Community Catalyst Program: A 4-Month Training & Project Incubator

1. Program Introduction & Benefits

The Community Catalyst Program is a 4-month experiential learning journey designed to move community members from learning to launching real-world application projects. It blends hands-on project work, peer support, and lightweight coaching, grounded in proven adult learning and community development principles. The program's core essence is actionable empowerment—equipping participants with the practical skills, confidence, and support network to identify a local need and execute a small-scale pilot project.

Strategic Benefits for Community Members:

1. Tangible Impact: Participants transition from passive learners to active change-makers by launching a real project pilot within their community, creating immediate, visible value.
2. Practical Skill Development: Gains are not theoretical. Participants build directly applicable competencies in problem-solving, project management, stakeholder engagement, and impact measurement.
3. Sustainable Support Network: The cohort model and peer-support pods foster lasting relationships, creating a community of practice for ongoing collaboration, advice, and moral support beyond the program.
4. Increased Confidence & Agency: Through structured milestones and early wins, participants build the confidence to lead initiatives, engage local leaders, and advocate for community resources.
5. Pathway to Further Opportunity: Completed projects and documented learning serve as a portfolio, opening doors to partnerships, small grants, volunteer leadership roles, or social enterprise development.

2. Program Expansion Strategy

Evaluation: The primary program is a Training Program with integrated "light-weight coaching/mentoring." The core goal is to "encourage application projects after training." Analysis confirms that a structured, supplemental Mentorship layer would significantly enhance outcomes by providing personalized guidance, accountability, and access to networks that directly address participant challenges like limited resources and confidence.

Proposed Addition: Community Champion Mentorship Layer

• Why it Adds Value: A mentorship component directly tackles key audience challenges. Mentors (experienced community leaders, NGO staff, local business owners) can provide:

  • Contextual Guidance: Help mentees navigate local politics and identify key stakeholders.
  • Resource Access: Open doors to venues, in-kind support, or potential partners.
  • Confidence Building: Offer encouragement and validation based on real-world experience.
  • Accountability: Provide external check-ins that reinforce commitment to project milestones.

• Brief Implementation Note: Integrate mentors after Milestone 1 (Orientation & Opportunity Discovery). Match mentors to participants/project groups based on project theme and community sector. Structure the relationship as light-touch but strategic:

  • Frequency: One 45-60 minute meeting per month, aligned with major milestones.
  • Focus: Use the GROW model (Goal, Reality, Options, Will) as a conversation guide to troubleshoot specific project barriers and strategize next steps.
  • Training: Provide mentors with a short guide on the program's goals, the GROW model, and boundaries (see Supplemental Content in Section 5).

3. Implementation Roadmap

Launch Phase (Pre-Program to Week 1)

1. Define & Partner: Finalize curriculum details. Secure partnerships with 2-3 local community organizations for recruitment, venue support, and potential mentors.
2. Recruit Participants: Launch a simple application focused on community challenge ideas. Target 20-30 participants for a strong cohort.
3. Recruit & Onboard Mentors: Identify 5-10 "Community Champions." Provide them with a 90-minute orientation.
4. Kick-off Logistics: Schedule all sessions, book hybrid (in-person/virtual) options, and prepare all asynchronous content modules in the LMS.
5. Cohort Onboarding: Host a dynamic Orientation Session to build connections, set expectations, and introduce the first milestone.

Tracking & Operations (Week 1 - Week 16)

1. Weekly Rhythm:
   • Content & Practice Session (Weekly, 90 mins): Facilitator-led workshop on one of the four content pillars.
   • Project Lab Session (Weekly, 60 mins): Structured work time for project groups/individuals with peer pod check-ins and facilitator Q&A.
   • Asynchronous Work: Participants complete stakeholder interviews, draft plans, and update project logs via the LMS.
2. Milestone Reviews: Facilitators collect and give brief feedback on milestone outputs (Problem Canvas, Concept Brief, etc.).
3. Mentor Coordination: Program manager facilitates mentor-mentee matching and sends reminder prompts for monthly check-ins.
4. Communication Hub: Use the Internal Social Network for daily updates, resource sharing, celebrations, and peer support.

Success Measurement

Quantitative KPIs:

• Completion Rate: >80% of participants attend 75%+ of sessions and submit final report.
• Project Launch Rate: >90% of participants/groups launch a pilot (Milestone 4).
• Pilot Engagement: Number of community members directly served/engaged by all pilots (Target: 200+).
• Skill Growth: >30% average increase in pre/post self-assessment scores across the four content pillars.

Qualitative & Feedback Mechanisms:

• Pulse Surveys: Short feedback form after each module.
• Structured Reflections: Learning logs submitted at Milestones 3 and 5.
• Final Showcase & Panel: "Demo Day" where participants present to community partners and funders, with feedback collected from attendees.
• 3-Month Follow-up: Survey and interviews to track project sustainability and ongoing participant engagement.

4. Approved Tools List

• LMS (Learning Management System): Primary Tool. This is non-negotiable for delivering asynchronous content (micro-lecture videos, tool templates, readings), housing submission portals for milestone outputs, and hosting pre/post surveys. It provides the flexible, modular learning path required for diverse community members.
• Internal Social Network: Critical Support Tool. Essential for building and maintaining the cohort community. Used for daily peer support, Q&A, sharing resources, celebrating wins, and maintaining engagement between live sessions. Fosters the psychological safety and peer exposure central to the 70-20-10 model.
• Coaching Software: Secondary Tool for Enhanced Structure. While not a pure coaching program, a lightweight coaching platform can be used to structure and track the supplemental mentor-mentee relationships. It can schedule monthly check-ins, provide the GROW model template, and log meeting notes, adding professionalism and ease to the volunteer mentor experience.

Justification: An ERG, Mentorship, or Onboarding platform is too narrow. Personality tests are not core to the project-based goal. The LMS delivers core education (10%), the Social Network enables peer exposure (20%), and the project work itself constitutes the "doing" (70%). Coaching software efficiently supports the added mentorship layer.

5. Resource & Content Library

General Program Content (Core LMS Modules)

• Module 1: From Passion to Project: Guide to community asset mapping, conducting stakeholder interviews, and writing a problem statement.
• Module 2: Plan for Action: Toolkit with templates for a 1-page project plan, simple budget sheet, and risk matrix.
• Module 3: The Art of Mobilization: Video series on crafting a 3-minute pitch, facilitating inclusive meetings, and designing simple feedback forms.
• Module 4: Learn, Adapt, Sustain: Workshop kit for defining KPIs, creating a pilot run log, and drafting a sustainability roadmap.
• Milestone Toolkit: Downloadable canvases and templates for all five milestone outputs.

Supplemental Mentoring Content Table

Provided to Mentors ("Community Champions") to equip them for effective, structured support.