No matter your field, the work you do affects the community in which you work. Whether you are a non-profit, a real estate developer, a college, a hospital or a candidate for public office, creating and maintaining positive connections to the community touched by your activities is an essential component of success. An effectual community action strategy can not only pave the way to a smoother process, but ensure a better relationship.
GAC has decades of experience in community engagement and has helped maintain communications and relationships between a wide variety of clients and their communities.
An inevitable side-effect of any construction project, especially in a densely populated city like New York, is the havoc it can wreak on the daily lives of its neighbors, affecting traffic patterns, parking, walkways and noise levels, and creating tension between development and construction companies and the community.
For decades, GAC has served as a liaison between developers and construction firms, and communities affected by their projects. We craft and implement well-planned community outreach strategies that help ease community resistance and build support for projects among neighbors, local elected officials, and community boards, ensuring an effortless process.
By definition, running for public office involves convincing voters that you would work for their best interests, making community engagement the basic component of any political campaign.
From townhall meetings, to community events, meet-and-greets and simply mingling with community members, candidates can become familiar with potential voters, learn what issues are important to them, devise strategies and plans to help, if elected, and communicate these plans to the communities they are running to represent.
Over the years, GAC has managed communications for countless political campaigns, helping many candidates get elected and re-elected for office, including the US Congress, NY Senate and Assembly, NY City Council, borough presidents and the judiciary.
The primary purpose of most non-profit organizations is to serve their communities, be it running programs for youth or senior citizens, community centers, health, education or cultural initiatives or any number of other activities that help improve people’s lives.
It may seem that the work of such organizations would make the case for themselves with the communities, and it might.
Yet, actively seeking to create a holistic relationship with communities can have numerous benefits, including marshalling support for your organization and its causes, making it easier to implement projects, drawing community members to participate or sign up for services, and obtain funding. Over time, GAC has helped many non-profits build and maintain positive dynamic relationships with communities they serve.
Having a major institution such as a hospital or a college campus in your neighborhood can have a significant impact on the community.
Both can be great for businesses big and small, attracting customers to restaurants, pharmacies, florists, dry cleaners, supermarkets, and other small businesses. Both can also bring noise, traffic and a bit of overall chaos.
Partnering with the neighbors to find ways to capitalize on the rewards while keeping problems to the minimum, helps institutions positively contribute to surrounding communities and build good will among the neighbors.
