Getting the Word Out in the Fight to Save the Earth

Dick Beamish may be the best all-around publicist for local land conservation now working in the United States. Getting the Word Out in the Fight to Save the Earth has my highest recommendation. -- Charles E. Little, author of Greenways for America This is a splendid book. The style is a perfect match to the material-direct, terse, upbeat, confident. Beamish obviously knows his field inside and out. -- John G. Mitchell, author of Dispatches from the Deep Woods

This text explains how non-profit environmental organizations can expand and activate their membership, put pressure on government officials, use the news media and shape public policy, arguing that the key to the success of all these efforts is communication. Numerous examples are provided.- Recruiting members and donors through the mail; Using newsletters, action alerts, and membership renewals to keep members active and renewing; Publicising the cause through the print and electronic media; Fund-raising by soliciting major gifts. In the ongoing fight to protect air, land, water, and wildlife resources, grassroots non-profit organisations 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 organisation 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 non-profit citizens group can expand and activate its membership, pressure government officials, use the news media, and shape public policy. Beamish argues that the key to all these efforts is communications. As a former director of communications for the National Audubon Society and a highly regarded consultant to dozens of environmental organisations, he draws on nearly thirty years of experience to show what works for every type of organisation-large and small, rich and poor, established and new. He includes numerous examples from environmental organisations throughout the United States, describing dozens of communications problems and solutions as well as information about how a non-profit group gets started and how it stays alive and healthy.