While #MoreMoneyforMoreKids sums up Kids’ Chance in a nutshell, when getting down to the nuts and bolts of making that happen, the question often arises: How do we find the kids?Kim Stezala, Kids’ Chance of America scholarship consultant and the Senior Partner at Design Group International, led the October 30, 2019, Give Back Better webinar focused on successful strategies for finding eligible kids, strategies that are worth the effort, and putting these strategies into play. Participants also gained insight into real-world examples from KCOA State Representatives, Allison Hanson (Kids’ Chance of Wisconsin) and Linda Williams (Minnesota/Iowa Kids’ Chance affiliate).

Key Take-Aways

The WHO is of paramount importance! Networking with:

• Legal field (law firms, plaintiff and defense attorneys),
• Government entities (states’ workers’ comp divisions, OSHA, office of the Governor),
• Higher education professionals (guidance counselors and college admissions officers),
• Unions,
• Firefighters, police, and emergency workers, and
• Insurance firms

creates your advocates in the field, all those people who are dedicated to making connections and promoting Kids’ Chance of America scholarships.

Then the HOW comes into play. Opportunities such as:

• Attending industry events,
• Speaking at industry events,
• Sponsoring industry events,
• Providing Kids’ Chance of America literature at industry events,
• Adding to your distribution list for email and snail mail exchanges, and
• Mining data on websites and social media

go hand-in-hand with the hard work you have done in your networking efforts and gives you further visibility in identifying kids.

Finally, use your WHO and HOW in strategic ways:

• Board members, committees, volunteers, and/or paid staff should have clear direction and accountabilities in networking goals and communication activities. Someone has to “do the work” and stay on top of it– their care and dedication is crucial!
• Involve siblings of scholarship recipients in your outreach efforts.
• Keep your contact database “clean” and up-to-date
• Obtain nonprofit status for snail-mailing status through the United States Postal Service.

Before you know it, you will have more kids able to receive more money!

Next Month

Next month, we will discuss Building a Student-Friendly Application Timeline with Kim Stezala, our scholarship consultant and the Senior Partner at Design Group International.

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#GiveBackBetter

Learn more about Kids’ Chance of America and the upcoming Give Back Better webinars, our dynamic forum for state-to-state exchanges that build on the best experiences, skills, and tools we all have to offer.