1. 1
AARP Experience Corps Communications Plan
February 2015
SITUATION ANALYSIS
AARPExperience Corpsnotonlyaddressesacritical needinthe educationsector(the questtogetchildrenreading
at grade level by4th
grade) but alsoprovidesolderadultsanopportunitytogive backtotheircommunities,leading
to improvedphysical,mental andbrainhealth, aswell asarenewedsenseof purpose.
While ourapproach,whichexclusivelyutilizesolderadultvolunteer readingtutorsinclassrooms,isunique inthe
marketplace;there are anumberof competitorsprovidingsimilarin-schooltutoringserviceswhohave better
name recognitioninthe marketplace.
As such, AARPExperience Corpsmusthave acomprehensive communicationsplatformtobuildvisibilityamong
variousaudiencesandstakeholders,whichinclude potential volunteers,donors, the educationcommunityand
otherstrategicpartners. There isreal to alignour networkandincrease publicawarenessof our workusing
commonoutreachthemes. Additionally,there islittle capacityatthe local level toimplementcommunications
campaignslocally.
In 2015, our national effortswill focusoncreatingaseriesof campaignsthatgive individual sitesinournetwork
the abilitytopicktheirlevel of involvementinfive majorcampaignactivitiesthroughout the year. We anticipate
increasedpublicvisibilityandamore cohesive national footprintasaresult.
The campaignapproach isalso intendedtopull togetherexistingandnew strategicexternal andinternal
partnerships;extendingourvisibilityandgalvanizingindividual donationsatthe national level.
EXPERIENCE CORPS & AARP ENTERPRISE STRATEGY
Our social impactworkengagesolderadultsintheircommunities toserve astutorsandmentors to struggling
readersinkindergartenthroughthirdgrade. Thisworkistrulyaboutpersonal fulfillmentforthose 50 and over. So
manyof our volunteerscome tothe workthroughpassionate commitmentoralong-helddreamtoteach;andwe
not onlyhelpthemfindadeepsense of purpose butalsoengage themintheircommunitiesasneverbefore.
AARPExperience Corpsisdeeplyinclusionary aswell;reachingdeeplyintomulticultural communitiestoachieve
our outcomes. The childrenwe serve are mostlyAfricanAmerican(61%) andHispanic/Latino(22%) andthe
majorityof our volunteersare AfricanAmerican(59%) [Note:only2% of our volunteersare Hispanic,andareaof
potential growthin2015 and beyond].
There are some specificAARPinitiatives anddepartments throughwhichwe believe therecouldbe opportunityfor
synergyandcollaboration. We anticipate deeperconnectionsandcollaborationwithotherAARPinitiativesthis
year, witha pilotwithMentorUp inthe works.
Those AARPinitiatives include:
 Mentor Up, AARPTek—intergenerationalcollaborationontech(cycle of life trainingopps)
 Life reimagined—ourvolunteerstoriesare Life Reimaginedstories
 State OfficesandEnterprise Communities—Phoenix andperhapsasecondcommunityin2015
 Create the Good,Office of VolunteerServices,National RetiredTeachers’Assn.
