The Minimal Civic Association
By Dave Conway
The popularity of a neighborhood civic association like ours has waxed and waned over the last 50 years. An influx of like-minded new homeowners or a crime or traffic-related crisis in the neighborhood can spark the establishment or resurgence of a community civic association. Even without a crisis, though, the enduring issues of traffic, zoning violations, problem neighbors, and crime give civic associations plenty to address each year.
Periods of resurgence are fun, with new faces, new ideas, and new activities for the community. Westlawn experienced this period in the late 1980s/early 1990s, culminating in our annual Westlawn Community Day at Westlawn School. Neighborhood activities like our Community Day, with children's rides and musical entertainment, are a lot of fun, but also take a lot of time and effort on the part of neighborhood volunteers. If the volunteers move on or interest in the activities declines, though, it is still possible to modify or streamline these events, or else replace them with another activity.
While special activities are an added bonus of civic associations, the key purpose of a civic association should always be communications. Individual residents can communicate directly with our local politicians, Fairfax County agencies, and VDOT through mail, email, fax, and phone, but the results are often less effective than what a civic association can accomplish. Likewise, a civic association, with its General Meetings and newsletter, allows these groups and local businesses to communicate with us with a specific focus on our community. For example, we learned about plans to redevelop two nearby shopping centers to add two new grocery stores because the property owners were able to reach us through our civic association.
What does it take to keep a civic association like ours functioning during periods of declining participation? Surprisingly, not as much as one might think. Essential elements include:
Neighborhood newsletter deliverers. With over 950 homes and low annual revenues from dues, it never has been practical to mail our newsletters. We have many volunteers with short delivery routes (30 to 40 homes). The alternative of a few volunteers with long routes leads to delayed delivery and difficulty in recruiting new volunteers. Unlike board members, neighbors who volunteer to deliver newsletters do not have to attend any meetings, and they can choose the time and day to deliver the newsletters. They also are the first on their block to get their copy!
Money. An association cannot function without money, and membership dues are the key source of funds. Residents get all the community benefits of a civic association for just pennies a day in dues, and membership drives are critical for raising money. Door-to-door membership drives bring in more dues than newsletter forms asking residents to mail in their dues. However, finding volunteers to go door-to-door is a huge challenge, and we have managed to run a surplus each year with mail-in dues and careful management of our expenses.
Treasurer. A reliable, trustworthy person who can deposit money and pay occasional bills is essential. Choose this person carefully; not someone just because they are the only volunteer. Better to have an experienced civic association officer manage this additional duty than risk someone new to the neighborhood mismanaging or embezzling the account.
Newsletter Editor. A civic association must have a newsletter to communicate with the neighborhood. At our General Meetings, we never get more than 3% of the neighborhood to show up. The newsletter is essential for communicating the highlights of these meetings and other information to the rest of the community. Besides publishing a paper newsletter, it is important to have a Web site as well.
President. Someone must lead, and it is best to find a competent, caring person with ties to the community. It is possible for the president to also fill the roles of newsletter editor and even treasurer, but that leaves nobody with experience as a civic association officer to move up when the president steps down. It is ill-advised for the president to also head up other committees that require a lot of time, such as a community social function. Better to not have any special community functions than to burn out the few volunteers who are willing to run the organization.
Neighborhood Watch is an activity that is typically tied into a civic association, but that is only as a matter of convenience. In Westlawn, our Neighborhood Watch continued as an independent activity when the civic association went dormant in 1983.
Anyone seeking to start a civic association can do so with just a few dedicated volunteers and little money. The first step is to contact your Fairfax County Supervisor's office and ask for their guidance, as they have a lot of experience working with civic associations. There are plenty of sources of newsletter articles-the county Web site, notes from General Meetings, and articles from other civic association newsletters posted on the Internet.
Finding a quality, low-cost printer is a plus (we discovered Welsh Publishing several years ago and have been quite satisfied with them). Repeat newsletter advertising cuts down on publishing costs and helps make up for a relatively low percentage of residents paying their membership dues. Use the first newsletter to solicit newsletter deliverers, find a local school or other free site to hold a few meetings each year, and you're set!