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 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

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.

Thursday Table Talk:Two Angry Moms

Amy Kalafa was stewing for years, packing her kids lunches from home and trying to get her community to pay attention to what kids are eating in school. When news of a national child health crisis began making headlines, Amy, an award-winning documentary filmmaker, decided to take the fight to film.

Two Angry Moms is Amy's quest to learn what she and other parents need to know and do to get better food in their kids' schools. Susan Rubin had been trying for a decade to work with her district on improving school food, earning herself a reputation as a rabble-rouser with a "macrobiotic agenda" (NOT!). She's even been banned from her children's' school cafeteria!



In the meantime, legions of kids continue to make a daily lunch out of neon green slushies, greasy fries and supersize cookies, imperiling not only their long-term health but also their ability to learn. Exasperated, Susan decided to reach beyond her school district, and founded Better School Food, her own grassroots organization.

Part exposé, part "how-to", Amy chronicles the efforts of Susan and other leaders in the fledgling better school food movement as they take on the system nationwide. From Chefs Alice Waters and Ann Cooper reinventing school food in Berkley California to Chef Tony Geraci's student designed meals in New Hampshire, Amy discovers programs that connect the cafeteria with the classroom and connect our kids with the earth.

Over the course of a school year, we see Susan's coalition drive dramatic changes in one Westchester, NY school district. Two Angry Moms shows not only on what is wrong with school food; it offers strategies for overcoming roadblocks and getting healthy, good tasting, real food into school cafeterias. The movie explores the roles the federal government, corporate interests, school administration and parents play in feeding our country's school kids.



See what happens when fed-up moms start a grass-roots revolution!

You can find out more about them and what you can do to get involved with their quest to feed our kids healthier food in the public school by going to http://www.twoangrymoms.com/