 MME
 Brain Health(researchsuggestsourvolunteershave improved cognitive abilityasa resultof their
volunteerwork)

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 Low-income Financial Outreach—sharingwithournetwork Tax Aide andfinancialfreedom information;
potential exampleof complete schoolservicesmodel –we deliverbenefittoparentsaswell aschildren
CommunicationsLandscape
The topic of education andmentorship isalwaysgettingmediaattention.Mostrecently,trendingnewsstories
covereducationunderthe followinglenses (thisisnotanexhaustivelist):
 State lawsstipulatingspecificreadingtestscoresinordertopass intofourthgrade
 Summerlearningloss
 Academicperformance (e.g.,lowscores, highschool graduation,literacyrates,racial/ethnic
disparities)
 CommonCore challenges
 BuildingSTEMsuccesses
Othertrendingstoriestoconsider:
 Boomerschangingtraditional retirement
 Seniorsusingtech
 Importance of intergenerational connection
Keychallengesandopportunitiesforbuildingvisibilityandawarenessforthe AARPECprogram inthe general
communicationslandscapeare asfollows:
 Yearly EC program evaluationsprovide benchmarks thatsuggestthe programhasa measureable impacton
the students,teachersandvolunteers ;butno
 There are several competingvolunteerorganizations whohave similarmodelsas AARPEC, howeverAARP
EC focusesonintergenerationvolunteerismandthe K-3demographic(CityYearisfrequentlycitedasa
majorcommunicationssuccessstory)
 AARPExperience Corpsisnota national program at thistime,sothere are limitationstoourabilityto
garnernational Local mediacoverage ismore likelyandwe mustbuildonournetwork’s presence intheir
communities.
 Growth plansandstrategicpartnershipscouldincrease opportunitiestogarnernational mediaattention.
TARGET AUDIENCES
We have identifiedthe followingtargetaudiencesfordevelopingcommunicationstoadvance AARP ECprogram
and communicationsgoals.Witheachaudiencebelow,we aimedtooverlayAARPsegmentationdataaswell as
general intelligence we have onthese audiences. Keyaudiencesinclude:
Traditional Media
 EducationWeek
 NonprofitTimes
 JohnMerrow,EducationcorrespondentforPBSNewsHour
 NBS Nightly News,“PayingitForward”
 CBS NightlyNews,“Onthe Road”
 ABC News
 NY Times
 WashingtonPost
 CNN
 USA Today
NewMedia

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 HuffPo
 NextAvenue/Forbes
 RedditEducation
Explore:
 NowThisNews – The news in your pocket.
 NiemanJournalismLab – Publishingthe future of journalism (Harvard).
 BusinessInsider– Tech, finance, media and other verticals under one roof.
 ProPublica– Journalism in the public interest.
 Worldcrunch – Selecting, translating and editing content from top foreign outlets.
 The Epoch Times – Uncensored news that values freedom of the press and humanity.
 On The Media (OTM) – Tackles sticky issueswith a frankness and transparency (NPR).
Strategic partners:
 Currentvolunteers—role inschool iscritical
 Potential volunteers—AARPmembers,corporate employees/retirees,others
 Schools/Administrators/Teachers—currentandpotential
 Leaders inthe educationspace—GLR,America’sPromise Alliance,CNCS/AmeriCorps
 Internal AARPpartners—MentorUp,CreatetheGood,MME,OVS,state offices
 Parents—notcurrentlyaddressedasan audience butshouldbe included
 AARPExperience Corpsnetwork—consideradditional commstools
Donors
 Corporate
 Foundation
 Government
 Individual
COMMUNICATIONSGOALS& OBJECTIVES
Goals:
 Increase awarenessof the unique contributionsof AARPExperience Corpstothe educationspace through
our intergenerational approach
 Improve onexistingcommunicationspartnershipswhileexpandingtoinclude largerarrayof partnerships
 Betterarticulate the AARPExperience Corpsvalue propositionforourspecific audiences
Objectives:
 Create fourcampaignsthat frame mediaandpublicoutreachopportunitiesforourentire network and
yieldanoverall increase inthe numberof new andtraditional storiesaboutthe workof AARPExperience
Corpsin communitieswe serve.(Campaigns)
 Cultivate anetwork-wide,story-tellingculture throughnational storycontest,photoshoots andincreased
use of storiesinall communicationschannels (Collaborations)

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CAMPAIGNS
We’ll engage infourlarge-scalecampaignsin2015 throughwhichwe’ll channelmediaandpublicoutreach
opportunitiestoournetwork. Campaignswill be month-longunless otherwisestated.
