Taking Your Nanny Support Group to the Next Level - part 6

by Kellie Geres, Regarding Nannies Development Team
President, ADCAN ~ Association of DC Area Nannies

 

Promoting Your Group

 

There are many effective ways to promote your group. My favorite by far is VistaPrint. By using their designs or uploading your own you can create an endless array of exposure for your group.

Design postcards to mail out announcing special events and meetings.

Design postcards to give to members to have handy with your group information while at the park as they may run into other nannies on outings.

Design tote bags with your logo or group name.

Put your name on pens

Design business cards to hand out to anyone and everyone – get your name out there.

Design a banner to hang at meetings and events. Get noticed!

Design key chains for members to have as a thank you!

Design mugs, mouse pads, hats, t-shirts, and more and have handy as a giveaway during special events, meetings or as a thank you.

  

Another venue to check out for promotional items is CafePress. Offering many of the above and more options not on VistaPrint, let your creative juices flow.

  

Always be looking for ways to cut costs. Here are some of my tips:

 

Email your newsletter vs. printing it. Offer printing to those who don’t have email, but consider adding an additional fee if you feel extra costs will be involved not covered by membership fee.

 

Email renewal notices.

 

Utilize VistaPrint for business cards, postcards, etc.

 

Use Evite for events

 

Consider business membership, outside advertising.

 

By cutting costs you are able to put more money back into the organization and meet the needs of your membership.

  

Finally, I’ve mentioned many resources throughout these six parts. Here is a handy listing for you to refer to as you take your group to the next level.

 

If you have any questions on any of these parts or would like to discuss ways to improve your group, feel free to contact me at allthingsnanny (at) gmail (dot) com.

 

 

 

VistaPrint

 

PDF995

 

Constant Contact

 

Google

 

Yahoo!

 

Amazon Associate Program

 

EFundraising

 

CafePress

 

Survey Monkey

 

Best Nanny Newsletter

 

Crayola Affiliate Program

 

GoDaddy

 

Website By You

 

Craigslist

 

MeetUps

 

Facebook

 

Nanny Island

 

Evite

 

Blogger

 

WordPress

 

I See Me

 

Taking Your Nanny Support Group to the Next Level - Part 5

by Kellie Geres, Regarding Nannies Development Team
President, ADCAN ~ Association of DC Area Nannies

Two questions I hear often from nanny group leaders are … One, should we charge membership dues and Two, should nanny agencies be permitted to be supporting members?

Charging membership dues will provide you with an income to help cover some of your costs – printing, postage, special events. However, they do not cover all your costs, depending on the size and scope of your group. Ranges of amounts charged by groups across the country are $15-$35 annually. You will need a checking account for your group and you can accept checks, cash and PayPal.

So what does membership include?

• Newsletter

• Membership directory

• Access to members only events/services

• Member discounts

• Voting on membership issues

• Area benefits – discounts at area stores

Dues can be determined January – December and pro-rated for new members, but I recommend starting in the month they join and ending one year later.

You also need to determine levels of membership for nannies. I will use ADCAN as example here.

Active (Yearly Dues $35)

Requirements:

1. Currently employed as a professional nanny.

2. Currently employed as an au pair, in-home child care provider and/or mother's helper.

Associate (Yearly Dues of $35)

Requirements:

1. Professional nanny not currently employed as such, or who may be living outside the DC Metro area.

Agency * (Yearly Dues based upon ads submitted to Newsletter. Available at levels of $75 and $125)

Requirements:

1. Any agency or industry related businesses that are involved with nannies in the DC metro area.

Spousal *(Yearly Dues of $15)

Requirements:

1. Any spouse of any current member.

Temporary * (Dues of $15)

Requirements:

1. A nanny/child care provider in the DC area for four (4) months or less.

Newsletter Only * (Yearly Dues of $15)

Requirements:

1. Any person wishing to receive only the bi-monthly newsletter.

Business Memberships / Sponsorships

Reaching out to the agencies in your area and the industry services will help you reach a broader audience of nannies and interest in your group.

By offering businesses an opportunity to support your organization you are generating additional funds for operating your group, and in return you can offer the following to businesses:

• Advertising in newsletter

• Listing on your website and/or blog

• Participation in area events – for example, ADCAN will be taking part in a local child care vendor fair, and we will offer to display our business members’ material on our table, as part of their membership with us.

