GOAL STATEMENT: The Sanneh Foundation (TSF) is a 501(c)(3) serving the various needs of Minnesota's low-income youth and their families. The Communication Specialist VISTA will increase the awareness and visibility of Sanneh programs that aim to improve educational outcomes for low-income youth and families. By establishing lasting processes for media management, story capturing, and written content creation, the VISTA will improve outreach and engagement to support economic stability and self-sufficiency within the community.

Objective 1: Develop an in-depth understanding of TSF’s mission, core programs (such as Dreamline, Nutritional Services, and Workforce Development), and current storytelling and communication practices.

• Step 1: Participate in the TSF on-site orientation, including history, mission, core values, and department introductions

• Step 2: Meet with the Marketing Coordinator and the Advancement team to review current workflows for newsletters, social media, and donor communications.

• Step 3: Review existing sustainability materials from previous VISTAs to understand past processes for narrative messaging and community outreach.

• Step 4: Identify professional development resources related to journalistic storytelling, interviewing techniques, and brand messaging.

Objective 2: Build and improve efficient systems to facilitate the creation of compelling written content that highlights the organization's work and impact

• Step 1: Research best practices for developing different communications amongst different audiences, i.e., volunteers, program participants & donors.

• Step 2: Create standardized workflows and templates for monthly electronic newsletters, ensuring consistent and informative updates for stakeholders

• Step 3: Develop a system for capturing stories, including a schedule for interviewing program participants, volunteers, and staff to highlight program success

• Step 4: Develop a system for capturing stories, including a schedule for interviewing program participants, volunteers, and staff to highlight program success

• Step 5: Collaborate with the Multimedia VISTA to ensure written content effectively complements visual assets (photo and video) in storytelling campaigns.

• Create and maintain standardized copy across all projects to ensure consistency in messaging, tone, and brand voice.

Objective 3: Develop and implement training materials to equip TSF staff with the skills needed to perform independent storytelling and narrative advocacy and ensure the long-term sustainability of storytelling processes by finalizing documentation and handbooks for future use.

• Step 1: Draft a pilot technical assistance workshop curriculum focused on storytelling fundamentals, including interviewing techniques, ethical storytelling, and brand voice.

• Step 2: Facilitate professional development sessions or "technical assistance" workshops on best practices for written communication and interviewing

• Step 3: Finish thorough documentation of all Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) regarding newsletter production, caption writing, and storytelling archiving.

• Step 4: Analyze the impact of new written content strategies (e.g., audience reach or engagement metrics) and provide a final report with recommendations for future growth

• Step 5: Create quick-reference training tools (e.g., one-pagers, checklists, and templates) that staff can use independently when developing written content.