Activity

🔊 Facilitator Introduction Blurb

“Welcome, everyone, to our Zero-Dollar Solution Sprint—a 20-minute power session where we prove big impact doesn’t always need a big budget. At each table sit the very assets we need: your lived experience, talents, and community connections. Together, we’ll pick one pressing school challenge—parent engagement, staff morale, grounds upkeep, attendance, or field-trip access—and craft a practical fix using only what we already have.

Here’s the sprint in three quick beats:

1. Map Your Assets – List the skills, relationships, and resources around your table. Think mentors, local businesses, social-media prowess—anything that costs zero dollars.
   
   

2. Design the Fix – Blend those assets with the Community Schools principles to build a no-cost, ready-to-launch action plan.
   
   

3. Pitch It – In twenty seconds, share your headline solution with the room and inspire the rest of us.
   
   

Remember: constraints spark creativity, and our collective ingenuity is the most valuable currency here. Let’s show what happens when community schools thinking meets zero-budget innovation. Ready? Let’s sprint!”

Why “Zero Dollar Solution Sprint”?

• Zero-Dollar – The title makes the core constraint unmistakable: teams must rely solely on the assets, skills, and relationships already in the room—no new funding needed. It signals creativity through resourcefulness, a hallmark of asset-based community work.
  
  

• Solution – The activity isn’t theoretical brainstorming; it’s about producing a concrete, practical fix for a real challenge facing our schools. The word keeps everyone focused on actionable outcomes, not just discussion.
  
  

• Sprint – With only 20 minutes on the clock, the format mirrors an agile “sprint”: intense, time-boxed collaboration that drives quick, high-energy results. It conveys urgency and momentum, encouraging participants to move rapidly from ideas to implementation steps.

Zero Dollar Solution Sprint

Community Solutions Lab — Table Facilitator’s Guide

(Print one copy for each facilitator; size to fit on a single sheet of paper.)

Phase & Time

Facilitator Tasks

Key Prompts

Reminders / Tips

Notes

1 Intro & Problem Pick 2 min

• Welcome the group and restate tonight’s goal: solve one real problem using only the assets in this room—no money.• Show the five scenario cards and guide the table to choose one.

“Which challenge energizes us most to tackle tonight?”

Keep energy high; confirm everyone understands the no-budget rule.

2 Asset Mapping 10 min

• Tape flip-chart paper in view.• Lead a fast brainstorm of strengths, skills, and connections at the table.• Write assets in big, readable print.

1. “What skills or expertise do we personally bring?”2. “What networks or relationships can we tap—today?”3. “Where have we solved something similar before?”

Encourage quantity over perfection; capture every idea. Use quick round-robin if voices are quiet.

3 Design No-Cost Solution 6 min

• Guide the group to weave top assets into a concrete action plan aligned to Community Schools principles (family engagement, integrated supports, collaborative leadership, etc.).• Write the plan in 1–2 clear sentences.

“How can we combine these strengths into one practical step we could launch tomorrow?”“Which asset owners will take the first action?”

Steer conversation back to assets when money is mentioned. Keep the plan realistic and doable.

4 Prepare 20-Second Pitch 1 min

• Nominate a spokesperson (or you) to share: issue + key asset + no-cost solution.

“What’s the headline we want everyone to remember?”

Time the pitch once to be sure it’s within 20 sec.

5 Pitch to Room(Central moderator will cue)

• Deliver the 20-second pitch when called.

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Speak clearly; highlight the community asset first.

Quick Reference

• Five Problems:
  1 Parental involvement 2 Employee morale 3 Groundskeeping 4 Attendance 5 Field trips
  Lens: focus on relationships, shared leadership, equity, whole-child supports, continuous improvement.
  Ground Rule: $0 budget — invent with people, space, time, skills, partnerships already available.
  Facilitation Essentials: listen actively · stay neutral · invite every voice · keep to timeboxes.