Summer LearningLoss
Timeline: April/May
Leverage existinglocal andnational partnershipstoembarkona campaignto provide one bookto everyAARP
Experience Corpschild,aswell astipsheetsandresourcesforparents,tohelppreventsummerlearningloss. Use
researchand child’sstory(if we canfindone) ConsidercreatingAARPExperience Corpssackpacksto send
resourceshome onlastdays of school.
Audience(s): Parents,Educationcommunity,individual donors
For parents:
Create a “report card” for parentswhichaccompanySummerLearningLossresources.General message
that providesencouragingwordsaboutchild’simprovementandneedforcontinuedsupportoverthe
summer.Perhapsdirectingparentstolocal summerprograms?
Education community:
Increase awarenessof AARPExperienceCorpsineducationcommunitythroughcoordinatednetwork
outreachto preventsummerlearningloss.
Selectpartner(s) inoutreachtoinvesttime andresourcesincampaigntogetbooksintothe handsof kids
indisadvantagedneighborhoods.Firstbook,PBSKids,andpotentiallyBoysandGirlsClubs/YMCA/local
afterschool programs.
Individual donors: Booksfor Kids
Utilize ourAmazonSmile accounttodrive individual donorstocontribute booksforSummerLearning
Loss campaign. Buildtrafficthroughsocial mediaadsinourmarkets. Distribute booksbasedonzipof
donor?
Potential strategic partners: PBS Kids,DoE,YMCA, Boysand GirlsClubs,local libraries
WhySummer Learning Loss? While we donot have a program, thisis an area inwhichthere isstatistical
evidence thatourtargetdemographic(childrenindisadvantagedneighborhoods) suffersmore than
others fromsummerlearningloss. Lastyearwe partneredwithPBSKidsto putresourcesinthe handsof
these children.We couldexpandthisbyengagingthe parentsdirectlyinthateffort,increase our
collaborationwithPBSKidsandcreate strongerpublicawarenessof the programand the issue through
the individual donationsthiscouldgenerate. We couldalsolookforpartnershipwithstrategicpartners
that offersummerprograms,perhapsprovidingadiscounttoAARPExperience Corpsstudents.
Tiers ofparticipation:
Tier 1: SendoutonlyPBS Kidsresources withParentReportCard (all sites)
Tier 2: Engage in summerlearningloss online campaign,including blog/webarticlepostsoncitypage and
state webpage,social mediacampaign. (All siteseligible)
Tier 3: Ideas:Hostbook drive event topreventsummerlearningloss.Joinlocal summerprogram(YMCA,
Boysand GirlsClubs,other) inannouncingdiscountedrate forAARPExperience Corpsstudents. (Upto
foursites)

5. 5
VolunteerRecruitmentCampaign
Timeline: June/July/August
Theme: TBD/Loosely basedon Life Reimagined
Work collaboratively with state offices to engage in outreach campaign to AARP members and general
public regarding opportunities to contribute to their communities by tutoring children in reading. Leverage
the stories of local volunteers and their testimonials about the volunteer work to engage others.
Audience: AARPMembersandgeneral 50+ public
Potential Strategic Partners: state offices,schools,NRTA
State offices: Leverage existingpartnershipandexpandittoengage AARPmembersdirectlyinourwork
Schools: Potential toprovide neededservicesthroughvolunteeractivities.Possible collaborationwith
principals/teacherson“graduation”ceremony.
Tiers ofParticipation:
Tier 1: Meetwithstate offices andprovide AARPExperience Corpsrecruitmentmaterialsforuse at
eventsthe state office isattending.Alsomeetwithandshare recruitmentmaterialswithNRTA leaders.
(all sites)
Tier 2: Sitescouldrequestemail blasttolocal AARP andNRTA memberstoengage theminvolunteer
activities. Inpitch,highlightone volunteerstory. Providesocial media,web/blogposts.AskforanAARP
BulletinstoryinMay/June/July/August. (All siteseligible)
Tier 3: Ideas: Do year-end“graduation”ceremonywithkidsandtutors.Give certificatesof “graduation”
at ceremony. Highlightstoryof one volunteer/child. Use asa mediaop to engage potentialvolunteers.
