Outreach & Community Engagement
Strategy Update for MRL Committee
March 6, 2026
Prepared by James Cunningham, Outreach & Engagement Manager Purpose
● Share results of analysis and community survey conducted to inform refinement of outreach & community engagement strategy
● Solicit feedback from MRL Committee to further refine strategy for 2026 & beyond Agenda
● Background
● Analysis
● Strategy Update
Agenda
Background
3 Context: Outreach & Community Engagement
4 Marketing
Content and Creative
Studio (CCS) Outreach Campaigns
Customers CBO’s
Legacy Strategy
● Goals are to raise awareness, build trust, and educate customers ● Meet people where they’re at
● Say yes to almost everything
Tactics
● Event Outreach - Passive presence at events across our service area to build awareness and engage with customers where they are at
● Sponsorships - Broad exposure for the Ava logo and a platform for outreach ● CBO Engagement - Proactive delivery of a message or collaboration with a partner to reach stakeholders with a more focused message Context: Outreach & Community Engagement
5 Analysis
6 7
Learning From Experience
● Detailed look at the three core types of
outreach activity (event tabling,
sponsorships, CBO engagement)
Customer Perspective
● Aggregate customer feedback data
collected over the last ~3 years, along with
insights from experienced Outreach
Coordinators
Stakeholder Survey
● Solicit structured feedback from Board of
Directors, Community Advisory Committee,
and MuniPals
Analysis Approach
Strengths
● Locally rooted outreach staff with strong
reputation with those who know us
● Sponsorships are a great gateway to trust-building relationships ● Customer Programs attract lots of attention and
answer “what’s in it for me?”
Challenges
● Stagnant levels of overall awareness of Ava
● Low threshold for what qualifies as engagement
● Lack of clear metrics for success
● Limited Outreach team capacity
Initial Observations
Learning From Experience
Events Analysis
In 2025, we tabled at 71 events:
9 ● Having a clear call to action and/or
something to offer (programs, giveaways,
etc.)
● Physical props to attract engagement and
spark conversation (i.e. induction demo)
● Mission or brand alignment with event theme,
such as Earth Day events which offer both
high volume and quality engagement
● In general, any environment where the
customer is primed to pay attention to us
Events Analysis
What Works
● Being an outlier booth that doesn’t feel relevant
to the theme of the event
● Poor booth placement: especially when we are
placed among food and alcohol vendors
● Loud music or entertainment makes
conversation and engagement very difficult
● Low event attendance or unfocused audience
● Poorly organized by event-planners
● Bad weather (especially heat)
What Doesn’t Work
Sponsorships Analysis
Event
Sponsorships
Logo visibility
Local investment
May or may not include
tabling presence
Sports
Sponsorships
Logo visibility
Gameday activations
Hyperlocal brand
alignment
Community
Sponsorships
$2,500 awards for
community projects
Projects create good
media opportunities
~60 orgs funded per year
“Large Nonprofit”
Sponsorships
Co-branding with well
known, trusted entities
Platform for education
and demonstration
projects
Event & Sports Sponsorships
● Brand exposure: lots of eyes on our logo
● Affiliation with positive local brands
● Relationship building with event hosts &
attendees
Non-Profit Sponsorships
● Co-branding with trusted entities
● Sponsorship money goes towards mission-aligned outcomes ● Storytelling opportunities from projects
Sponsorships Analysis
What Works
Event & Sports Sponsorships
● Visibility not translating into enough
awareness or education
● Logo gets washed out in the noise
● Low engagement & activation
Non-Profit Sponsorships
● Missing out on opportunities for deeper
engagement due to time allocation
What Doesn’t Work
CBO Engagement Analysis
In 2025, we tracked 13 “engagements” with CBOs
(separate from Community Sponsorships)
14 ● Educational presentations to CBOs and/or the
communities they serve
● CBO Newsletter (over 60% open rate)
● Using Community Sponsorships as a starting
point to building relationships
● Cross-collaboration with Local Development’s
community investment grants
CBO Engagement Analysis
What Works
● Lacking holistic strategy
● Not spending enough time on high-impact
engagements relative to other activities
What Doesn’t Work
What Customers Are Saying
Customer Perspectives
Themes
● Who is Ava?
● Does this save me money?
● What are the benefits?
