When Toronto-based St. Christopher House approached the University of Toronto to help them research gentrification issues in downtown Toronto, the agency was confident the project was significant to the community they served. How could they be so sure? Was it a hunch? A rumour? Nope. It was by speaking directly to members of the community that St. Chris learned of the anxiety and tension surrounding gentrification – and the need to address it.

As communities grow and diversify, and as member issues become more complex, it’s becoming increasingly important for organizations to have their ear to the ground. Concerns facing communities need to be addressed head-on in order to avoid a game of guesstimates. But how best to connect with your community to ensure programs and services truly represent their needs?

How do I connect with thee, let me count the ways

For St. Christopher House, a neighbourhood agency whose goal is to help less advantaged individuals, families and groups gain greater control over their lives, one way is through Community Sweeps. Organized once a year, volunteers are put into small teams and sent out with a list of survey questions. The purpose of the sweep is twofold. First, it’s an outreach tool, a proactive form of publicity for St. Chris and its services. “Instead of just relying on people walking through the door, we’re trying to reach people who otherwise wouldn’t know what we do,” explains , coordinator of volunteer and community relations. Secondly, the sweep serves to find out more about the community. “We ask people questions about the neighbourhood, who they are, what they would want to see in a community centre, what would be helpful for them.”

Garnering input from communities helps organizations in their choice of projects and in the efficacy of those programs. The Sweeps not only help St. Chris establish programs that fulfill needs, such as the gentrification research project, they also keep the organization abreast of new groups in the community. “We really do get a sense of language and family composition,” says Woodill. “If, for example, we realize there are more newcomers from China living on a street, we say, ‘we should really do some more outreach in that language’.”

Another case in point: Montreal’s Santropol Roulant. With a mission of bringing people and groups together across cultures and generations, the organization has been providing meals-on-wheels service and intergenerational programs since 1995. Over the years, the volunteer group has used surveys, informal gatherings and follow-up phone calls to determine if the meals they provide are up to snuff. The feedback has been directly responsible for changes in meal plans and dietary concerns.

Organized dinner discussions are another way Santropol gathers feedback about ongoing projects. It was at one of these gatherings that the organization learned of the desire for more educational programming for seniors. Acting on this information, Santropol is currently developing a discussion series on senior issues slated to begin this summer. And, according to , director of development and communications, with the aim of further improving their community relations, they recently initiated something new. “We just formed a membership community to look at how we interact with our members and how we communicate with them.”

Nova Scotia’s HeartWood Centre for Community Youth Development also relies on community input to formulate and enrich their programs. Believing healthy communities stem from meaningful youth participation, the nonprofit develops youth programs and services and coaches adults and organizations on youth engagement practices. For HeartWood, garnering feedback is essential to its mission. “In our line of work we would quickly become irrelevant with youth if we did not listen to them and respond to their ever-changing needs,” states executive director, Brian Braganza. And so, when seven years ago a young staff member demonstrated the positive impact that digital filmmaking had on youth, HeartWood was convinced. “It’s a medium some youth understand well and easily get engaged in,” says Braganza. Now the organization incorporates digital filmmaking into many of its programs.

Gathering input: a matter of survival

For some, community feedback proves essential not only to the successful output of services, it can also impact the very future of an organization itself. Take the Prince Albert & District Community Service Centre (PACSC) of Saskatchewan. The nonprofit is reliant on government funding for the wide range of social services it provides to Prince Albert residents. As a result, says Merv Bender, executive director for the past 18 years, if PACSC designs services that are not needed or that are poorly run, the organization would lose support and funding. It is, therefore, “critical that we understand community needs and have services designed to meet those needs,” he concludes.

Customizing your reach

Though motivations and methods of connecting to communities may differ, organizations are cautioned to keep the uniqueness of their respective members in mind. HeartWood, for example, seeks to create opportunities for youth to be integrally involved in the organization. “We have an organizational core value of listening and responding to the young people we serve,” says Braganza. Toward that end, four young adults currently sit on the board, while others represent core or contract staff. Plus, efforts are consistently made to interview youth about their needs and how HeartWood can best serve them.

And considering the youthful element of their participants, HeartWood found some of the more common ways of connecting, such as surveys and written evaluations, to be less effective in garnering input. Creative methods – videos, informal interviews, talking to parents or social workers before and after programs – are often adopted instead. The organization also uses focus groups to help get a good glimpse into community needs. “It’s an opportunity for us to hear from a diversity of youth,” says Braganza.

Obstacles on the road to feedback

Of course, gathering feedback is not always an easy task and challenges do stand in the way. “With people already so busy, it’s hard to find time to sit back and reflect, ‘okay how can we be creative and do things differently?’” says Woodill. And let’s not forget the cultural and language barriers. Representing seven different neighbourhoods in Toronto, St. Christopher House definitely has its work cut out. In response, the organization hires community engagement workers to reach out to members. Speaking a variety of different languages, they go to businesses, restaurants or other places of contact and act as interpreters, reaching out to cultural groups for whom English is not their first language. “They can help people with access to services who otherwise wouldn’t even walk through the door,” Woodill explains.

Challenges moving forward

Even if an organization can get beyond the obstacles in the way of gathering community feedback, there may still be others lining their path toward using that input. For example, when the Prince Albert & District Community Service Centre tried to organize a program to help disabled students find employment and advanced training opportunities, they successfully gathered evidence and data to demonstrate the project’s value. But even so, a lack of manpower and shortage of financial backing from schools and government stymied the program moving forward.

Further, when culling feedback, an organization needs to be ready, able and willing to use it effectively. “When you do open the door, it’s an invitation for everything to come in,” says Ludman. You then have to adapt and be open to all ideas, which is not always easy. “It’s about identifying what the need is right now and what our priority is right now and conducting an ongoing evaluation.” And, Ludman stresses, no matter how challenging the process, the nonprofit must always keep in mind that members and organizations are part of the same community. “If the organization is moving in a way that’s different from the community, it’s not serving the people at all.”

Elisa Birnbaum is a freelance print and broadcast journalist living in Toronto.