How to Get a Fast Start on a Big Finish: Outreach Ideas That Will Give You Insights to Help You Achieve Your Goals Before March 31

© 2013 Enroll America | EnrollAmerica.org

How to Get a Fast Start on a Big Finish – Outreach Ideas That Will Give You Insights to Help You Achieve Your Goals Before March 31

Wednesday February 19, 2014

© 2013 Enroll America | EnrollAmerica.org 2

Moderator: Jennifer Roniger, Deputy Director for State Assistance Presenters: Dayanne Leal, Deputy Director, Best Practices Institute Etoy Ridgnal, Director of African-American Engagement and Faith Based Initiatives

SPEAKERS


AGENDA

I.  Capitalizing on Your Strengths

II.  Showcasing Key Outreach Strategies a)  Phone-a-thons b)  Working with Community Colleges c)  Working with Faith Communities d)  Earned Media e)  Conducting Effective Enrollment Events

III.  Tips on Monitoring & Evaluation

IV.  Q&A


I. Capitalizing on Your Strengths

4


What Has Worked Well So Far?

5

•  40 days until the end of open enrollment

•  This is the time to: ü  Focus on what you do WELL ü  Build on what you have done so far ü  Leverage relationships with your network ü  NOT the time to invest a lot of resources in doing something totally new

IDENTIFY what has worked

Make plans to REPEAT these

strategies

AMPLIFY for the next five

weeks


II. Showcasing Key Outreach Strategies

6


Phone-a-thons

7


Why a Phone-a-thon?

8

Free

• Thousands of consumers at once

Broad reach

• Great for reaching populations in rural areas

Reach consumers where there are

• Share key messages • Connect consumers to enrollment assisters • Promote current enrollment events • Prepare consumers for an appointment with an assister

All-in-one strategy: educate, persuade, refer

• Boost staff and volunteer morale during the home stretch

High-energy strategy


How Does A Phone-a-thon Work?

9


What Does It Take?

It only take a few steps…and typically, they occur in very quick succession!

10

Establish a relationship with a Local Radio or TV Media Outlet •  Work with a radio or TV station that has the capacity to host you for free •  Station provides phone lines, 1-800 #, computers, space

Determine the Goal of Your Phone-a-Thon •  Public education •  Enrollment tool

Get the Word Out

Staff the Phone-a-Thon


Phone-a-thon Success Stories

11

Alaska: Hawaii:

IL

PA OH

ME


Working with Community Colleges

12


Why Target Community Colleges?

•  Demographic make-up of community college •  Few offer student health plans •  Community colleges have a compelling interest in

educating their students about their insurance options •  Community colleges are every where

•  Since they are present in most communities that makes them a great way to conduct outreach in rural communities


Who to Talk to ü  The Dean of Student Affairs is usually the administrator whose

office oversees ü  President’s Office ü  Student Health Clinic

What to Ask ü Host enrollment events ü  Send information to students ü  Allow outside group to table

How to Work with Community Colleges


•  Enlist the school’s help promoting the event: ü School-wide email ü Social media ü Campus newspaper/radio ü Recruit students to do brief presentations at the beginning of classes, then

collect interest cards.

•  Make sure to have enough Navigators/CACs •  During the event, have volunteers with clipboards flyer

around campus

Tips for Working with Community Colleges


Community College Success Stories

•  Miami Dade Community College

•  More than 500 students served

•  City Colleges of Chicago •  Enrollment events planned in

every campus •  At the first event, 225 student

attended; almost half went all the way through the enrollment process


Working with Faith Communities

17


•  Faith-based communities are trusted messengers •  Working with a local congregation to reach individuals

and families in rural areas can be an effective may

•  Reaching out to different ethnic groups, for example African Americans, via a faith-based institution has proven to be successful

Why Engage the Faith-Based Community?

18


Health Care from the Pulpit - Be Part of the Movement!

How To Engage Faith-Based Communities?

19

Conduct a “Health Care from the Pulpit” Tabling Event

Activate a “Heal-the-Neighborhood” Health Outreach Ministry

Host a “Health Coverage Enrollment Summit”


•  Christ Bible Church, TX ü Combined Healthcare from Pulpit, canvassing and

enrollment summit

•  New Samaritan Baptist Church, Washington, D.C. ü Pastor preached sermon with enrolment theme for 2

services ü Staff on hand after to table, provide information and get

contact information

•  Mt. Zion Baptist Church, VA ü Connected them with navigator to do enrollment

•  Follow up is key!!