• Display of their material at meetings on a resource table

ADCAN also offers to agencies that if they pay for their nannies to be members of the organization, we reduce the annual fee for the nanny membership.

Businesses are non-voting memberships, are invited to our meetings and ADCAN offers additional sponsorship opportunities such as NNRW brunch and Holiday Party.

One final consideration, offer advertising to area businesses that caters to children and families.



The final installation in this series will focus on promotional items, ways to cut costs and a listing of resources to keep you going as you take your group to the next level.

Taking Your Nanny Support Group to the Next Level - Part 4

by Kellie Geres, Regarding Nannies Development Team
President, ADCAN ~ Association of DC Area Nannies.

Fundraising!

Your group cannot survive on membership fees alone, and if you don’t charge membership fees you’ll be paying out your own pocket.

At some point you will want to consider a fundraiser. These can be large or small, one-time or ongoing. Discuss with your members what they are interested in participating in, what they are willing to spend, how often they want to be solicited for funds and if they have any special interests in certain products that you could sell.

There are pluses and minuses to all fundraisers. Be in tune with your membership as to their commitment level. Make sure to have one person who will oversee the event and be prepared for limited involvement from members.

Fundraising Options
One-Time / Periodic
Bake Sale
Garage Sale
Pampered Chef, Usborne Books or other direct sales

Ongoing – all of the options listed below are free to sign up and simple to implement. These are just a few of the nanny group friendly sites that have affiliate programs.

• Amazon.com Affiliate Program – one of my favorite and most convenient. Sign up for their affiliate/associate program and funds are directly deposited into your account. ADCAN had special business cards made up via VistaPrint reminding members to utilize Amazon when shopping. This offer can be shared with general public and on your website. Portion of purchase proceeds go directly back to your group.
• EFundraising.com – another favorite. Simply place the link on your site and members and visitors can buy new or renew magazine subscriptions and portion of proceeds go directly back to your group.
• Commission Junction.com – for this site, you sign up for an account, and then sign up for vendor opportunities that you want to participate in. Examples are VistaPrint, and Crayola. These companies then provide you with your own personalized link and when orders are made through your site/link, you get a portion of the purchase price.
• CafePress.com offers you the opportunity to market your group on merchandise and earn money when sales are made from that site. From t-shirts to bumper stickers, buttons and mugs the possibilities are endless.
• I See Me offer personalized books and children’s products and gives nanny groups an opportunity to earn funds with their affiliate program.

The ongoing options above allow for easy accessibility, no organizing or overhead and ongoing promotion of your fundraiser.

Many of these programs require an EIN number and a website to participate and a checking account for funds to be deposited into.

Next up in part 5 – Membership Dues and Business Sponsorships.

Taking Your Nanny Support Group to the Next Level - part 3

by Kellie Geres

Regarding Nannies Development Team
President, ADCAN ~ Association of DC Area Nannies

Newsletters!

A great tool for any group or business to serve its members or customers. It can consist of a simple one page, double sided mailed out version to multiple pages sent online via PDF. You might even consider an electronic version using a service like Constant Contact.

Keep in mind …
If doing a print version, you will have printing, postage, envelope, label costs.

An email version can be done using a free PDF converter which you can Google and find online, or you can purchase one. You can use a word document format or publisher format and these programs have easy templates for you to choose from.

Constant Contact offers numerous templates, minimal costs but is limited to those with email. Sending to a list of 500 emails can cost $15 a month.

A successful newsletter should include:
President / Vice President / Owner message. Greet your members or clients. Keep them up to date on what you are doing, something meaningful going on in your group and plans for the coming months.

Main Article(s) – something timely or professionally related. There are many resources available out there on the internet, find them and make sure to get permission to reprint anything you copy from another source. Have members write articles, guest contributors, industry professional and more. Connect with other nanny groups, newsletters, and bloggers and ask them for permission to reprint. I’ve yet to have someone say no to a request. Always provide a link to their site and give full credit to the author and website.

A Calendar of Events can include birthdays, groups events, holidays, meeting reminders. Calendar formats can be found online as well.

