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Partner.Provide.Promote.Pearls

About 6 months ago, I had an interesting discussion with fairly new friends about healthy approaches to garner success in your endeavors.  One of their suggestions was to be more intentional about your goals/plans.  Now, we all know that intentionality is to be deliberate; when you do things on purpose. This discussion piqued even more of my interest to hear them make the case that being intentional must have a ubiquitous application.  To look at intentionality as more concrete than abstract, we considered 3 actionable approaches towards success, Partner.Provide.Promote.

So as I prepared for a board retreat meeting with Friends of Ketcham Elementary School (FoKes) yesterday, I thought about some things the board must be intentional about to accomplish our goals for the school. As an educator and small business owner, children have always been my pearls in the making.  As it relates to FoKes, given that these little pearls have a majority of women helping to cultivate them, we must be intentional about our patronage. Just like Ketcham and many other schools, there is a board to help them increase their intentional efforts.  In this year of 2020, we Pearls need a "board' to help us be more intentional about or efforts towards accomplishing our goals. So that's why Nacr3 is here...to serve on your board and help you develop your board intentionality. We are here to help you to Partner. Provide. Promote in the Nacr3-way of being Strong, Resilient, and Luminous! So let's discuss how to be intentional in these 3 areas.

  • Get You a Partner! Our 1st step to developing your intentionality is Partnerships. When looking to partner, you should be clear on why you need a specific partnership.  Partnerships whether business or collaborators, in general, can have several beneficial additives for you. Partnerships can bring resources such as capital/money, talent, and access.  This is something that FoKes considered at our retreat on yesterday.  Given our goals for teacher support and student support, we need partnerships to intentionally further our goals. We've already determined that partnerships are key so here's a checklist to consider.  1. How well do we know the partner? 2. Is this partner a good fit for us/you (communication, follow-through or good on a return)? 3. What is the mutual understanding as it relates to the partnership? Partnerships clearly defined can provide you with additions that can encourage the growth of your business/organizations.  Additions such as financial resources, better talent, and most importantly access! These few positives promote growth in your business and therefore strengthens your position reach and endeavors. Partnerships=Being Strong!
  • What Can You Provide? Our second area of intentionality is how and what we provide to Ketcham.  The FoKes' board partnership with Ketcham was formed to provide teacher support, student access, family engagement, advocacy, and celebration. In return what we provide to Ketcham allows the school to provide their community with well-rounded children and a safe nurturing place to learn. Our community is a huge part of Nacr3 creed in being resilient and overcoming obstacles. To determine what you provide consider the following: 1. Your past accomplishments. 2. Do your abilities match your new goals? 3. Plan how to meet this goal? 4. Develop your brand and show enthusiasm about your endeavor.  Knowing what you contribute to a partnership organization or community encourages you to strengthen and increase connections within your community and it's your Community that allows you to be Resilient!
  • Controlling Your Narrative! Lastly, FoKes discussed intentionality changing the narrative around the school and community. How can we promote the beautiful community of families and educators working to cultivate Pearls in our little black and brown children? Promotion not only allows you to change the narrative but also control the narrative of your efforts. The next five steps can help you control your narrative. 1. Understand your purpose-what's your purpose and who else shares your purpose? 2. Put your narrative in the Human Context-when someone engages your brand, it's the first interview and you need to tell them about yourself. 3. Embrace your uniqueness-if you don't differentiate your narrative, you will be swallowed by those with more reach than you. 4. Contextualize shortcomings-you and your organizations are constantly moving, changing, adapting and evolving; your stories should be just as dynamic. 5. Beware of tone deafness-culture eats strategy for breakfast, listen to your audience and adapt to there needs. Opportunities to control your narrative are blogs, podcasts, newsletters, radio spots, social media, word of mouth and paper advertisement. Controlling your narrative allows you to promote your brand. Promotion begs you to Be Luminous!

FoKes is one arm that seeks to Partner. Provide. Promote for a well-deserving community. While you are making plans to develop your intentional efforts, look also to support the Friends of Ketcham Elementary Schools efforts. Become a partner with us, so that we can provide access to our students and families and promote the growth of such wonderful people. 

Here are your avenues to support the Friends of Ketcham Elementary Schools efforts- Twitter @FOKESDC, Instagram @friendsofketcham, and Facebook--Friends of Ketcham Elementary School (FOKES). Please consider Partnering with us by making a donation at the following link. 





Enjoy Pearls!

      DBC,
Mother of Pearl

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