10 Community Engagement Ideas for Residential Living

As a community manager, one of your main goals is to build a positive and vibrant residential community. One of the best ways to achieve that is by providing community engagement events that connect residents and get them involved.

Community events can foster a sense of belonging, enhance residents' quality of life, strengthen community ties, and even promote health and wellness. They benefit you, too, as they help you provide an unforgettable rental experience that keeps residents coming back.

Whether it’s a fitness class, community garden, or peer support group, bringing residents together — either virtually or in person — can help you nurture a thriving community that’s safe, welcoming, and attractive to potential tenants.

Before we dive into our recommended community engagement ideas, let’s explore the different levels of engagement you can apply in your community.

What Are the Four Levels of Community Engagement?

Community engagement is a spectrum, and how you engage your residents will determine how involved they are in the community. From the lowest to the highest level, you have an opportunity to keep residents engaged and connected, helping to create a positive resident culture and reduce resident turnover.

Below are the four levels of engagement, adapted from the International Association for Public Participation’s Spectrum of Participation, including specific engagement strategies you can apply:

1. Inform

At this level, the goal is to share or broadcast information to your residents. A weekly or monthly newsletter is one of the best ways to keep residents informed about what’s happening in your community.

Newsletters are useful for fostering a sense of community while communicating policy changes, promoting community events, and reinforcing guidelines. However, it’s a one-way conversation and the least effective way to encourage community involvement and participation.

2. Consult

Ask for community input or feedback to take your community engagement up a notch. You can send a survey, hold a public meeting, or ask questions in informal interactions in the lobby or neighborhood.

This allows residents to have their voices heard and strengthen their connection to the community. And with their input, you can plan community-building activities that appeal to their collective interests and encourage participation.

3. Involve

The goal at this level of engagement is community involvement. This is your chance to show residents that their voices matter and that your community-building activities reflect their input. Invite residents to participate in activities and explain how their involvement will enhance their everyday lives and the community as a whole.

Once they’re involved, continue consulting with residents, using their feedback to develop even more community engagement ideas.

4. Collaborate

The final — and highest — form of community engagement is collaboration. At this level, the goal is to give residents a proverbial “seat at the table” in building a positive and vibrant community space.

The key is to identify community leaders who can serve as ambassadors for all residents. They can weigh in on decisions regarding community development, create action plans to solve community challenges, and even help design meaningful community projects.

Fostering collaboration in this way gives residents a sense of ownership, strengthens their sense of community, and further drives engagement.

As you move farther along the spectrum of engagement, you’ll implement strategies that prioritize your residents’ interests, goals, and concerns. As a result, you’ll begin to experience a more engaged and connected community.

Top 10 Community Engagement Ideas for Residential Living

You’re now ready to come up with fun ways to get residents connected and involved in your community. To increase participation, use their input and feedback to create community-building activities and events that align with their interests and goals.

We’ve created this list of community engagement ideas to help you get started. And here’s the best part: Not only do these community engagement ideas help to connect and retain residents long-term. They can also help residents improve their overall quality of life — from participating in fitness classes to creating fun traditions that nurture a sense of belonging.

1. Build Support Groups Within Your Community

As the community manager, you have a unique opportunity to bring together people who share common challenges and experiences. Creating support groups is a great way to help residents struggling to overcome or cope with certain problems receive support in a safe and familiar environment. It also helps improve social connectedness by giving residents a safe space to share information and encouragement with people who can empathize and provide mutual support.

2. Plan Group Exercise Classes for the Entire Community

Consider group exercise classes if you have an active community — or are looking to get residents more active. Both virtual and in-person group classes can help foster camaraderie among residents, further strengthening their social connectedness. They also promote health and wellness by keeping residents motivated and accountable for reaching their fitness goals.

3. Foster Problem-Solving by Gamifying Community Issues

If you need an outside-the-box way to boost involvement in the community, try gamification. By rewarding residents with badges and points for their contributions to the community, you can encourage active participation, foster healthy competition, and drive even more engagement.

4. Build and Celebrate Community Traditions

Community traditions are a fun way to build a positive resident culture, helping to engage and retain residents long-term. Some ideas include:

• Host a heritage celebration.
• Arrange an annual back-to-school bash.
• Recognize the prettiest patio every month.
• Designate regular “Meet Your Neighbors” days.
• Organize a property-wide spring cleanup event.

These community engagement ideas are fun ways to build lasting traditions while promoting camaraderie and reducing friction among residents.

5. Organize Community Fitness Challenges or Contests

Stir up your residents’ competitive spirit with a fitness challenge or contest, one of the best ways to engage a large group of people. You can set a goal — such as completing a specific number of workouts, getting in a certain number of steps, or mastering a particular exercise.

A resident fitness and engagement app, like Flex, lets you easily create a challenge, set milestones, and allow every resident to track their progress toward the goal.

6. Set Up and Maintain a Community Garden

Do you have any residents with a green thumb? If so, a community garden is an excellent way to unite them over a shared passion for gardening, food, and nature. As they come together to plant fruits, vegetables, and/or flowers, residents can improve their nutrition and fitness while you help foster stronger social connections within your community.

7. Consider Planning a Fitness Equipment Swap

Fitness equipment can be pricey. Plus, it’s difficult to store loads of it in small spaces. A fitness exchange, however, is an excellent way for residents to meet their neighbors and gain access to new equipment — allowing them to experience new exercises and boost their fitness without wasting money or space.

8. Offer In-Person Events Related to Shared Community Interests

There’s nothing like bringing people together, in person, to participate in an activity they enjoy. It helps build a sense of connectedness and belonging among residents while giving them a space to indulge in their favorite hobby or pastime.

From book clubs and game nights to knitting and running, there are countless ways to pique your residents’ interests and encourage them to gather for fun community engagement events.

9. Provide Guided Meditation Classes

Like most adults, your residents are likely busy, on-the-go people who’d appreciate a designated space to pause, breathe, and relax — especially one close to home. That’s where guided meditation classes come into play.

With these classes, a certified instructor will lead residents through a series of breathing exercises or mantras in person or via video to help lower stress and promote relaxation. Meditation, a form of mindfulness, can positively affect residents’ mental and physical health, improving their overall quality of life.

10. Host a “Yappy Hour” for Residents and Their Pets

For those with a pet-friendly community, hosting a “yappy hour” is a great way to bring residents together. There’s even an opportunity to engage local businesses to provide cocktails (or mocktails) for residents and treats for their furry friends. You can take it further and invite a mobile groomer to sweeten the deal for event attendees. With enough traction, you can turn this into a regular event to further foster connection among pet lovers in your community.

Discover How Fitness On Demand Can Help You Engage Residents

There's no one right way to engage residents in community activities. Some people enjoy in-person connection, while others prefer to connect or participate virtually from the comfort of their homes. For this reason, it’s helpful to offer both in-person and online community engagement activities to ensure no one feels left out.

Fitness On Demand is the perfect fit if you need an omnichannel fitness solution to engage residents while promoting a happier and healthier lifestyle. We offer a vast library of on-demand exercise and wellness classes, from cycling and kickboxing to yoga and dance.

With Broadcast TV and our Flex app, we provide a personalized experience to help residents reach their fitness goals — whether they work out in your fitness space or their own homes. If you’re ready to increase resident engagement through the power of health and fitness, request a demo, and we’ll show you how.