Featured Nanny is very popular amongst nanny groups. Pick a nanny in your group that you’d like others to know. Don’t let it be just a few sentences of who this person is – this is your opportunity to really get to know this person and introduce her to your group. Ask in depth questions, candid and thought provoking questions to get your subject talking.

Include photos from events. Let your members know that photos are taken at events and will be used in publications. If anyone does not want to be included, they can opt out of photo opportunities. Be respectful of members’ wishes on this matter.

What is your group up to? Include committee updates. Have events in the planning? Need help planning a party or event? Get your members involved and publish details in the newsletter.

Ask Nanny? Offer a question and answer section that members / readers can write in and ask a question and have it answered. You can set up a simple Gmail account so that people can anonymously send in questions and have answered in future issues.

Don’t forget a disclaimer. You can search Google for simple newsletter disclaimers for the wording, but the will protect you should any matter arise.

You may also want to consider advertising. I will go into further detail on this in part 5, but advertising will help defer your costs, offer added benefits to businesses and resources to your members and clients.

Here is a complimentary look at the newsletter of ADCAN ~ Association of DC Area Nannies.

A newsletter is a great communication tool, and communication is key in a successful group. Some other forms of communication you might consider for your group are:

Members Only Yahoo Group – this allows for membership only communications and can help with planning, organizing and implementing events.

Have dedicated emails for your group. Gmail is a great tool for this. Free and as many as you like. Offer one for newsletter, one for membership, one for events. This way you keep everything organized and only those persons who need access to certain information have access to those emails, and not the entire groups email.
Phone trees are a great tool as well. We all get caught up in emails and facebook and twitter. A phone call does wonder when reaching out to your membership. New members should receive a welcome call.

Something special going on in the group? Call and let everyone know. Is there a member who isn’t coming to meetings? Call and touch base and see if everything is OK. That personal touch goes a long way in creating relationships with your members and potential members.

Evite is an awesome tool for groups. Manage your events by creating, inviting, RSVP, directions and even refreshments. Simple and free.

Postcards are one of my favorite tools in communicating with groups. For this, I LOVE VistaPrint. 100 FREE postcards and all you pay is shipping. How can you go wrong? Do Save the Dates; group information to pass out at parks, playgrounds, businesses; membership receipts for payment, National Nanny Recognition Week reminders, and much, much more!

If you don’t have a blog, consider doing one in conjunction with your website. A blog is a great communication tool. You can post articles and findings from other sites (make sure to give credit), post articles that appear in your newsletter, and much more.

Have a group page on Facebook. Make it public so that people in the industry and the public can learn about you. Post when you have a meeting, area events and attractions, industry news, national news and points of interest for your members and readers.

So many opportunities, so many choices. Do your research and see what you are comfortable doing. Two pages or 20, it’s all up to you and what you want to provide.

Next up … Fundraising!

Taking Your Nanny Support Group to the Next Level - part 2

by Kellie Geres, Regarding Nannies Development Team
President, ADCAN ~ Association of DC Area Nannies

Websites!

If your group does not have a website, you are at a disadvantage. People turn to the internet to find everything. I can’t remember the last time I let my fingers do the walking in the yellow pages. Having a website will make your group more visible and allow for more opportunities to reach nannies and make your group succeed. An alternative to a website is a blog, which can serve the same purpose.

So what should you include on your website?
As I work with ADCAN – Association of DC Area Nannies, I am going to use their site for reference, but in no way do you have to do ALL that I discuss, for your site.
• A history of your group to give visitors an idea of who, what, why your group exists. Who are your key players, what some of your initial events were and what is the goal of your group is good to include introducing them to your site.
• How to become a member and what, if any, levels of membership you have and what they include.
• Do you offer a newsletter? Offer a sample and an email they can request a complimentary copy of your next issue.
• A Calendar of Events gives readers an opportunity to see what events you do, but where and details. Include address if you can, costs, special instructions, and how to RSVP.
• Include a message board that nannies and visitors can participate in and send out requests for play dates, seeking information, ask questions. I would discourage placing job postings on the message boards.
• Links are a great way to provide resources to your members and readers, and draw a larger audience to your site. If you find a site that offers great content and serves your community – contact them about doing a reciprocal link. You place their link on your site, they place your link on their site. It’s a win-win for all.
• Paid supporters are industry related business and outside advertisers. We will go in-depth on these in part 5.
• Contact info should include at minimum an email but can also include a phone and/or mailing address.
• If you offer products, memberships, etc., you need to have payment options. PayPal is a great source for this, free to sign up and low cost – they take a small percentage of each purchase price.
• Job postings can attract readers to your site as well. You can offer them to your paid business supporters as a benefit of membership, and to families in hopes they refer a nanny to you, once they find a caregiver.
• Make sure original content stays original. Consider Copywrite protection at http://creativecommons.org/

A blog offers some of the above options so do your homework to see what works best for you.

