Organizing Your Planning Team and Recruiting Partners

VERB Scorecard campaigns have been implemented on shoe-string budgets, but even the size of the shoe-string has ranged from $100 to $1,200 to $35,000 plus staff time. Line items in the campaign budget include promotional materials, printing, prizes, special events, billboards, advertising and contract labor.

Identify a Lead Agency

Identify a lead agency and the source of funding that will support your campaign. One agency directing the campaign assures that there is specified leadership and that things get done. But in most cases, the lead agency wouldn’t want to attempt it alone. It takes a community to build a broad-based, effective VERB Scorecard campaign.

Possible Lead Agencies

• State or local health departments
• City or County parks and recreation departments
• Cooperative Extensions
• YMCA, Boys & Girls Club or other youth-serving organizations
• Middle schools
• Youth advocacy groups

Allow for Adequate Time to Plan, Implement, and Evaluate your Campaign

Though some communities have organized a VERB Scorecard campaign in three months, it is recommended that groups allow at least six months prior to the kick-off date. Nine to 12 months lead time is even better.

You’ll need ample time to pre-test your campaign design and materials, promote the campaign and, if included in your evaluation design, collect baseline survey data. Make sure your timeline incorporates the special events calendar, and delineates deadlines for partner recruitment, prize solicitation and materials design, development, printing and distribution.

Develop Partnerships to Establish Your Planning Team

The more partners, the more reach and visibility a campaign has. Your community group will need partners to help plan, implement and evaluate your VERB Scorecard campaign. And, your planning team will need partners as vendors to offer great deals, host special events and contribute prizes.

List the groups in your community that are interested in youth, physical activity and/or health, and that you could recruit to your planning team. Expand your potential partner list by reaching out to groups and individuals with which your organization or agency hasn’t worked before. Include a youth board on your planning team to garner input from the kids.

Partners can be invited by highlighting the important role they can play and/or appealing to their self-interest. Consider drawing up Memorandums of Agreement with participating partners so there is no misunderstanding about each group’s role in the campaign.

Manage the Campaign Workload through Subcommittees

Conduct the work of the planning team in subcommittees that meet more frequently, and connect all the dots through regular meetings with the entire planning team. Coordinate the campaign elements through one lead staff person. To distribute the workload, assign campaign duties to several staff people as a significant, short-term project. Consider hiring part-time, temporary or contract staff.

Possible Subcommittees

• Steering or leadership group
• Youth or tween board
• Evaluation or research and evaluation
• Partner/vendor (both for-profit and non-profit) recruitment
• VERB SScorecard design and pre-testing
• VERB Scorecard distribution
• Prize solicitation, selection, purchase, and distribution
• Marketing and promotion
• Special events, including a kick-off event and/or grand finale event

Develop Partnerships to Enlist VERB Scorecard Campaign Vendors

Recruit businesses and non-profit agencies as VERB Scorecard campaign vendors that offer great deals on physical activity services, host special events and contribute prizes.

Make the benefits – the What’s In It For Them? – clear to them. The VERB Scorecard campaign provides additional advertising, is positive for business or enrollment, and promotes a positive image of the business or agency as a leader in making your community healthier and more livable.

Use the personal connections of your planning team members to telephone or visit potential partners/vendors. Keep letters and other information short and easy for them. Showing sample VERB Scorecards, videos, ads and articles from other communities may help vendors quickly see the tremendous potential of this campaign. Get started with ideas, recruitment letters and video clips on the VERB Scorecard Campaign CD-ROM.