Monday, July 29, 2013

SUCCESSFUL IDEAS TO GROW AND MAINTAIN YOUR LOCAL GROUP



Executive Summary of the Focus Group


Successful Ideas to Grow and Maintain
Your Local Group

Ottawa, Ontario 
July 5, 2013

The content of this report was taken from the raw data in the flip charts and post-it notes created by the participants in each of the six topic areas. The full report can be obtained by contacting Don Herald at the email address below.

Prepared by the Session Facilitators

Don Herald and Betty Bennett

Email:
peterboroughstorytellers.cogeco.ca


The focus group was well-attended with 27 participants from storytelling groups in rural, suburban and urban centres, including both relatively new groups and more established ones.  It was striking and affirming to note that the issues shared were very similar from one group to another and that all of the groups have met these challenges with innovation, creativity and persistence.

We posed five specific questions and a wild card:
  • ·         How do you recruit and retain members?
  • ·         What have you found to be a successful meeting format?
  • ·         How do you promote and develop skills among your members?
  • ·         How do you market your group in your community and in local        media?
  • ·         How do you solicit revenue to sustain your activities?
  • ·         Finally, are there any suggestions not covered in the previous          questions?


In essence, the challenges are: getting them in, keeping them interested, developing committed storytellers and creating a variety of storytelling opportunities, marketing and funding.  

There is some overlap in the ideas that were shared. For example, marketing applies to both recruitment of members and audiences, and is influential in obtaining funding. Of course, funding certainly has an impact on the activities that a group can undertake.
 
Getting Them In and Keeping Them Interested

A welcoming atmosphere is crucial to recruitment and retention (R & R).  All agreed that pitching the group at open meetings, welcoming new and returning guests, making introductions, wearing name tags and having a social time (often around food) encouraged people to visit more than once.  It is important to build upon the original welcome by phone or email contact.  Some guilds have also followed up on old phone lists to encourage lapsed members to return. 

The location (transit and parking), ambiance and accessibility of the setting is also important in retaining members and has led some groups to meet in alternative venues, such as coffee houses, tea rooms and so on that may attract a younger clientele.  A facility, such as a library or a school, with print and audio resources makes it easy for new tellers to locate material, and some groups have developed their own resources for sharing among members. 
 
Groups have experimented with a variety of meeting formats, but most agreed on the importance of telling shorter stories at swaps and making sure that everyone who wishes to tell, especially newcomers, has the opportunity. Sign-up sheets and time limits have helped with this. Games, icebreaker exercises, mini-tells, and appreciations add to the story swap experience and enhance the welcome.   Beginner workshops and coaching encourage new members and help develop new storytellers. 

Delegation of tasks within the group helps avoid volunteer burnout, and newcomers often appreciate the opportunity to take on a volunteer role. 

To add variety, some groups have hosted story slams and tea parties in alternative venues, or have invited other community groups, musicians, poets and so on to broaden perspectives. Everyone recognizes that there are many different ways to tell a story!

Developing Committed Storytellers

The newbie wants a safe, positive environment in which to tell.  Appreciations help to build confidence for both new and experienced tellers, and beginner workshops help to develop storytelling skills further.  Feedback at swaps should be limited, as new tellers can be overwhelmed, and should be offered only if requested.  The social time within the meeting can provide an opportunity to informally coach tellers if they wish it. 

Mini-workshops at the beginning of the story swap give experienced tellers the chance to explore a topic a bit more deeply using their own skills while educating newcomers on different genres and styles of telling.  Established tellers should be encouraged to share their skill in offering local workshops – this is often an economical alternative to guest coaching where there may be a fee involved.  Larger, formal workshops at an advanced level can often become more affordable if a couple of groups in a geographic area team up to make it happen.  The Internet is another source of storytelling material and tutorials, though care should be taken to identify reliable sites.  The SC-CC web-site provides links to a variety of storytellers’ sites. 

Creating Storytelling Opportunities

The story swap or open storytelling evening seems to be the entry level activity of most groups, but as tellers become more experienced and polished, they take on more events that showcase their tellers’ skills.  At this level, groups have offered “story teas”, house concerts and eclectic theme nights.

Participation in World Storytelling Day is a celebration actively encouraged by SC-CC.  WSD events have ranged from simple concerts, storytelling events for/in schools, multi-event, mini-festivals, often including tellers from geographically close communities.  Really ambitious and established groups have undertaken two-day festivals, such as TALES, the Fort Edmonton Storytelling Festival.  The Edmonton group has found that intensive strategic planning sessions are essential to ensure the success of this type of event, as it involves a great deal of volunteer work, but can prove useful to any group planning an annual program.  Many groups have also found a year-end review to be helpful in discovering untapped opportunities and celebrating their successes in the past year.

Marketing

Marketing is crucial to all of these concerns.  It helps attract new tellers, it publicizes the activities of the group and brings awareness to the broader public and provides evidence of activity when storytelling circles are applying for funding.

Most groups have used traditional media (press, radio, community announcements and flyers) with some success, and now many are turning their attention to new media, such as Facebook, blogs and Twitter accounts.  Some groups have found that relatively low-cost promotional materials such as bookmarks, business cards, rack cards and posters are quite successful, especially if the guild or group has developed a brand image or identifiable logo and the materials are of as professional a quality as possible.
 
Phone and email provide convenient ways to keep in touch with regular members and anyone else who has expressed an interest.  Partnering with community groups, tourism offices and educational facilities has the added advantage of widening your market by attracting a potentially untapped audience and sharing marketing costs.  Above all, identify yourself as a storyteller.  It gives the opportunity to explain what storytelling is.  Word-of-mouth, especially an enthusiastic endorsement by someone else, is one of the most effective marketing tools.

Funding

Funding is an issue for all groups, large or small, as it makes further development possible. Revenue is used most often to pay marketing costs, facility rental costs, and honoraria for tellers.  Although it is sometimes a controversial move, many groups are instituting a small membership fee or a modest admission fee to attend a story swap. Putting a value on storytelling is important in gaining respect for the art.  Some groups have a slightly higher level of membership at the guild level.  Collecting fees or honoraria when performing at museums or community centres as a group can build a nest-egg for the storytelling group.

Grants are often available at all levels of government, as well as SC-CC, provincial arts councils and the Canada Council.  Many corporations will also provide sponsorship for special events, but groups should be mindful that with grant requests and sponsorships, a detailed plan, application and follow-up report will usually be required.  The associations in Edmonton, Alberta have been particularly successful in applying for grants from their provincial and municipal arts councils.  Charitable or Not-for-Profit status may be applied for but usually comes with community service stipulations and requires meticulous accounting. 

Conclusion

In conclusion, groups from one side of Canada to the other face multiple challenges.  There is the problem of attracting a younger body of committed storytellers, while trying to retain the older members who have contributed so much for so long and are beginning to burn out.  Without sufficient commitment, it becomes increasingly difficult to host the attention-grabbing events that help to bring the delight of storytelling to the public.
 
There is the education/image problem of explaining yet again, that storytelling is for all, not just for children.  Perhaps some of the most promising opportunities exist where storytelling, music, poetry and performance art intersect, and in the strategic exploration of new technology and some of its benefits.
 
We appreciated the generous sharing of ideas in the focus group, the connections made, and the affirmation that, in spite of the challenges, we all still feel a positive commitment to storytelling in our local communities and across Canada.

Betty Bennett and Don Herald

Facilitators 
Members of Peterborough Storytellers
Peterborough, Ontario 

Re-printed with the permission
of Storytellers of Canada (July, 2013)

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