Building Community Relationships

Bre McGahey

Public Policy Communications Manager International Health, Racquet & Sportsclub Association

FitLife Summer Conference August 4, 2008

Home

Club? Work

Becoming the 3rd Place

Can clubs become a place for the community?

An Inward Focus

•  Financials •  Operations •  Employees •  Members

•  Sales •  Retention

•  Programming •  Long-term Planning

What is Community Relations? •  Establishing and maintaining a mutually

beneficial relationship between a company and the community it operates in

•  Accepting civic responsibility, taking an active role in community well-being

•  Core business strategy

Looking Outside Your 4 Walls

Your Club • Financials

•  Operations •  Employees •  Members

•  Sales •  Retention

•  Programming •  Long-term Planning

Community

Community

Relations Relations

Benefits for Your Club

Create a sense of community

Boost your bottom-line

Enhance recruitment

and retention of members

Enhance recruitment

and retention of employees

Improve positioning in competitive

market

Strengthen reputation

Build community ties

and support Increase loyalty Foster goodwill

Your Club

Local government

State government

Federal government

Community groups

Physician networks

Charities

Health Organizations

Schools

Media

Local Citizens

Identify the Need

What are the biggest problems facing your community?

Provide a Solution •  How can your club provide a solution? •  What resources at your club are under-

utilized? •  Time of day •  Day of the week

•  Facility area

•  Staff expertise

•  What are your business goals?

Vision

•  Create a written vision statement – Acknowledge that community issues have

direct impact on the club and its future success –  Statement of responsibility to community and

commitment to being “neighbor of choice”

•  Make it part of your club culture

Create a Budget Line Item

•  To foster long-term relationship building, ensure adequate funding –  Start out small, continually evaluate

•  Create criteria for use of funds •  Schedule community relations calendar

Staff •  Who are staff

members that would thrive with a new challenge?

•  Opportunity to educate, engage, and enrich the community they live and work in

•  84% of employees feel that a company’s community image is important

Who to partner with? •  Identify the people/organizations who can help

you achieve your vision •  Get with those people/organizations and help

them succeed •  Let them reciprocate by helping you do the

same

•  Stay in regular contact with these people/organizations

•  Enjoy mutual success AND a great relationship

Become a Member

•  Local business association

•  Chamber of Commerce

•  Visitors Bureau •  Rotary International

•  Kiwanis

Community groups

Create a Community Wellness Coalition

•  Partner with like-minded organizations

•  Work together •  Share resources •  Become community

leaders

Community groups

Physician networks Charities Health orgs

Programming

•  Partner with the right people and organizations

•  Create programming that is mutually beneficial and solves the needs of your community

Disease-based Programming

•  Partner with local health organizations and physician networks – Cancer recovery (ACS & oncologists) – Orthopedics

Physician networks Charities Health

orgs

Diabetes

•  Dedham Health & Athletic Complex partners with renowned Joslin Diabetes Clinic

•  Provided a healthy lifestyle solution to patients

•  Increased membership •  Received media coverage

Physician networks Health orgs

Charity-Based Programming •  Partner with charities that are

addressing a vital need in your community

•  Be sure to evaluate the strategic benefits, not just the “feel good” factor – How does it relate to your strategic

business goals and your community relations vision?

Gold’s Gym & American Diabetes Assoc. Tour de Cure

•  Official sponsor starting in 2005

•  Gold’s sold Tour de Cure merchandise, offered free spinning classes for riders training for the event and hosted diabetes awareness days

•  Raised $218,797.22 so far this year

Charities Health orgs

Reaching Out to Families •  PE for home school kids •  Trained staff visiting local

schools –  Special “training sessions” – Hosting “Field Day”

•  Opening doors to local PE classes

Schools Community groups

Local Citizens

Rochester Athletic Club�“The Neighborhood”

•  Turned 4 racquet ball courts in a kid’s paradise and a parents dream

•  3 Dance Dance Revolution systems

•  3 Aeroball stations - trampoline basketball

•  18-hole signature miniature golf •  3 Golf cages – Automatic tee up

•  2200 square feet of Synthetic ice

•  2 hockey slide boards

•  2 Throwing lanes •  Large climbing / play structure by PlaySmart

•  High School size Gymnasium

•  3 Batting Cages •  Sportwall play area

•  Foosball, air hockey, dome hockey, and ping pong

•  Concessions with Free WIFI

•  9 hole golf putting green

“Parents Leading Active Play” •  Just Aerobics and Fitness

Center in Frackville, PA •  Bringing parents and kids

together in an active environment

•  Ages 3-13 •  Membership increased

20%, with a projected 40-50% increase over the next five years

Reaching Out to Seniors •  Create a senior outdoor

walking program •  Donate pool time to the

local senior center •  Send instructors to

senior centers to teach gentle strength and stretching exercises

Local citizens

Community groups

Become a Voice for Healthy Lifestyles

•  Pen articles for the local paper •  Offer yourself as an expert on fitness and

healthy lifestyles

•  Take your PR to the next level •  Write letters to the editors •  Invite the media to your club

Media

IHRSA Health Promotion Programming

•  Designed to foster community relations and health promotion, not sales programs

•  Turn-key community relations programs •  Designed to benefit clubs and enhance

positioning with stakeholders •  Help retain current membership and

present growth opportunities

•  IHRSA’s campaign to combat overweight and obesity and promote active lifestyles

•  May nationwide open house and “bring a friend”

