Vision 2008: What I hope CAP will accomplish

[Pylon]

Many of us make New Year's resolutions around this time of year; it's not necessarily a bad practice, especially if it helps give you concrete goals to pursue and a clear path of action.  In addition to my personal goals for the year, there are a number of things I hope CAP can and will accomplish in 2008 - sort of a "wish list" if you will.  Feel free to add your own. 



Public Affairs & Communications/Marketing

• Develop a professional branding for the entire organization's external communications (website, brochures, printed materials, etc.)
• Establish a Style Guide to govern the new branding initiative and appearance.  Revamp all print publications to meet new branding, including recruiting literature.
• Allow each unit to add max 2 or 3 people/addresses to Volunteer mailing list for free.
• Make a subordinate unit communications kit, complete with non-modifiable templates for letterhead and unit flyers, etc. (which also conform to new Style Guide)
• Develop CAP awareness building campaign, matching new branding and style guide including television commercials, radio spots, and print ads.
• Purchase national television advertising time for CAP awareness building spots, driving viewers to new CAP public-driven website.
• Purchase billboards in strategic locations throughout U.S. and advertise for awareness building.
• Purchase advertising space in national print publications reaching specific demographics likely to support or join CAP (magazines from AOPA, MOAA, AFA, AFSA, Air Force Times, LEA/Public Safety career magazines, HLSToday, etc.)
• Partner with AdCouncil to have additional CAP advertising done as PSAs on national-level.
• Make media partners with History and Military Channels to include CAP content where related in their shows, and to produce specials on Civil Air Patrol.

Information Technology

• Separate internal membership website from public, recruiting and awareness website.
• Internal membership website will become a CAP member portal (a "my.CAP.gov")
• Roll out cost-effective e-Learning initiative, similiar to PAWG's.
• Create "Unit Website in a Box" kit for subordinate units.  Make it easy to run, hard to mess up, and include useful features.  Use Dreamhost to provide free hosting for all units (they'll do it).  Goal: Stop letting so many of our squadrons' sites be a dark stain on the internet."
  
• Support LDAP verification of members in E-Services
• Support SIMS and further SIMS development
• Allow units to place members on "inactive", "active", and "partially active" status right from E-Services.  Gives you a better picture of our membership, for starters. Perhaps keep status viewable only to commanders at or above members level.

Recruiting / Retention

• As listed in IT section:  Develop a separate recruiting and public awareness website for CAP, similiar to goarmy.com or airforce.com
• New, separate Recruiting/Public website will also drive traffic from social networking sites and use viral marketing videos, particular for cadet recruiting.
• Produce CAP-branded, low-cost giveaways (such as lanyards, pens, caribiners, and other tchotchkies.) which units can purchase at 25-30% cost, with NHQ footing bill for 70-75% for a limited overall quantity each year to build brand awareness in community via units.
• Roll out better recruiting and open-house kits to units, including on-demand print orderable posters (with customizable areas for unit info/open house date)
• Make a more substantial welcome packet to Civil Air Patrol for members including a "Welcome" guide directed at the individual new SM or Cadet, as a "wrap" for their new binder and materials. Let it guide them smoothly into Level I & Specialty Tracks/Great Start & Curry Achievement and get them started.
• Buy a CAP tactical vehicle for show, similiar to AF and Army's recruiting-oriented hummers. Have it make the circuit to airshows, trade shows, conferences and public events throughout the year.  Where possible, make GA-8s and glass-cockpit 182's more available for a wide array airshows & aviation events, and coordinate those efforts to get them there.

CAP Foundation/Development

• Let us know you exist: We haven't heard from you yet.
• Conduct an Annual Fund campaign.  You haven't asked your best supporters (members) to give you any money yet. Once a year dues does not equal "donor fatigue". Mail me something, make the ask and I'll write you a check.
• Start learning about planned giving - it's the biggest slice of the fundraising pie out there. A large portion of CAP members currently serving or recently retired are an ideal demographic to contact regarding putting CAP in their wills.  It's a personal matter, though, so don't think about just blasting out a generic brochure.  Start making calls, or mailing good prospective members and retirees personally about it.  Schedule a phone meeting with ones who respond positively and go from there.

Cadet Programs:

• Beef up Cadet Great Start Draft, revise and roll out with collateral materials
• Develop online testing "test" pieces
• Issue new leadership manuals and exams

Professional Development

• See IT list:  Roll out cost-effective e-Learning site like PAWGs and recruit good instructors to begin teaching valuable classes and offering more brief webinars.
• Update remaining Specialty Track guides.  Members need "beefier" guidance in learning their jobs.  Most units don't have OJTs for all specialties.
• Offer online knowledge testing for more specialty tracks

Member Services

• Maybe belongs under IT:  There's no good internal news source.  Make a separate "Member News" feed (add RSS too).  Member/Internal news is not the same as external/Public Affairs news and it rarely overlaps.  Post stories about updated publications or pubs awaiting commenting, upcoming NB/NEC meetings & minutes, changes to E-Services/WMIRS/MIMS/etc., messages from the CAP/CC, notices of CAP fatal accidents and other important events, etc.  Help keep your members properly informed.
• Stop issuing C&D orders to good, honest vendors who help CAP members by making some items available that they specialize in, often at better cost than the official vendor.
• Keep up the great work processing forms and paperwork quickly!  Add more forms to electronic submission, as possible.

