Your Ideas
According to a survey OSI conducted in the spring, one of the biggest challenges for organizations operating virtually was engagement with their members. Here are some platforms and ideas other RSO’s recommend to help with engagement!
- Groupme
- Email: Use your student organization email to create a listserv that you can send emails to all your members.
- Discord
- iMessage Games
- Zoom/Google Hangouts
- Tumblr account to share photos
- Create fitness challenges members can complete while watching a show or movie.
- Have a Netflix Party!
- Conduct a virtual check-in. Post three to five statements or create a poll and have members like/select how they are feeling. For example, “I’m Great!”, “I’m Mehh”, “I’m Not So Good”. Follow up with members who may not be feeling great.
- Get a group together to play an online board game
- Send some snail mail- Write letters, postcards, or set up a “traveling notebook” to send to each other
- Ask each member to create a virtual memory board that visually shows why their organization is important to them. Share your boards with each other.
- Assign weekly “outreach buddies/groups” who are challenged to connect with one another virtually for at least one hour during the week
- Teach a skill- Have a member teach everyone else a skill they have on a live video. Record the video to share with those who couldn’t attend.
- Start a Book Club (or two!)- Pick a developmental book and a for-fun book to read as a group. Designate some intervals to have discussions.
- Attend an online workout class as a group
- Play a game together! Look into the Jackbox Games and a screen share service like discord to play a game remote and with viewers.
- Set up a mail gift exchange on elfster.com
- Highlight a member each day to do a takeover on the chapter’s lnstagram story
- Curate a group playlist, jump on video and have a dance party
- Play multiplayer games together online (Think Minecraft, fortnite, MarioKart etc. and have a discord channel while playing)
- Share a meal together- Cook the same dish together over video or gather for dinner time with whatever you are eating in a video chat.
- Host an MTV Cribs episode: Have members show their houses and rooms on a video call
- Host a TikTok dance class or a TikTok dance challenge.
- Post a picture of one member per day (either on social media or in a group chat) and have members write what they love about that member.
- Do Something That Matters- Find ways for members to have positive impacts from home, pick up trash in your surrounding area, video a book reading for kids, tutor online, or deliver groceries to those in need. Gather around doing good during this time and share your positive impacts internally and on social media.