Whether website or blog, keep in mind the following …
• Keep it simple. Less is more. Don’t get too wordy, too much information so that visitors get lost or lose interest in your site.
• Use graphics, photos, clip art to make it appealing.
• Keep it user friendly. Make links accessible, make sure links work.
• Keep content current so that members and readers keep coming back for more.
• Offer a Members Only area. This can include a membership directory accessible online.
• Always be looking for new links, resources and fundraising opportunities. I’ll discuss Fundraising in-depth in part 4.


A word of caution … Private does not always mean PRIVATE. When working with ADCAN we had a member only – password protected page of our membership directory. This included names, addresses, phone, etc. Doing a routine Google search, our entire directory showed up online. We promptly deleted all identifying information of our members, alerted them to this and changed how we publish our information.

Here are some of my favorite resources for websites/blogs:
GoDaddy.com
http://www.website-by-you.com/
http://www.vistaprint.com/
http://www.blogger.com/
http://www.wordpress.com/
http://www.homestead.com/
http://www.weebly.com/

Coming up next in part 3 will be newsletters and communications.

Taking Your Nanny Support Group to the Next Level

This is the first in a six part series dedicated to Nanny Groups and leadership.

by Kellie Geres, Regarding Nannies Development Team

President, ADCAN ~ Association of DC Area Nannies

As Nanny Support Group leaders, you struggle with the day to day challenges of making your group succeed in today’s industry. Whether you have an online group or meet in person, you want to reach as many nannies as possible in your area. What do you offer, what resources are available, how can you increase membership, operating funds, participation? I’ve worked with nanny groups for most of my 21 years as a nanny, and am the current president of ADCAN – Association of DC Area Nannies. ADCAN is the longest running nanny support group in the country and many of the examples I’ll use in this series, I use directly with ADCAN.

First, what type of group best fits you and your area?
If you already have a group or looking to start one, you need to determine what type of group best fits you and your area best.
• Online groups such as yahoo or Ning are great for keeping in touch, sharing ideas and events, and coordinating outings.
• In Person groups meet on a regular basis either as a playgroup, monthly meeting, and discussion groups.
• Social groups meet for dinner, activities, movies, playgroups
• Educational groups provide speakers, workshops and discussion on matters of personal and professional development.
• Or combine a bit of all types into your area group.

Now, how do you target the nannies in your area?
• The internet is your best friend. There are so many low cost / no cost resources out there you can take advantage of.
• Word of mouth – tell everyone you know about your group and to pass that information along to any nannies they know.
• Create a postcard, flier, brochure and /or business card with your group information. For these types of products, I LOVE VistaPrint. Most products are FREE; you just pay shipping and handling. More on VistaPrint will be in parts 3, 4 and 6.
• Buy a domain name of your group name. For this, I recommend GoDaddy.com.
• Create a website. There are free website services out there, low cost services and one that I have noticed many nanny groups doing, which are FREE is blogs. Blogger and WordPress are the two most popular. It can be as simple as who, what, where, when, and why, or include links, resources, calendar of events, members only, marketplace, etc. We’ll get into these items in more detail in part two of this series. I’ll go more in-depth on websites in part 2.
• Contact Nanny Agencies in your area and let them know about your group. Invite them to a meeting, include them in mailings, and ask them to share your information with their nannies. Get them involved! Invite them to sponsor a nanny night out, put out information at your meetings, and ask them to write an article for your newsletter (if you have one). Build relationships with the agencies so you stay on their radar and they continue to share your info with the nannies they place.
• Get noticed! Don’t have a logo? Create one. There are logo services out there or you can utilize online photo shops or clip art to create a look for your group. Even better if you know someone who can create a logo for you, take advantage of networking. Your logo should draw people to you, stand out, and when people see it, they associate it with your group. Once you have your logo, put it on your business card, postcard, flier, website/blog, etc. Go a step further and create some merchandise – journal, t-shirt, tote bag, etc., that you can wear or carry with you and get you noticed.
• Social Networking! Get your group out there on Facebook. Post events, industry news, area happenings, etc., and draw people to you. Again, tell all your friends, and have them tell their friends, and so on and so on. Before you know, you’ll have a loyal following that will help in getting your information to your community. More on social networking will be covered in part 3.

