Get Partners
After you’ve identified the need, you have to find people to work with. You can’t do this type of project alone, you’ll become isolated, you’ll burn out and the work won’t be sustainable over the long run. So who do you work with? The answer is simple to say but hard to do. You work with the best. You find the best teachers, counselors, religious leaders, politicians, business people, fundraisers and volunteers. It’s hard. It takes knowing your community and it takes time. For your first project, you need to find good people who will take a chance on working with you. Some of your partners should be knowledgeable about your community’s needs whether it’s job training, gang prevention, special education, math enrichment or environmental science.
Boats attract interesting people. These boaters, usually adults, end up being your best resource in a community based program. They’re your volunteers, funders and instructors. Building a community base is critical to the survival of a program. You’re not going to get everyone you need on the first project. Just make sure you create a team that can grow.