How to have 1-on-1s

Step 1. Identify someone to contact

These can be recent signups, people interested in volunteering, someone who replied to an automated email, someone you canvassed with recently. The goal is to build a relationship and connect a person who’s willing to participate to an opportunity.

Step 2. Reach out to them

There are many ways to start a conversation. If they just signed up and are interested in volunteering, you can send them a generic welcome. If they signed up to volunteer at a specific event for the first time, you can use a more specific approach and maybe a phone call is not necessary. See the examples below.

General request for 1-on-1

Subject: Welcome to PB Evanston! Do you have a few mins to chat? 

Hi {NAME},   

This is {YOUR NAME} from PB Evanston. We got in touch with you at {THE ORIGIN OF THE CONTACT INFO}. Do you have 15-20 min to chat in the next few days or so? I’d love to answer any questions you might have about participatory budgeting in Evanston and to hear about your interests to figure out how we can best support your goals! If so, here are some times that work for me:  

  • {TIME SLOT THAT WORKS FOR YOU (e.g., Tuesday (8/9) – 6:00pm – 8:00pm CT)}

  • {TIME SLOT THAT WORKS FOR YOU (e.g., Thursday (8/11) – 6:00pm – 8:00pm CT)} 

If neither of the time slots works for you, please feel free to tell me your preferred time to talk, and we can figure it out together.

Looking forward to chatting with you! 

{YOUR NAME} 

pbevanston.org 

Specific ask with optional 1-on-1

Subject: Would you be willing to moderate a small group discussion on Nov 22? 

Hi XXX, 

Thank you for RSVPing to the Nov 22 Idea Collection Assembly at Robert Crown. Would you be willing to moderate a small group of people (4-5) sharing their ideas for participatory budgeting? If so, please let me know your t-shirt size and I will send you the moderator training information.

Thank you! 

XXX 

Follow-up (if they want to volunteer): 

Hi XXX, 

Thank you for your interest in moderating an idea collection assembly! You can find the moderator materials on our website: https://www.pbevanston.org/facilitate-assembly. Please read the materials and watch the linked videos. 

If you have any questions, feel free to ask me or we're also planning on having a live training session on Wed, Nov 16, 6-8pm at the Lorraine Morton Civic Center, as part of the PB Steering/Leadership committee meeting. If you're able to come, please RSVP by the end of this week. 

See you soon!

XXX

Follow-up (otherwise): 

Hi XXX, 

Great, no problem! Thank you for clarifying and I’ll see you at the assembly! Would you be willing to bring a friend or family member with you? If so, please ask them to fill out this quick RSVP form: https://forms.gle/KSfe3D9D3FNu4YPFA

Thank you! 

XXX 

Step 3. Talk to them

After a successful connect and scheduling a chat, it’s time to make an agenda to follow when talking to them. This can be done over the phone, Zoom, or in person — it’s up to both of you!

1. Build rapport 

  • How are you?  

  • (If NW students) What year are you? What is your major?

  • How did you find out about PB Evanston?  

  • We’re doing these calls to get to know people in the community and understand how you want to be involved in the process.  

  • I’m happy to give you a brief intro! But first, I should ask: What do you know about the PB process in Evanston?    

(optional) 2. If necessary, give a brief intro to PB in Evanston

It’s a good idea to ask what they know before explaining PB to them. People that we talked to often have an idea of what PB is about. Here are some points you can talk about:

  • PB Evanston is a project that lets the community choose how to spend part of the city budget. So, people in Evanston can decide how to spend 3m for covid relief. Now we are in the process of collecting ideas.

More Information:

  • ARPA – $43m COVID-19 relief money from the Federal government 

  • PB – it's a process for letting the community choose how to spend part of the city budget  

  • Chicago has been doing this for over 10 years, Evanston is just starting their first process

  • PB Evanston – we're the organization that has partnered with the City to facilitate the design of the participatory budgeting process  

  • Timeline 

    • Outreach – all the time! This is the first time Evanston is doing PB, so we need to get the word out!

    • Idea collection – Fall 

    • Policy development – Winter-Spring 

    • Voting – next Summer 

3. Build Connection with Their Daily Life

To have a nice and pleasant talk, we will probably need to build a connection with them. For example:

PB: So... what problem would you like to tackle with this funding?  

  • Scenario 1: volunteer who has their own idea 

    (Listen) 

  • Scenario 2: volunteer who has interest in PB but can’t think of an idea for now 

    PB: Or does anything annoy you currently around your community? 

    • Try to connect the idea 

3. Ask 

The more specific, the better! Try to come in with a few dates and times that they can help out. This can be for an assembly, canvass session, etc. If you don’t have anything specific, you can ask them to get 5 friends or family members to sign up. For example:

  • We need help getting the word out about PB. We do canvassing, emailing, social media, flyers, would you be willing to help with that? 

  • Would you be willing to email 5 friends and ask them to sign up? 

  • We have an idea collection assembly coming up, would you be interested in participating or moderating a small group?

Step 4. Follow-up

After you’re done with the meeting, it’s a good idea to send a thank you note. You can use the following notes as guides:

General follow-up

Subject: Nice to meet you!  Here’s an opportunity to volunteer with PB Evanston 

Hi {NAME}, 

It was nice to meet you today! I was excited to hear about {FROM YOUR NOTES} and that you're interested in {FROM YOUR NOTES}.

As I mentioned, we’re having a {training, meeting on Thursday 4-5pm}, if you’re able to come please [RSVP here by XXX] and feel free to bring a friend or family member with you! I’d love to meet you in person and learn more about {YOUR NOTES}

Hope to see you soon!

{YOUR NAME} 

Specific follow-up

Subject: Nice to meet you!  Here’s an opportunity to volunteer with PB Evanston 

Hi XXX,

It was nice to meet you today! I was excited to hear about {FROM YOUR NOTES} and that you're interested in {FROM YOUR NOTES}.

Thank you for your interest in moderating an idea collection assembly! You can find the moderator materials on our website: https://www.pbevanston.org/facilitate-assembly. Please read the materials and watch the linked videos.

If you have any questions, feel free to ask me or we're also planning on having a live training session on Wed, Nov 16, 6-8pm at the Lorraine Morton Civic Center, as part of the PB Steering/Leadership committee meeting. If you're able to come, [please RSVP by the end of this week].  

Best, 

{YOUR NAME} 

Reply to an automated 1-on-1

Subject: Welcome to PB Evanston! Do you have a few mins to chat? 

Hi {NAME},   

Thank you for your interest in chatting with us! Here are some times that work for me over the next few days. Do any of these work for you? If not, I’m happy to send over more dates/times.

  • {TIME SLOT THAT WORKS FOR YOU (e.g., Tuesday (8/9) – 6:00pm – 8:00pm CT)}

  • {TIME SLOT THAT WORKS FOR YOU (e.g., Thursday (8/11) – 6:00pm – 8:00pm CT)} 

Looking forward to chatting with you! 

{YOUR NAME} 

pbevanston.org