Do you want your local community to be more involved with your charity? And what can you do to give back to the community that gives to you? Here are 5 top tips for increasing local support and engagement.

1. Integrate 

Bidding for contracts to provide services in the local community will not only support funding objectives but establish a familiar presence in the community.

2. Be accessible

Enable people from all walks of life to have contact with the organisation. In the case of volunteering, a family programme would not exclude parents. For potential donors, an evening event to raise awareness would not exclude those in full-time work.

3. Promote the benefits

We can all think of generic advantages to contributing to charity, but what specifically can your organisation offer back to a community that is willing to put something in?

4. Educate

The more a community understands about a cause, the more it will empathise and feel comfortable about offering its help.

5. Make it easy

People have limited time and are impatient. Whether you want contributions of money or time, make sure that people can respond to every altruistic urge immediately.

For more insight on what the public really think about volunteering, read the article 'What would it take for you to contribute to your community?'