Community playbook

For nonprofits already serving people experiencing homelessness

Turn businesses, churches, volunteers, donors, and local government into an organized extension of the work your staff is already doing.

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Use what you can actually sustain. Choose the parts of this guide that fit your role, resources, risk level, and community.

Quick start

Four principles to keep in mind

Tell supporters exactly what is needed this month, not what was needed last year.

Make it easy for a business, church, or volunteer group to adopt one defined need.

Outdated public information wastes client time and staff time.

Report useful results without requiring clients to surrender privacy.

Most community supporters respond better to a specific problem than a vague request for help.

✓Maintain a short list of recurring material needs, service gaps, volunteer roles, professional-service needs, and sponsorship opportunities.
✓Translate needs into units where possible: “$25 replaces an ID,” “10 bus passes support appointments,” or “one volunteer shift covers intake phones.”
✓Separate urgent needs from items that can wait so donors know where limited resources matter most.
✓Remove items from public lists when storage is full or the need changes.

Businesses and churches are more likely to participate when they can see several levels of involvement.

✓Offer options such as recurring goods, employee volunteer days, transportation, professional services, sponsorship of a defined need, hiring partnerships, or event support.
✓Assign a staff contact for community partnerships and document what each partner has agreed to provide.
✓Create a simple onboarding sheet so partners understand client privacy, safety, donations, and referral rules.
✓Thank partners and report outcomes without overstating their role or exposing client identities.

A service that cannot be found—or is described incorrectly—can function as if it does not exist.

✓Keep hours, phone numbers, eligibility, intake instructions, transportation notes, and temporary closures current.
✓Report changes to OKHomeless and other directories used by your community.
✓When your program is full, tell callers what they should try next rather than ending the conversation at “no availability” when possible.
✓Track the questions callers repeatedly ask; those questions often reveal missing public information.

Providers see patterns that may not be obvious to officials or businesses.

✓Share recurring service gaps with city/county contacts, health systems, workforce groups, transportation providers, schools, and other relevant institutions.
✓Use concrete observations—waitlists, transportation failures, document barriers, shelter turn-aways—rather than only broad statements that more funding is needed.
✓Invite people with lived experience to planning conversations in ways that respect their time and privacy.

Next step

Before building a new program or making a major commitment, see what already exists, what is verified, and where the gaps appear to be.