Our Goal
Phase 1 (3 months) Our 3 month structural plan in designing Protect The Joy as a national membership organization which will advocate on behalf of children is as follows:
Goal #1: Establish and Operationalize the “Protect the Joy” Coalition
Activities:
- Work to clearly define the intent and scope of “Protect the Joy”, including the development of a strategic plan addressing financing, infrastructure development, and a path forward to addressing policy and program priorities.
- Work to identify possible candidates to join the Board of Directors that support the mission of the organization and represent diversity and the consumer perspective.
- Identify a high profile candidate to assume the role of Board Chair, who has the leadership capability to move the organization forward.
- Develop a governance structure that expects a “working Board” model, including subcommittees to address: 1) development of policy/program priorities, 2) communication and outreach initiatives, including political strategy, 3) financing, membership, and sustainability.
- Support a tiered membership model within the infrastructure that includes the Board of Directors (should be high profile individuals that include family consumers), Charter Member Organizations (organizations that have or should have an interest in the well-being of children), and general membership (should include the general public)
- Develop a membership and recruitment plan by refining the “message” of Protect the Joy, and developing individual messaging strategies for different segments of the pool of potential members (e.g. young adults, parents, grandparents, teachers)
- Implement an outreach and education campaign that Charter Member groups of “Protect the Joy” implement through their advocacy networks about the benefit of proactively helping children to live safe and healthy lives.
- Establish a “Joy Ambassador” program for all the membership groups to help our get the word out about the initiative.
- Development of the website to include a “rapid response” mechanism to answer Member questions related to the program and enrollment.
Goal #2: Start- Up and Sustainability Activities
Activities:
- Identify non-profit foundations and private industry businesses that will financially support the efforts of the organization.
- Develop fundraising activities that involve and reach out to Law Enforcement, Healthcare providers, and K-12 Education coalitions that are involved in Protecting and growing our next generation.
- Work to secure a corporate sponsor for the organization, by encouraging the organizational leadership to participate in public radio and TV talk show opportunities e.g. “The View” is a good target because of the significance of childhood safety to women.
Goal #3: Identification of Like-Minded Organizations
Activities
- Identify the major organizations that focus on children’s issues to distinguish the unique perspective that “Protect the Joy” can contribute.
- Meet with the established children’s coalitions to share educational and informational materials about the goals and objectives of the new organization.
- Identify common areas of concern that Protect the Joy can align with in order to establish broader relationships with the children’s community e.g. Children’s Defense Fund