Health Care from the Pulpit Success Stories


Earned Media

21


•  Getting the word out via radio, television broadcast, or print media can reach more people in less time than other methods of outreach

•  Media outlets can reach groups in rural parts of the State

•  Working with the ethnic media allows you to tailor your messages for specific populations

Why Should You Engage The Media?

22


How to Approach the Media

Identify the media outlets in your area (TV, radio, print)

Ask them to help you as part of their public service announcements (PSAs) requirements

Develop a strong relationship - Keep in touch!


How to Engage the Media

Local TV

•  Invite them to visit your organization and interview the staff serving their audience.

Local Radio

•  Ask them to attend your outreach event and broadcast it live.

•  Live, “call-in” radio programs give you an opportunity to reach and educate a large audience simply by addressing a single caller’s question

Local Newspaper

•  Ask them to include an insert or a sticker on the front page about your program or outreach/ enrollment activity.


Earned Media Success Stories

•  Nebraska:

•  One World Community Health Center staff placed educational inserts into local magazines/ newspapers in the appropriate language in three papers, one that caters to Spanish-speaking population, one to the African American population and one to the Anglo population.

•  Connecticut: •  Interviews through local, free

radio and Newspapers.


Conducting Effective Enrollment Events

26


1.  Tool to help maximize enrollment opportunities in a community

2.  Efficient 3.  Popular with Consumers, especially in

communities of color and rural areas 4.  Creates earned media possibilities 5.  Good volunteer opportunities

Why Plan an Enrollment Event?

27

TIP: If you have more consumers than staff to assist at your events, prepare to be more strategic. Scheduled appointments or extended hours to provide enrollment assistance may be helpful.


How to Set Up an Enrollment Event

28

Step 1: •  Identify your target population

Step 2: •  Build your event team: Find

trusted partners/institutions/locations

Step 3: •  Set a location and date for an

Enrollment Event (work backwards & set at least 3 weeks out )

Step 4: •  Recruit most appropriate

assistors/navigators for the event

Step 5: •  Recruit consumers: take

appointments, & confirm appointments 24 hours in advance – provide a simple list of the information they need to have for enrollment.

Step 6: •  Have a successful event!


Enrollment Event Success Stories

National Latino Summits •  Texas, Florida, Georgia, Arizona,

Illinois, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, New Jersey, Louisiana, and Ohio.

Enrollment at Public Library - Best Practices Learned from Lower Alabama •  Choose the “right” library •  Establish a relationship •  Schedule your enrollment events

on an established, recurring schedule that works with library availability and stick to it.

•  Promote, promote, promote.


III. Tips on Monitoring & Evaluation

30


Develop an Evaluation Plan Before You Implement

31

•  Identify which outreach strategies and partners reach the most consumers

•  Basis for future funding requests Why evaluate?

•  How will you know if your strategy was effective? •  What outcomes will you be measuring?

Things to consider…

•  How did consumers hear about your organization? •  How did they get your phone number? •  How did they come to attend a particular enrollment event? •  How many consumers created an account? Successfully enrolled?

Suggested Questions:

Collect information that will help you build a better system for next year: When do you ‘lose’ consumers? What helps get consumers ready to buy insurance? How many times do you talk to a consumer before they sign up? What are the barriers/ questions people have?


Why and How to Conduct a Phone-a-thon with a Local Media Outlet Monday, February 24, 2014 at 4:00 p.m. ET Engaging Community Colleges in Outreach and Enrollment Wednesday, February 26, 2014 at 4:00 p.m. ET How to Engage Faith Communities in Outreach Monday, March 3, 2014 at 4:00 p.m. ET Creating an Earned Media Strategy: Fast Ways to Engage Local Media and Motivate Consumers Tuesday, March 4, 2014 at 4:00 p.m. ET Conducting Effective Enrollment Events and How to Get More Support Wednesday, March 5, 2014 at 4:00 p.m. ET

Future Webinars in this Series


IV. Q&A

Jennifer Roniger Dayanne Leal [email protected] [email protected]

Etoy Ridgnal [email protected]

Health & Medicine

How to Get a Fast Start on a Big Finish: Outreach Ideas That Will Give You Insights to Help You Achieve Your Goals Before March 31