Mission, Vision, and Goals for Missouri Good Neighbor Week

 

The future of neighboring will not arrive through a national campaign or a perfect plan. It will arrive quietly, the same way it always has—one street at a time.
A conversation begins. A name is remembered. A neighbor is noticed. Over time, those small moments accumulate into something powerful: a culture where people no longer live beside one another as strangers, but as neighbors who recognize that the health of their community begins right outside their front door.
I believe that Missouri can lead the way, especially with the following plan for Missouri Good Neighbor Week.
Mission, Vision and More
Vision: Make Missouri the most neighborly state by cultivating daily practices of neighboring that ease loneliness, spark belonging, build trust, and strengthen community resilience.

Mission: To inspire, equip, and celebrate Missourians as they practice intentional acts of neighboring that create connection, strengthen communities, and position Missouri as the nation’s leading model for neighboring.

Core Outcomes by 2028

Missouri Good Neighbor Week (MGNW) aims to achieve the following outcomes:

  • Grow MGNW into Missouri’s premier civic-engagement campaign, recognized and supported in every county.

  • Document 100,000 acts of neighboring, establishing Missouri as the most civically connected state in the country.

  • Engage every Missouri county through Extension councils, schools, civic groups, and municipalities.

  • Build a robust, automated data system using QR codes, mobile-friendly reporting, surveys, and partnerships.

  • Achieve proclamations from all large-category cities and widespread adoption from small and mid-sized communities.

  • Inspire other states to begin their own Good Neighbor Weeks, with Missouri providing the replication model.

  • Secure funding from statewide sponsors, donors, and civic-minded businesses.

  • Position MGNW as the gateway to year-round neighboring programs, including Neighboring 101, block captain networks, Neighborhood Leadership Academy, Show-Me Neighborhood Art Month and more.

Strategic Pillars

All activities and goals fall within five interconnected strategic pillars.

1. Participation & Engagement

Building a strong statewide network of engaged neighbors, counties, and cities.

Key Strategies:

  • Recruit and train Block Captains / Good Neighbor Ambassadors across Missouri.

  • Support neighborhood gatherings, block parties, cleanups, and acts of kindness.

  • Create toolkits for schools, churches, civic clubs, and Extension councils.

  • Encourage counties and cities to adopt proclamations and promote reporting.

2. Storytelling & Visibility

Making the neighboring movement visible, inspiring, and contagious.

Key Strategies:

  • Partner with media outlets for recurring features such as “Neighbor of the Day.”

  • Produce short-form video stories and social campaigns highlighting local acts.

  • Expand use of #BeAnEngagedNeighbor hashtag and encourage user-generated content.

  • Develop year-round media content highlighting neighbors for use across the state.

3. Technology, Data & Reporting

Creating a dependable system to document acts of neighboring and measure impact.

Key Strategies:

  • Improve the online reporting portal and integrate mobile-friendly design.

  • Use QR codes to streamline submissions at events, schools, and workplaces.

  • Launch a real-time statewide dashboard with county/city leaderboards.

  • Collect data to assess behavior change, connection, trust and civic muscle over time.

4. Funding & Sustainability

Building a financially stable foundation for long-term growth.

Key Strategies:

  • Secure 3–5 multi-year statewide sponsors ($5,000–$25,000).

  • Launch a “Friends of MGNW” donor network once MGNW becomes a 501(c)3.

  • Pursue partnerships with Missouri-based corporations and foundations.

  • Offer sponsorship tiers with recognition on websites, promotions, and social media.

  • Encourage cause-marketing partnerships (e.g., “Round Up at the Register for Neighboring”).

5. Recognition & Awards

Celebrating excellence, encouraging friendly competition, and highlighting the statewide movement, given as part of an annual neighboring conference in Missouri.

Key Strategies:

  • Most Neighborly City; Youth Neighboring Neighboring Award; Most Neighborly Neighborhood; Most Neighborly Business, and Missouri’s Most Engaged Neighbors.

  • Provide digital badges, certificates, and small sponsored prizes.

  • Recognize employees, volunteers, neighbors, and youth leaders across Missouri.

  • Celebrate achievements annually at the Missouri Neighboring Summit.


Multi-Year Goals & Plan of Action (2026–2028)

2026: Build the Foundation

Theme: Infrastructure, leadership, and statewide visibility.


Key Targets

  • 50,000 acts of neighboring documented.

  • Participation from 70% of Missouri counties.

  • Recruit and train 100+ Block Captains / Ambassadors.

Key Actions

  1. Launch a Unified Neighboring Network across counties by integrating Ambassadors into Extension councils, schools, civic clubs, and faith communities.

  2. Build a Storytelling & Media Engine through media partnerships and social platforms.

  3. Create a Sustainable Funding Model with 2–3 statewide sponsors and a donor network.

  4. Expand Recognition & Gamification through dashboards and new award categories.

  5. Integrate Year-Round Engagement Pathways through Neighboring 101, Show-Me Art Week, and the first Missouri Neighboring Summit.

2027: Scale Statewide

Theme: Expansion, partnerships, youth engagement, and stronger systems.

Key Targets (from file)

  • 65,000 acts of neighboring documented.

  • Participation from 75% of Missouri counties.

  • Proclamations from 50 cities and 10 counties.

  • 200 Block Captains actively engaged.

Key Actions

  • Expand school, university, and youth-group partnerships.

  • Grow media coverage statewide across TV, radio, and digital outlets.

  • Grow partnerships with University social work programs for internships and projects.

  • Launch enhanced data systems including QR codes and automated surveys.

  • Expand sponsorships to 3–5 major partners with recognition tiers.

2028: Become the National Model

Theme: Culmination, national influence, and state-level saturation.

Key Targets

  • 100,000 acts of neighboring reported statewide.

  • Engagement from all 114 counties.

  • 400+ Block Captains / Ambassadors statewide.

  • Inspire at least five states to launch their own Good Neighbor Weeks.

  • Establish long-term sponsorships with statewide or national companies.

Key Actions

  • Host the first multi-state or national Neighboring Summit in Missouri.

  • Publish the first Missouri Neighboring Impact Report, sharing community health, civic muscle, and connection data.

  • Launch a MGNW Replication Toolkit for other states.

  • Integrate neighboring into local planning and public health systems.

  • Strengthen year-round programming and reinforce MGNW as the entry point to Missouri’s broader neighboring ecosystem.

The 2026–2028 plan provides a clear, strategic pathway to achieving this vision:

Build strong infrastructure → scale statewide → lead the nation

2029: Create a Not-for-Profit Organization

Theme: To carry on the mission of Missouri Good Neighbor Week, beyond the tenure of David Burton, create a not-for-profit and board to lead annual efforts. This assumes, of course, that the University of Missouri does not want to retain the leadership of the program.

Key Targets

  • Get legal help creating the not-for-profit

  • Transfer of funds and sponsorships for start up.

  • Recruit a board from past leaders in the program.


Written by David L. Burton

MORE INFORMATION

Take the Engaged Neighbor pledge and become part of a movement! The pledge outlines five categories and 20 principles to guide you toward becoming an engaged neighbor. Sign the pledge at https://nomoregoodneighbors.com. Individuals who take the pledge do get special invitations to future events online and in person. Contact the blog author, David L. Burton via email at dburton541@yahoo.com or burtond@missouri.edu. You can also visit his website at https://engagedneighbor.com.


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