The work of a community association board of directors is administering the business of the corporation. It’s important for board members to focus on the business of the association, but sometimes it’s necessary to inject a little fun and camaraderie to build a stronger sense of community. Several in my community have voiced desire for periodic social gatherings, partly because everyone seems to feel disconnected after the past couple of years. The holidays are a perfect time to host an event and work on community spirit. Here are some ideas of what you can do as a leader in your association to celebrate the holidays with your membership.
Organize a Social Committee:
Board members are laden with the day-to-day business of the association and not always up to the task of organizing social events. Consider creating a social committee and build periodic gatherings into your annual budget. Events don’t have to be expensive but earmarking some funds for social events will help enable the committee to accomplish its task. Committee members don’t have to be board members, which means there is a creative and highly social outlet for participation from association members who might not feel up to the job serving on the board. It’s a great opportunity for more community involvement. Committees, or groups of any kind, can be organized in the CommunityLink portal so that content unique to the committee’s planning, budgeting, and dialogue can be published to the portal and made available only to committee and board members.
Plan a Party:
Associations with a real sense of community have social committees or volunteers who donate their time and efforts to organize a holiday event. There isn’t much time left this year if you haven't planned a community event for the holidays, but you could still pull of something simple; it doesn’t have to be elaborate. If it’s too late for planning, get a head start on planning a gathering for next year.
Get Member Involvement in Holiday Décor:
Decorating for the holidays is something most people enjoy. There are several ways you can get people involved in something that is fun, expressive, and can foster community ties:
Get Volunteers: Create a volunteer opportunity for community members to get together and decorate the entrance monuments for the holidays. If you your association is large and there are several entry points, organize competing groups to take on decorating each monumented entrance and award prizes for a winning group.
Make Decorating a Contest: You can assemble a judging committee or put a vote to the general membership using a survey in the CommunityLink portal and award first, second, and third prize to the homes that have the best holiday decorating.
Give Back:
Your holiday event can be set up as a benefit a chosen charity. A potluck can be a fundraiser for a local homeless shelter or a toy drive for kids in foster care, for example. You could organize a group of homeowners to visit the local retirement home, bring cookies and gifts, and spend time with the elderly. Rallying your membership around a common and deserving cause builds community while celebrating the holiday spirit of giving. Helping others makes people feel good and therefore strengthens community bonds.
Whichever you choose to celebrate with your community members, as board members and managers, you will benefit from the organization tools available in eUnify’s uManage and CommunityLink platforms. Contact us today to see how we can help automate, simplify, and organize your work as we head into a new year. Happy holidays!