In the ongoing fight to protect our air, land, water and wildlife
resources, grassroots organizations play a vital role. But, according to
veteran activist Richard Beamish, hard work and good intentions are not
enough. To make a real difference, an environmental organization must do
the best possible job of communicating its message, attracting and
keeping members, and raising funds. In this book of how-to advice, with
hundreds of practical and proven examples, Beamish explains how any
nonprofit citizens group can expand and activate its membership,
pressure government officials, mobilize the news media, and shape public
policy in the fight to save communities, regional ecosystems, and even
the Earth itself.
Beamish argues that the key to saving and restoring our environment is
"getting the word out." As a former director of communications for the
National Audubon Society and a consultant to an array of environmental,
cultural, and educational groups, he draws on thirty years of experience
to show what works and what doesn't for every type of
organization--large and small, rich and poor, established and newly
conceived. Much of the advice in the book is based on his recent efforts
to save one of the largest natural areas in the eastern United
States--the Adirondack Park of New York State. Beamish describes how in
just three years his organization quintupled its support through an
aggressive direct-mail campaign, kept its surging membership informed
and active, flooded politicians with mail at every critical juncture,
and used the power of the press to spread its message far and wide. He
includes numerous examples from environmental organizations nationwide,
covering a broad range of communications problems and solutions, and
providing information about how a nonprofit group gets started and how
it stays alive and healthy.
