This nine-part Lunch & Learn series is designed for Council on Aging and Senior Center staff who juggle many roles and want practical, realistic tools to strengthen communication, outreach, and engagement.

Sessions focus on clear messaging, smart partnerships, time management, accessible surveys, volunteer communication, working with Cable Access TV, and creating simple, effective video for social media. The series blends skill-building with peer learning and real COA examples — no marketing background required.

Each session includes:

• Practical tips you can use right away
• Examples from COAs and partner organizations
• Time-saving templates and resources
• Opportunities for questions and shared learning

Sessions are offered monthly from January–September and are designed to fit into busy schedules.

Session Descriptions

January – COA Communications 101: Telling Your Story Clearly & Consistently

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A strong communications foundation helps everything else work better. This session focuses on clarifying your COA’s core messages and communicating them consistently across newsletters, flyers, email, social media, and conversations.

Participants will learn how to simplify language, prioritize what matters most, and communicate effectively with older adults, caregivers, partners, and the broader community.

You’ll learn:

• Key messages every COA should repeat often
• Writing in plain, accessible language
• Matching tone across platforms
• Common communications pitfalls and how to avoid them

February – Smart Partnerships: Marketing with Community & Business Partners

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You don’t have to do outreach alone. This session explores how to build and maintain marketing partnerships that benefit your COA and your community partners.

Participants will learn how to cross-promote programs, share audiences, and create simple, sustainable partnerships without adding extra work.

You’ll learn:

• Identifying strong community and business partners
• Cross-promotion strategies that actually work
• Setting clear expectations
• Real-world COA partnership examples

March – Volunteer Recruitment & Retention: Messaging That Works

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Volunteers are essential to many COAs. This session focuses on how to communicate volunteer opportunities in ways that attract, engage, and retain volunteers.

Participants will learn how to tailor messaging to different audiences and highlight volunteer impact without creating extra work.

You’ll learn:

• Where and how to promote volunteer opportunities
• Messaging that appeals to different motivations
• Simple onboarding and follow-up communications
• Volunteer recognition ideas

April – Working Smarter, Not Longer: Time Management for COA Staff

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When communications is just one of many responsibilities, time matters. This session focuses on realistic time management strategies tailored to COA and Senior Center staff.

Participants will learn how to prioritize, batch tasks, and create systems that reduce stress and save time.

You’ll learn:

• Managing competing priorities
• Content batching and scheduling
• Tools that help (and tools you can skip)
• Setting realistic communications goals

May – Surveys That Actually Get Answers

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Surveys can be powerful — if they’re done well. This session focuses on creating clear, accessible surveys that encourage participation and produce useful results.

Participants will explore when surveys are helpful, how to write better questions, and how to use feedback to improve programs and services.

You’ll learn:

• When to use surveys (and when not to)
• Writing clear, inclusive questions
• Choosing paper, digital, or phone formats
• Turning feedback into action

June – Campaign Planning for Senior Center Month & Beyond

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This capstone session pulls everything together. Participants will learn how to plan and execute a communications campaign that spans multiple platforms and partners.

The session will focus on Senior Center Month while offering strategies that can be reused year-round.

You’ll learn:

• Planning a month-long campaign
• Coordinating programs, partners, and messaging
• Repurposing content across platforms
• Measuring success without complex analytics

July – Ask Me Anything: COA Communications & Marketing AMA

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This interactive, discussion-based session is driven by participant questions. Bring your real-life challenges, drafts, ideas, and “what should I do?” scenarios.

The AMA format creates space for honest conversation, shared problem-solving, and peer learning.

You’ll gain:

• Practical answers to common communications questions
• Peer insights and ideas
• Feedback on real examples
• Reassurance that you’re not the only one facing these challenges

August– Cable Access TV 101: Partnering to Promote Your COA

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Local Cable Access TV can be a powerful, often underused outreach tool. This session explains how Cable Access works and how COAs can collaborate effectively.

Participants will learn how to prepare for interviews, create short segments, and repurpose video content for other platforms.

You’ll learn:

• What Cable Access TV can offer
• Preparing staff and participants for on-camera appearances
• Creating simple, effective segments
• Using cable content on social media and websites

September – TBD