Other ways you can reach out to your nanny community:
• Post messages on local parent message boards and Nanny Group listings and Craigslist.
• Try Meetups.com. Connect with other nannies and area events and get your name out there as a contact for other nannies.
• If there are agencies in your area doing trainings, ask to come to the event and introduce your group. Bring information to pass share with others.
• Always have business cards, postcards or membership material handy to give out to nannies or parents you meet. You never know when you’ll run into potential members.
• Host an event in your area. It can be a play date at the park, brunch, cookie exchange during the holidays, meet and greet at a local restaurant.

So, much to think about, start planning and implementing. Over the course of the next few weeks we’ll continue to discuss Websites, Newsletters & Communication, Fundraising Options, Membership and Membership Options, Promotional Items and Ways to Cut Costs.

Find Nanny Groups in Your Area.

Weekend Round Up

Week End Round Up
Here's the weekend round up in case you missed anything on Regarding Nannies this week.
I apologize that these have not been posting on Saturday morning.
Tis the season to be busy....and I have been swamped.
We had some really great posts this week.
It would be hard for me to pick my favorite.
I loved the Monday Moxie about the 3 kids who were giving back in a big way.
I got my Noah's Mug this week and I just may have order a couple more, they are way too cute!

On Tuesday Tips I am a sucker for a great holiday movie and it just isn't Christmas if I can't watch "Home Alone" It brings back wonderful memories of one of my first charges and how he used to "burglar proof his room" We have 85 favorite holiday movies so find a new favorite and order it off of Amazon, Alice even included the links!

On Creative Nanny Wednesday, our good friend and fellow professional nanny Buffi, shared a great recipe for making your own Bath Salts and Bath Fizzies. What a great gift for a friend or a busy mom!

On Thursday Table Talk, Kellie shared with us what ADCAN is doing to give back to a local charity in the DC Area.

And ending our week on Financial Friday, Alice gave us some great ideas for gifts that keep giving for a full year.

Coming up this week on Regarding Nannies
Mary Ann X Meddish, INA Nanny of Year 2009 will share some tips on getting a great reference letter to take with you for your portfolio and also tips to help kids when their parents are traveling.

The week of Christmas we will be featuring a few of our favorite posts from the last 6 months. If there is something you would like to see again, please let us know.
We love to hear from you!
Glenda
Alice
Kellie
Regarding Nannies Development Team

Nannies Give Back to Local Charity

In the spirit of giving this holiday season, I wanted to share with you what one of our nanny groups is doing this holiday season.

ADCAN – Association of DC Area Nannies has been collecting ‘stocking stuffer’ goodies for the women and children of The Betty Ann Krahnke Center for New Beginnings.

The Betty Ann Krahnke Center for New Beginnings (BAK), founded in 2000, is the only domestic violence shelter serving Montgomery County, Maryland. With a 54-bed capacity, BAK provides safety for women and children, support in trauma recovery, and empowerment to increase their personal safety within the community. With the assistance of individual therapists and case managers, women are empowered to create a new future for themselves and their children that is free of abuse, coercion and fear.

Event coordinators and ADCAN board members Deb Santamore and Kathy Grahn also got family involved. When the ladies at Goosebeary’s in Ripon, Wisconsin, heard about the charity collections, they got busy and hand knitted hats and mittens for the residents of BAK.

This marks a series of collections that ADCAN has done for NCCF this past year. In May, they collected Summer of Fun supplies and put together 13 complete bags for their summer camp program. Contents included towel, swimsuit, sunglasses, sunscreen, water shoes, bug spray, camera, journal, playing cards, and much more. Additional items were donated as well and much appreciated by the center.

