Outreach Toolkit
The Outreach Toolkit offers a step-by-step process for you to refer to when planning your outreach events. Begin with the Event Planning Worksheet, which provides a step-by-step process for you and your team to follow for your Outreach Events.
Grant Funding - Below are funding sources.
- SWE Program Development Grants
- National Girls Collaborative Project
- STEMfinity's List of STEM Grants
Making the Most of Partnerships - Finding partners to help with networking, materials, cooperation, or funding. When looking for local partners to help, register your event. When others outside of SWE request SWE speakers, role models, or mentors refer them to the Fabfem database.
Insurance Coverage Questionnaire - Use this form to determine if extra insurance coverage is needed.
Learning - Positive role models have been shown to have a significant impact on a young woman’s decision to pursue a career in engineering. Learn best practices in SWE’s Advance Learning Center Role Models 101 course in addition to the links below.
Organizing an event requires Project Team members. Use the Roles and Responsibilities resource to help with facilitating area tasks.
If you are a naturally “task-oriented” person, there is always a temptation to “do it yourself.” However, pulling a team together to assist can make your event less stressful for you and more successful in the end. Seek out those that are not only willing to help with various tasks, but those that have a skill that you may lack yourself and are best suited for the specified tasks needed.
Consider the following when creating your team:
- Availability
- Willingness to assist
- Special talents
- Reliability/commitment
- Ability to lead others
You can expand or reduce the size of the team where necessary and combine roles if you feel they may complement each other to work together.
When you invite someone to join your team, remember to:
- Share the vision of what you hope to achieve for the event.
- Share why you chose them for that particular role.
- Share your expectations of them in that particular role.
- Discuss an estimated time commitment.
Select an activity for your program. A variety of activities are located here for your use.
Register Participants using Eventbrite. Refer to the Eventbrite Best Practices for a step-by-step process including required forms and waivers.
- Permission Form for Minors
- Student and Parent Educator Program Track Acknowledgement
- Student Media Release Form
- Adult Photo and Video Release Waiver
Create Volunteer Shifts Using Volunteerlocal. Refer to the Volunteerlocal Resource for additional information. Volunteer Match is a volunteer resource that does background checks.
Additional outreach templates and tools available for your use.
- Certificate of Completion template
- Check-In Sheet for Outreach
- Event Flyer template
- Press Release template
- Promote SWENext (SWENext Resources for SWE Members and branded resources)
- Schedule/Agenda template
- SWE Store
Below are a variety of resources to assist you with advising girls.
- The Role Model Impact
- DiscoverE helps unite, mobilize, and support the engineering and technology volunteer communities. There are a variety of resources available including 10 Reasons to Love Engineering, Conversation Starters, and Activities.
- EngineerGirl.org website is designed to bring national attention to the exciting opportunities that engineering represents for girls and women.
- Howtosmile.org benefits from a prestigious and diverse array of national organizations dedicated to STEM.
- Tryengineering.org has resources for Students and Teachers.
- Managing Connections
- Become a role model
- The Connectory makes the connections to STEM learning opportunities that inspire young people to explore, discover, and create.
Use the Sample Panel Questions resource that includes two sets of panel questions for two topics: Why Engineering? and Preparing for Engineering Success.
Feel free to add, remove, and/or edit the questions to better align to your panelists’ personalities. It is recommended that you review the ‘chosen’ questions with your panelists in advance.
Follow the steps within this toolkit to implement your Outreach Event. Be sure to use the Event Planning Worksheet which provides a step-by-step process for you and your team to complete your Outreach Event.
Report Your Event
Programs you run have a lasting impact on students. Our “Assessment Made Easy Toolkit” is a step-by-step approach to creating a post-event survey that you can give your participants (students, parents/educators and volunteers). Following your outreach event, report your event to SWE using the Outreach Metric Tool.
Share Your Event
Are you planning to host an outreach program soon? Do you have photos from a previous outreach event that you want to share with SWE HQ? Use hashtag #SWEOutreach to tag your Outreach Event photos on social media. Don't forget to encourage your volunteers and attendees to post photos from the event.
Invite them to tag SWE on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, while using the hashtag #SWEOutreach.