I may have more ideas than these, and certainly may think of more as I go on and may add them here.  I may also "flesh out" and explore some of these suggestions in more detail (and others I've already gone into more detail on the site).  Please feel free to share your hopes and expectations for CAP as an organization in 2008!

Best wishes for a successful new year,

[mikeylikey]

^ Thats a great list.  Let me think about what you have.....I will return!

[RogueLeader]

I would also ask that they revoke the C&D letters from the companies that have high quality standards.  AFAIK, they all do

[captrncap]

From CAP Talk to the National Commander's Ears!!!

[JC004]

Outstanding.  Basically sums up my plan too.  I'd like to see us put a high priority on a recruiting site, like the AF has (actually, I'm hatching something here, and I've been planning to e-mail you about it soon). 

I think the Colgan-Kieloch Alliance should build a style guide, recruiting site, and some nice e-Learning, as part of our master plan for conquering the organization.

[mikeylikey]

I think the Colgan-Kieloch Alliance should build a style guide, recruiting site, and some nice e-Learning, as part of our master plan for conquering the organization.

Years from now we will all look back and say "thats where it all started".  "What a tyrannical pair those two turned out to be"   

[TDHenderson]

Outstanding list with some very good ideas!  I really like your IT initiatives.

[pixelwonk]

FYI, there is a member's RSS feed in e-services already, containing pretty much what you described, Mike.

[Pylon]

FYI, there is a member's RSS feed in e-services already, containing pretty much what you described, Mike.

It's not quite there.  It often goes months without updates and lacks coordinating with other announcements.  For example, sometimes NHQ sends out a blast email (but it doesn't show up in the E-Services feed), sometimes NHQ posts it to the public CAP News but nowhere else, sometimes NHQ puts publications out, issues ICLs or makes other changes but other than putting it on its respective page they make no central announcement,  sometimes NHQ lets people know when minutes from the NB/NEC meetings are out - othertimes not.  The E-Services feed also lacks announcements of important approaching deadlines (like when scholarship apps are due, or when COTY apps are due, or when NCSA apps must be in, etc.). 

A consistently updated members news feed that serves as a clearinghouse for announcements that may be of use to the membership is what I want.  I don't see that as unreasonable.

Plus, the layout of the E-Services feed is really terrible.

[Pylon]

I think the Colgan-Kieloch Alliance should build a style guide, recruiting site, and some nice e-Learning, as part of our master plan for conquering the organization.

Ah yes, I must get back to that work.  We can still get it done.   

[FW]

There's a NB meeting coming up in  8 weeks.  Why not distill your list into one or more agenda items for your wing/cc to present at the meeting.  Ya never know what might happen (great ideas, btw).

The CAP Foundation is not fully organized yet.  It has only met twice and, I think, hasn't yet received full tax exempt status.  I know, however, there are donors ready to give when things are finally established.

[pixelwonk]

FYI, there is a member's RSS feed in e-services already, containing pretty much what you described, Mike.

It's not quite there.  ...'n stuff

That's cool.  I wouldn't argue that it could be improved upon.  My post was more of a didn't know if you knew kinda thing.

[tjaxe]

Many of us make New Year's resolutions around this time of year; it's not necessarily a bad practice, especially if it helps give you concrete goals to pursue and a clear path of action.  In addition to my personal goals for the year, there are a number of things I hope CAP can and will accomplish in 2008 - sort of a "wish list" if you will.  Feel free to add your own. 

Public Affairs & Communications/Marketing

• Develop a professional branding for the entire organization's external communications (website, brochures, printed materials, etc.)
• Establish a Style Guide to govern the new branding initiative and appearance.  Revamp all print publications to meet new branding, including recruiting literature.
• Allow each unit to add max 2 or 3 people/addresses to Volunteer mailing list for free.
• Make a subordinate unit communications kit, complete with non-modifiable templates for letterhead and unit flyers, etc. (which also conform to new Style Guide)
• Develop CAP awareness building campaign, matching new branding and style guide including television commercials, radio spots, and print ads.
• Purchase national television advertising time for CAP awareness building spots, driving viewers to new CAP public-driven website.
• Purchase billboards in strategic locations throughout U.S. and advertise for awareness building.
• Purchase advertising space in national print publications reaching specific demographics likely to support or join CAP (magazines from AOPA, MOAA, AFA, AFSA, Air Force Times, LEA/Public Safety career magazines, HLSToday, etc.)
• Partner with AdCouncil to have additional CAP advertising done as PSAs on national-level.
• Make media partners with History and Military Channels to include CAP content where related in their shows, and to produce specials on Civil Air Patrol.

I definitely agree with your PR ideas.  I'm WELL into adulthood and never knew CAP was for adults as well as cadets.  I would suggest adding to your list branded apparel that CAP members could wear in public -- not as uniforms, but rather as everyday wear.  An example of this is a denim or oxford button-down with "Civil Air Patrol" stenciled on the pocket.  Another example is a non-uniform polo shirt.  Members could wear these items out in public, which could spark a "What is CAP?" conversation.  It could also be a fundraiser for CAP because members might be interested in this kind of stuff.  I know I'd be interested.