Year Events
Attended
Impressions /
Conversations
Feedback
Documented
2023 51 4500 25
2024 99 6000 60
2025 71 8000 160
Total 221 18,500 245
Common Customer Interactions
19 solar adopter
“Can you explain how
the true-ups work
again? Who’s buying
back my power?”
advocate
“This is awesome! I
love how you all give
back to the
community.”
high bills
“My bill was more
than $500 last month,
it is so expensive!”
low-income
“Sometimes I have to
choose between
putting food on the
table or paying my
electricity bill.”
confused
“But I thought PG&E
is my provider?”
skeptic
“But how do you get
the energy? And is it
really cleaner?”
unaware
“I’ve never heard of
this before.”
“I’ve never seen any
notice of this.”
enthusiast
“I already electrified
my whole home! I
love electric living!”
Survey (via Google Forms)
The Survey
18 Responses
By Audience: ● Board of Directors (4) ● CAC (4) ● Munipals (10) By Location: ● Berkeley (5) ● Hayward (4) ● Oakland (3) ● Union City (1) ● San Leandro (1) ● Dublin (1) ● Tracy (1) ● Fremont (1) ● Piedmont (1) Purpose
22 Trust
23 Education
24 Strategy Summary:
Outreach and Community Engagement
27 Ensure Outreach Work is Mission-Aligned
28 Goals: Outreach & Community Engagement
1. Raise awareness of Ava’s existence, purpose, and value
2. Build trust in Ava as a nonprofit public agency and source of information
3. Connect our customers & communities to the benefits of clean energy and electrification
Mission
Ava Community Energy's mission is to drive increasing access to clean energy, serving the needs of our customers and the well-being of our community.
Strategy: Outreach & Community Engagement
29 Hyperlocal Presence
Maintain ongoing brand awareness activities to ensure logo visibility, physical presence, and in-person relationships across service territory Community Partnerships
Leverage sponsorships and grants to deepen relationships and engagement with community partners who can amplify our message and deepen trust in the communities we serve Lead with Affordability
Attract attention and drive awareness by opening conversations with benefits Ava can deliver to address affordability (e.g. programs, bill savings assistance programs, sponsorships, etc.) Practical Education
Deploy creative activations and demonstration projects as a means to educate our customers about clean energy and electrification, while generating meaningful storytelling opportunities Strategy → Tactics → Metrics
30 Strategy Key Tactics Metrics
Lead with
Affordability
1. Promote Ava’s programs
2. Energy savings education
3. Encourage enrollment in bill savings assistance
# Program Enrollment
# Electrification Guide Page Hits
Hyperlocal
Presence
1. Sports & events sponsorships
2. Table & present at community events
3. Install signage in community spaces
% Awareness (survey)
# Events Attended
# Physical Installations
Community
Partnerships
1. Community sponsorships
2. Strategic sponsorships
3. Co-host events with partners
$ Invested in Community
# CBOs Actively Engaged
# Events Hosted
Practical
Education
1. Demonstration projects
2. Storytelling
3. Digital engagement
# Electrification Projects
# Media Features
# Newsletter Subscribers
What’s Changing?
Key Pivots: Outreach & Engagement Strategy
➔ CBO Strategy
◆ Connect Community Sponsorships more intentionally to broader CBO engagement strategy ◆ Double down on ‘Strategic Sponsorships’ (f.k.a. ‘Large Nonprofit Sponsorships’) ◆ Leverage sponsorship dollars to deliver tangible examples of clean energy & electrification with direct benefits, while also generating a platform for educational storytelling ◆ Focus on customers and communities with highest energy burden who stand to benefit the most from increased access to renewable energy and electrification 32 Key Pivots: Outreach & Engagement Strategy
➔ Events Strategy
◆ Move away from measuring impressions & move towards measuring engagement ◆ Do more co-branded events (i.e. E-Bike Test & Ride in partnership with Bike East Bay) ◆ Reduce overall share of sports game-day attendance
◆ Decouple events sponsorship from event tabling in certain cases ◆ Decline tabling invites that don’t meet success criteria for high quality engagement ● Are the event logistics conducive to meaningful engagement? ● Is the event mission-aligned or on-theme?
● Is the audience in any way primed to pay attention to us? ● Is there a clear call to action for the audience?
● Is there equity, relationship-building, or other strategic value to attending? ● Is there a good learning opportunity for us? (i.e. customer / community feedback) 33 Capacity Planning (CY)
34 Thank You