•  Demonstrate supportive, safe and fun environment

•  Help people get started on an exercise program that will fit their specific lifestyle

Physician networks Media Local

Citizens

•  Drive traffic to the club and promote physical activity and healthy lifestyles in your community

•  Benefits – raise awareness about the importance of exercise, create positive PR, reinvigorates current members, build community relations

Physician networks Media Local

Citizens

•  8-week weight loss campaign •  Runs every January •  Designed to help members, new and old

alike, lose weight during the New Year’s “weight loss season”

Physician networks Media Local

Citizens

•  Community outreach campaign designed to introduce your community to you club

•  Reinvigorate and retain current members •  Benefits: Successful weight loss = powerful

message to media, members and community

Physician networks Media Local

Citizens

•  Designed to introduce exercise to teens by offering free summer matinee memberships

•  Community outreach initiative •  Opportunity to give back to community

and provide solution to growing adolescent obesity epidemic

Physician networks Media Local

Citizens Schools

•  Benefits: •  Building community relationships •  PR opportunity

•  Introduce parents and teens to your club

•  Educating young people about healthy lifestyles

Physician networks Media Local

Citizens Schools

IHRSA Health Promotion Resources

•  IHRSA.org Wellness Resource Center

•  Health E-Review email and marketing tools

•  Publications: –  Get Active! Magazine

–  Health Benefits of Exercise

–  Economic Benefits of Exercise

•  Turn-key programming

•  Benefits of exercise searchable database

•  Educational track at IHRSA Convention

Your Club

Local government

State government

Federal government

Community groups

Physician networks

Charities

Health Organizations

Schools

Media

Local Citizens

Why you should be involved with public policy leaders

•  Why you should be involved in public policy

How is Advocacy and Government Relations Community Relations?

•  Health promotion legislation seeks to help people across your state and across the nation solve critical needs

•  Becoming a resource on healthy lifestyles = mutually beneficial relationship

Local Government

•  Local Selectperson •  Town/City Council •  Mayor

Local government

Goal: •  Educate them about the value you provide to the community •  Educate them about the solution you provide to a critical need •  Educate them about the preventative power of exercise

State Government •  State Representative •  State Senator •  Governor

•  State Council on Physical Fitness –  Oregon Governor's Council on Physical Fitness and Sports

Goal: •  Educate them about the value you provide to the community •  Educate them about the solution you provide to a critical need •  Educate them about the preventative power of exercise

State government

Federal Government •  US Representative

–  House Committee on Ways & Means

–  Rep. Jim McDermott (D-WA)

–  Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-OR)

•  US Senators –  Senate Committee on Finance

–  Sen. Max Baucus (D-MT)

–  Sen. Ron Wyden (D-OR)

–  Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-WA)

–  Sen. Gordon Smith (R-OR)

•  Capitol Hill Office

•  District Office

Goal: •  Educate them about the WHIP and PHIT Acts •  Educate them about the preventative power of exercise •  Educate them about the role of health clubs in the solution to the health care, obesity, and physical inactivity crises

Federal government

•  Personal Health Investment Today (PHIT) Act –  allows for expenditures for

physical fitness programs and exercise equipment to be payable out of pre-tax health investment accounts

–  encouraging Americans to spend on preventative health care (i.e. exercise); improving the health of the American public; and decreasing the cost health care

•  Workforce Health Improvement Program (WHIP) Act –  would ensure that the wellness

benefit from off-site fitness facilities is not taxed as additional income for employees

–  encouraging employers to offer more wellness programs that include fitness services to their employees; improving the health of the American workforce; and decreasing the cost of employee health care for employers

Grassroots Advocacy 101

•  Available online •  IHRSA staff is always available to help

8 Grassroots Concepts •  Voting is not enough

•  Geography is #1 •  One angry letter does

not change the world

•  Instant grassroots (i.e. signing a petition) isn’t especially effective

•  Elected officials are people too

•  Money is part of the game

•  It takes time to settle an issue

•  Staying “on message” is vital

Building Relationships Fundraising

Clubs Visits

Office Visits

Phone Calls

Emails

Emails

•  Introduction to advocacy •  Personalized email will get better

response

•  An email will not resolve an issue

Phone Calls

•  Next step –  Still very brief time commitment

•  Know the issue – Have the talking points and bill number handy

Office Visits

•  In-person meetings are the most powerful grassroots action you can take to fight for an issue

•  They are people too and want to listen to their constituents

Club Tours

•  Use to help establish a relationship •  Demonstrate the impact that the club is

having on the community

Fundraisers & Events

•  Advanced advocacy •  Use to further existing relationship

IHRSA Resources

•  State & Federal lobbying

•  Capitol Report

•  IHRSA.org/PublicPolicy

•  Legislative & Advocacy Alerts

•  Coalition leadership

•  Legislative Summit

•  Legal hotline •  Grassroots Initiative

Next Steps

•  What are the needs in your community?

•  What solution can your club provide? –  Under utilized

resources?

•  What is your vision?

•  Who are potential partners? –  Which stakeholder

groups to focus on?

•  How many of your elected officials do you know? –  How could you reach

out to them?

Community Relations Roadmap

What are the needs in your community?

What solution can you provide? What is your vision?

How much money can you dedicate?

Which stakeholder groups will you

focus on?

Who are your potential partners?

Who are your elected officials? • Local • State • Federal

When are you going to start?

What is your first action step?