaviour. People’s desire to deliver what's best for members can give way to their ego and they become... well, difficult! During this session, Michael touched on the importance of self-awareness in being an effective community leader, ensuring that people realise that they can't change anyone else's behaviour. All we can do is adjust how we behave in an effort to better engage with others. Michael provided a series of practical steps for dealing with difficult people, both from the position of being a party to a dispute, and when trying to help others resolve conflicts.
“They gave me the information and push to approach the stalwarts of our brand, to change the way we run our organisation for the better. I am taking little steps, but as you said if I don’t start, we will never start. Thank you for your time and information.”
The aim of the Stronger Communities Masterclass series was to give everyone the tools to be able to make their roles easier, and therefore more enjoyable, and to look after themselves as volunteers, both physically and mentally.
“I just want to say thank you for the session. I found it informative and quite helpful. It was well facilitated especially with such a diverse group of community organisations. I appreciated hearing other groups' challenges and issues. As well as thinking about asset management I went home thinking how I can help those groups do better especially through our facilities.”
At CPR Group we would like to congratulate all those who attended the masterclasses and we hope everyone is able to implement their new-found skills in their organisations. Thank you to the community development team Ipswich City Council for their commitment to helping volunteers create stronger communities.
