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Articles » Finance » Fundamental ideas to increase the performance of your environmental advocacy group
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- Article Views: 257
- Word Count: 553
- Date Contributed: May 19, 2008
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| Fundamental ideas to increase the performance of your environmental advocacy group |
Environmental advocacy is a diverse area. It encompasses both protecting the public from environmental hazards and shielding the resources of nature. As gains have been garnered at the local, state and national level, there is a growing understanding in the community that further gains will be contingent on developing the same professional skills as private and government organizations that typify best managerial practices.
When it comes to successfully founding an environmental advocacy group you might find some good advice in the literature. Yet the ongoing running of such advocacy groups is another topic. That is why many environmental advocacy groups struggle to effectively manage. This article reviews several insights from the field.
Collaborate with other environmental advocacy groups
New York State alone has over 400 environmental advocacy organizations listed by the Environmental Conservation Department of Environmental Conservation. And in the last few years, there has been increasing levels of collaboration between geographically diverse environmental advocacy groups.
One underlying reason for this trend has been reduced flight travel costs – a trend that may now be going the opposite direction with skyrocketing fuel prices. A separate driver is the availability of free conference calling services such as Rondee.com.
All of these offerings work on the same basic principle: they give you a personal access number and a toll number to dial. If all participants dial the same number and enter the same PIN code, they are put into a group call.
Involve academic professionals
A frequent misconception is that campus curricula is too far removed from the realities of environmental politics to be significant. However, programs such as that offered by New England School of Law provide graduate level training in environmental advocacy as wells as organizing. Indeed, such programs train young campus leaders for careers as advocates and grassroots organizers.
Students at such programs are excellent candidates to be recruited as volunteers or leaders for your group. Also consider seeking the participation of a faculty or staff member who can offer perspective and advice to your group. While students arrive and depart as the years go by; faculty tend to remain.
Keep tightly focused
The most effective environmental groups are ones that stay tightly focused on their mission and do not get enmeshed in peripheral goals. Virtually all environmental advocacy groups operate under substantial time constraints. Focusing on three goals with 100% effort will generally yield superior results compared to tackling nine goals at one third effort.
Develop your network
The most successful advocacy groups create networks of supporters who share their values and mission. While the term networking often gets a negative reputation, the simple fact is these networks can provide substantial support and members can stay in touch more easily through conference calling technology. Indeed, these networks provide the psychological support which is so vital to sustaining energy among group officers as well as members.
Use web technology strategically
Some environmental advocacy groups have distributed leadership teams, and it is impractical to expect face-to-face meetings. One solution is to use an application to allow desktop sharing
Whether it's sharing a PowerPoint document illustrating the group's fundraising plan or a spreadsheet showing the tracking of volunteer participation, desktop sharing can be extremely useful for not a few advocacy groups.
The silver lining is that these ideas are not costly. Environmental advocacy groups can improve their performance through these ideas. http://www.rondee.com
Article Source: UnArchived Articles
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