[Stonewall]

I definitely agree with your PR ideas.  I'm WELL into adulthood and never knew CAP was for adults as well as cadets.  I would suggest adding to your list branded apparel that CAP members could wear in public -- not as uniforms, but rather as everyday wear.  An example of this is a denim or oxford button-down with "Civil Air Patrol" stenciled on the pocket.  Another example is a non-uniform polo shirt.  Members could wear these items out in public, which could spark a "What is CAP?" conversation.  It could also be a fundraiser for CAP because members might be interested in this kind of stuff.  I know I'd be interested.

You know, I've always wanted to do that, even as a cadet.  Only shirts I had made up was for Middle East Region SAR College, but those were more for staff identification.

The key would be to NOT make them corny.  Even in the military there are some goofy, somewhat embarrassing, shirts and sweatshirts out there.  Subtle, cool, professional and not too gawdy would be the important, rather than a C-172 busting through a cloud or breaking the sound barrier.

Hmmm...maybe I'll have to put some ideas down on paper.  Thanks for the idea.

[Pylon]

I definitely agree with your PR ideas.  I'm WELL into adulthood and never knew CAP was for adults as well as cadets.  I would suggest adding to your list branded apparel that CAP members could wear in public -- not as uniforms, but rather as everyday wear.  An example of this is a denim or oxford button-down with "Civil Air Patrol" stenciled on the pocket.  Another example is a non-uniform polo shirt.  Members could wear these items out in public, which could spark a "What is CAP?" conversation.  It could also be a fundraiser for CAP because members might be interested in this kind of stuff.  I know I'd be interested.

Thanks for the kudos.  I like the idea and agree it would be beneficial - again, to get the name out there.  Button downs and non-uniform polos for casual wear, hoodies with nicely applied "Civil Air Patrol" much like the collegiate ones for cadets, some non-corny, other-than-black t-shirts, etc.

Perhaps a new topic to work out some more solid ideas would be good 

[Lancer]

Thanks for the kudos.  I like the idea and agree it would be beneficial - again, to get the name out there.  Button downs and non-uniform polos for casual wear, hoodies with nicely applied "Civil Air Patrol" much like the collegiate ones for cadets, some non-corny, other-than-black t-shirts, etc.

Perhaps a new topic to work out some more solid ideas would be good 

Hoodies would be a great addition. There's a crafty member of our wing who created her own embroidered CAP hoodies for her and her son and they look sharp too, just a 3 point prop centered on the front with 'Civil Air Patrol' underneath. Nice.

Did you miss my post in the other thread about the oxfords at Vanguard and the mock turtlenecks they're coming out with? Granted there needs to be more choices, but it's a start.

Regarding everything else in your original post. I need a new neck because I wore mine out nodding in agreement with 99.9999999% of what you posted. Many of your IT and PR ideas have been brought up on here by me many times since I've joined CAPtalk.

Here's a thought. Put that into proposal form and post the PDF here, I'll gladly forward to my wing CC for his review and discussion at the next NB meeting and others can do this as well.

[Stonewall]

just a 3 point prop centered on the front with 'Civile Air Patrol' underneath. Nice.

Hope they didn't misspell it on the hoodie.

Edit:  ahhh, you fixed it.

[Lancer]

just a 3 point prop centered on the front with 'Civile Air Patrol' underneath. Nice.

Hope they didn't misspell it on the hoodie.

Grrrr...UK, you're fast...I caught it after I posted it. That's what happens when you type too fast. 

[RiverAux]

Buy a CAP tactical vehicle for show, similiar to AF and Army's recruiting-oriented hummers. Have it make the circuit to airshows, trade shows, conferences and public events throughout the year. 

I don't think that would be feasible unless you want to have someone paid full time to drive it to and from all these shows. 

Where possible, make GA-8s and glass-cockpit 182's more available for a wide array airshows & aviation events, and coordinate those efforts to get them there.

Pretty much every wing has, or will soon have, the glass cockpit 182s and some are already using them in that fashion.  Using the GA8 anywhere other than its home base would pretty much be a bait-and-switch scam since they are so few and far between. 

[afgeo4]

Great list!

Dunno where we'd get the funding for all this.

Do have one suggestion though...

Instead of having a recruiting vehicle like the USAF Raptor, why not create vinyl wraps for our existing vans? They're very colorful and inexpensive. They can be removed before the sale of the vehicle and reinstalled on another. There can be 3 versions of such covers, each with its theme of AE, CP or ES. The website and phone number for CAP recruiting at NHQ would be prominent. Most military, government, and corporate vehicles already have such graphics.

Most of our vans are Ford E-series 15 pax, Chevrolet Express 12 pax or Dodge Ram Van 12 pax

The Dodges are leaving, so I wouldn't outfit those. I'd concentrate on the Ford and
Chevrolet and whatever else they might be getting next (Sprinter?).

Here's one company that does it: http://www.carwraps.net/samples/Vans1.html