From Crisis to Connection: How Asheville Scaled Community Engagement for Disaster Recovery

In the aftermath of Hurricane Helene, the City of Asheville faced a monumental challenge: how to rebuild not just destroyed infrastructure, but the trust of a grieving community.

Recovery couldn't just be about returning to the status quo; it had to be about building a more resilient, equitable future. To do that, the city needed to hear from everyone - especially the voices often left out of the conversation.

Access this recording for an exclusive deep dive with Champion of Community Trust Award Winner Logan Smith from the City of Asheville as he shares the inside story of how his team scaled their engagement efforts to reach unprecedented levels of participation during a critical moment of recovery.

In this webinar, you will learn:

• The Multi-Channel Blueprint: How Asheville used a centralized Recovery Engagement Hub and a multi-channel approach to attract nearly 7,000 survey participants.
• Prioritizing Equity: The specific targeted outreach strategies used to ensure feedback from BIPOC residents, renters, and low-income households directly influenced recovery spending.
• Data as a North Star: How real-time participation data helped the city identify urgent needs in housing stability, economic recovery, and food security.
• Building Public Trust: Strategies for maintaining transparency and a 74% email open rate during a politically sensitive and high-stakes recovery period.
• Creating a Lasting Infrastructure: How the tools implemented during the disaster are now being used as a permanent standard for city-wide collaboration.

Whether you are preparing for long-term urban planning, managing a local crisis, or looking to improve your community’s digital engagement, this session will provide a proven roadmap for inclusive, transparent, and scalable outreach.