MARKETING AFTERSCHOOL HOW TO MAKE A CASE AND BUILD SUPPORT FOR YOUR PROGRAM.

MARKETING AFTERSCHOOL

HOW TO MAKE A CASE AND BUILD SUPPORT FOR YOUR PROGRAM

MAKING THE CASE… The Public Wants & Needs Afterschool

Parents of 28 million kids work outside the home14.3 million children—1 in 4—are alone and unsupervised

after school

3 p.m. to 6 p.m. most dangerous hours Juvenile crime soars (triples)Peak hours for drugs, alcohol, cigarettes and sex

Parents of 15 million children would sign up for an afterschool program if one were available

More than 80% say children need a place to go after school

2/3 say afterschool is an absolute necessity72% want Congress to increase afterschool funding73% want state and local officials to increase afterschool

funding 69% would support a tax increase if it went to afterschool

I

mproved Test Scores and Grades

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mproved School Attendance, Engagement in Learning

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mproved Social and Emotional Behavior

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mproved Health and Wellness

BENEFITS OF QUALITY AFTERSCHOOL PROGRAMS

Benefits to Bottom Line

Parental concern about kids afterschool costs employers: Up to $300 billion a year due to lost work productivity and 8 additional missed days of workEvery $1 invested saves taxpayers $3Employers say that 40% of High School graduates lack the skills they need to succeed in the 21st century work force

STATE AFTERSCHOOL POLICY

38 Statewide networks working to build supportive afterschool systems (Missouri was one of the original states awarded a grant through the MOTT foundation to start a state network.)

26 Governors hold Afterschool Summits 50 Governors sign Lights On Proclamations

Creative and Diverse Ways to Fund Afterschool (bond issues, use of district funds, Title I funds, community agencies and business support, etc…)

WHAT YOU CAN DO

Market Afterschool &

Promote Your Program

KNOW YOUR ALLIES

Afterschool Providers

CEOs, Police Chiefs, District Attorneys, Parents and more

Youth Voices

State and citywide leaders

Parents

Use Events to Boost Profile, Build Relationships

Generate Media Coverage

Make Afterschool an election issue

Contact Congress (very important for future funding)

Position your program to be partner at the table when key decisions are made for your school or CBO

Arrange a Site Visit (Ask a member of Congress and local politicians to visit) Help your elected officials establish a personal connection to afterschool by inviting them to visit a program and see firsthand how it is helping kids and families

Find the home district address and phone number for your elected officials.

Identify a few dates during the next Congressional recess when you could host a tour of your program.

Call the district office. Before the visit: Identify youth, parents,

program staff, school officials and community partners who would be convincing spokespeople for your program.

What to do the day of the visit.

Helpful Hint

If you don’t know the answer to something asked by a member of Congress respond by saying, “ I don’t have that information at my fingertips at this time. I promise as soon as I leave here I will get that information and get it to you.” Make sure you get what was requested ASAP.

NEVER give information that you cannot verify…Congressional members are counting on you to give the most up to date and correct information. If they quote you and the information is incorrect they may never support Afterschool again.

Always travel with fact sheets and data when doing Congressional visits.

DATA, DATA, DATA…

Use your Kids Care Data to tell your storyHow many students you servePercentages of female/male participantsMAP scoresAcademic Grade increases (92% raised their math grade)Attendance RatesAdult participationVolunteer Hours = $ (use the state average to figure $ amount)A+ hoursEventsProfessional DevelopmentInventory

Lights On AfterschoolOctober 21, 2011

Annual nationwide event Brings attention to the need for afterschool programs and resources 8,500+ events and 1 million

Americans nationwide Thousands of newspaper & TV

stories Build relationships w/ business

community, neighborhood leaders, elected officials

Sign up at www.afterschoolalliance.org

QUICK TIPS FOR MEDIA COVERAGE

Learn general tips on how the media works Have facts typed up for them that are key to

the article or story Create your own program media list & email

group Identify your 3 key messages (keep kids

safe, help working families & increases academic achievement)

Structure the event with the media in mind Appeal to the press---develop relationships Issue news releases or news blasts Develop a media kit (brochure or program

book with contact info included and photo release info)

Manage the media at your event

CONTACT CONGRESS

Call, write or email

Send copies of newsletters, links to website, copies of newspaper articles (Look what is happening in Afterschool at Camdenton R-III today…)

Meet with district staff or a legislative assistants

AFTERSCHOOL FOR ALL

Afterschool For All brings together individuals and organizations from across the nation who support the vision that all children and youth deserve access to quality, affordable afterschool programs.

Register your support & be recognized by theAfterschool for All campaign

Thousands of leaders, organizations and businesses already on board Sign up to show your support www.afterschoolalliance.org