In the spirit of Back to School, ADCAN nannies generously donated school supplies and backpacks for the children headed back to school and Halloween brought bags and bags of candy and some fun costumes to round out the holiday.

ADCAN also coordinated a gift card drive for NCCF at the October Nannypalooza conference. Over $500 in gifts cards were donated by conference attendees.

Nannies give in so many ways. What are your favorite charities? Is your group doing something special for the holidays?

By Kellie Geres, Regarding Nannies Development Team, ADCAN president

Celebrating a Milestone!

The following article appeared in the September / October 2009 issue of ADCAN Happenings, the newsletter of the nanny support group ADCAN / Association of DC Area Nannies.

Written by Christine Watson Holsen, it chronicles the career of DC Nanny Penny Andrews who was recognized on Sunday, September 20 by friends and peers for her 50 years as a child care provider.

This Fall, Penny Andrews will celebrate fifty years as a professional nanny! At the tender age of nine she knew it was her calling. By age 12 she was caring for children on weekends and holidays at an orphanage in her home town of Hartlepool, England. She followed four years of that work with 2 1/2 years of formal training, earning her National Nursery Examination Board (NNEB) certification.

The NNEB is internationally the most widely recognized certification for nannies. The program emphasizes hands-on training complemented by intensive classroom study. Areas of study include health, nutrition, hygiene, play and social, emotional and cognitive development from ages 0 to 7, in addition to practical homemaking skills. (Penny's graduation requirements included, besides a 5-hour written exam, a "practical display" of handwork projects, including sewing, knitting and hand-made wooden toys.)

After earning her NNEB certification, she worked in the preemie ward of a maternity hospital for half a year, then began her formal nanny career, working in Scotland and Madrid before coming to the US with an American family that she worked with in London. She liked the US and decided to make it her permanent home. She has cared for children, mostly of families in the Washington area, ever since. Eventually Penny became a US citizen.

Penny considers her style to be "loving, but firm." She puts great emphasis on routine and consistency, and therefore prefers long-term assignments, which allow these things to develop. Routine in a child's daily life and consistency in care are generally recognized as critical factors in the formative years.

Currently Penny is finishing a long-term commitment in Northern Virginia. Her next position begins in September with a family in Georgetown. She is much in demand (recession or not) and has worked continuously since she arrived here, except for three weeks in 2003 (when she helped a friend sell Christmas trees in Glen Echo).

Penny has been the proud owner, for 23 years, of a lovely condominium in Glover Park. She is welcomed home each day by her adoring Sheltie, Misty. For relaxation, she likes to walk Misty, read murder mysteries and watch comedy movies. Her travels have included Spain, Italy and the Caribbean. Most recently she visited Albuquerque, NM. She enjoyed the city and plans to return as soon as possible.


reprinted with permission from ADCAN www.dcareanannies.com

Weekend Round Up

This week we kicked off a month long focus on National Nanny Recognition Week with an extra Sunday post that gave the history of how NNRW began.

On Monday Moxie we spotlighted ADCAN, the first and oldest nanny support group in the USA.

On Tuesday Tips we shared a list of vendors who are offering special deals and discounts all month long in celebration of NNRW. Please be sure to check out these awesome deals and do some shopping with these wonderful vendors who are so supportive of what we are doing.

On Wednesday's Creative Nanny, Nanny Gael Ann introduced us to Smilebox.

On Thursday Table Talk, Cortney Gibson shared with us how to have "The Happiest Baby on the Block"

On Friday Financial Nanny , Alice showed us a handy dandy Accordion Organizer that is great for keeping track of receipts (and it's 20% off through Labor Day...check out the shopping deals for the code under Letters by Design)

Spotlight on ADCAN - Association of DC Area Nannies

by Kellie Geres, Regarding Nannies Development Team

In honor of National Nanny Recognition Week, I want to send a shout out to all of our amazing Nanny Groups. As Nanny Group leaders we struggle with finding the nannies, reaching out to the nanny community for speakers, funding, events and so much more.

With many different types of nanny groups – social, educational, online or a mixture of features – there are many groups across the country that serve the local nanny population by providing a resource and networking platform for nannies to come together.

This month and in the future, I will feature various nanny groups across the country, and I thought it was only fitting to start at the beginning.

Read the entire Spotlight article here. Read more about NNRW here.