Host a volunteeroutreacheventlike a school beautificationprojectata local school and invite AARPstaff
and AARPmemberstoattend. Workwithstate office andAARPExperience Corpsnationalstaff to
promote. (Upto four sites)
Back to School
Timeline: August/September/October
Theme: Attendance AwarenessMonth
Promote AARPExperience Corpsback-to-school effortsthroughAttendanceAwarenessMonthactivities. Utilize
storiesgeneratedthroughBostonandBaltimore toengage audience inbarrierschildrenface ingettingtoschool.
Audience(s): parents,educationcommunity,AARPmembers
Parents: SendAttendance AwarenessresourcestoparentswithintroductoryinformationonAARP
Experience Corps. Increase parentawarenessof AARPExperience Corpsasa supportintheirschools.
EducationCommunity: Increase visibilityof AARPExperience Corpswithkeypartnersineducationspace
throughAttendance AwarenessMonthactivities network-wide. GaincredibilitysothatAARPExperience
Corpsis a go-toorganizationwhenseekingcampaign partners.
AARPMembers: Create awarenessof importance of attendance forchildrentosucceedtobe delivered
throughstate office aswell asotherAARPoutreachchannels.

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Potential Strategic Partners: schools,otherlocal nonprofits, CampaignforGrade Level Reading,
America’sPromise Alliance,Attendance Works,UnitedWay,Pointsof LightFoundationandMentor
WhyAttendance? We knowthat the social emotional bondbetweenourvolunteersandthe studentswe
serve anecdotallycorrelatesinsome waytoimprovedattendance inteachers’minds.We alsoknowfrom
researchthat attendance hasa directimpacton learningthroughthe researchfieldedbyAttendance
Works. We include attendance inourdashboardandhave at leasttwopilotscurrentlyoperatinginthe
field. The opportunitiesforpartnershipwithimportantstrategicpartnersineducationare compellingas
well.
Tiers ofParticipation (TBD):
Tier 1: Postat leastone bannerper city,postactivitytoAAMmap (All sites)
Tier 2: Social media,webarticle/blog(All siteseligible)
Tier 3: Ideas: Host a parentengagementactivitywhere youdistribute informationonimportance of
attendance.Participate inschool backtoschool nights. Announce partnershipwithotherservice groups
to workcollaborativelyonbreakingdownbarrierstoattendance. (Upto foursites)
COLLABORATIONS
Cultivate anetwork-wide,story-tellingculture throughnational storycontest,photoshootsandincreaseduse of
stories inall communicationschannels
 Host a story tellingcontestin January/February withprizesforbothsitesandvolunteerswhoare able to
share the beststory
 Create prizesforbothvolunteersandsitesthatmake itworthwhiletoparticipate
 Highestvalue storiesshouldalsohave achild’sstorycomponentandpermissionfromthe child’sparents
to use that storyand image
 Create flyertoshare contestrulesandprizes
 Distribute storyform,storyarcs and contestflyerin December
 Storycollectionends2ndweekof February
 Determine whoevaluatesthe stories—CAG? NICgroup?
Work withAARPExperienceCorpsFieldServicesand Education&Evaluationgroupsindeterminingpilot
opportunitiesin2015 to integrate MentorUp volunteersintoourworktrainingthe volunteersontechnology
 Meetingin1st
quarter 2015 to fleshoutdetailsof opportunity withAiyshenPadilla,JulieHeckerandothers
as appropriate
Evaluation Methodology
 Increase inmediaimpressions –bothtraditional andnontraditional
 Increase insocial mediaengagement --likes,reposts,increase infans/followers (15%)
 Increase intotal numberof volunteersidentifiedthroughAARPchannels
 Numberof sitescollaboratingincampaignworkandbuildingonthe ideaswe’ve putforth
 Staff feedbackthroughsurveytool atyearend