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McCanna members urge digital outreach, interns and small grants to rebuild neighborhood engagement
Summary
At a Marion County Alliance of Neighborhood Associations meeting, leaders said keeping monthly in-person meetings remains important while adding automated email reminders, student interns and small grants to recruit younger volunteers and broaden participation.
Kathy Burton, president of the Marion County Alliance of Neighborhood Associations (McCanna), opened the meeting by reminding attendees that McCanna holds public meetings monthly and is broadcast on Channel 16. She said the group was founded in 1990 to connect neighborhood organizations countywide and remains focused on sharing information and helping neighborhoods coordinate on local issues.
The meeting centered on whether monthly Saturday meetings remain an effective way to reach neighborhood leaders and residents and how McCanna can attract younger volunteers. “All neighborhood based organizations, including HOAs, are welcome to join McCanna,” Burton said, noting the organization’s ongoing schedule and its Channel 16 broadcasts.
Attendees generally supported keeping the monthly meeting schedule while expanding digital outreach. Suggestions included a listserv or automated reminder system, more frequent pre-meeting email notices (one week before), and publishing meeting agendas in advance. Burton said she maintains a monthly email list and posts agendas on the group’s Facebook page but lacks technical capacity for automation: “I do not carry a smartphone, so don't send me a link I gotta click on,” she said.
Several participants offered concrete help. A meeting attendee who runs a branding and communications business and another who offered an intern both volunteered to help with automated notices, social-media event posting and other tech work. Attendees also discussed writing small grants or using interns from local colleges to support outreach and membership drives.
McCanna’s dues were described as $20 per year; Burton said the organization does not want to exclude anyone who cannot pay. The Marion County Health Department’s regular participation was highlighted as an example of a public agency partnership that brings services into neighborhood meetings.
Members agreed to try both personal outreach to neighborhood presidents and improved electronic notices, and Burton asked volunteers to help compile and maintain contact lists for direct emails rather than broad blasts.
The group set a next-step goal of launching improved outreach by October and asked members to send suggested speakers and contacts to McCanna’s email address. Burton provided contact information at the meeting and encouraged attendees to drive through neighborhoods they do not normally visit to better understand different needs.
