PARK
FRIENDS GROUPS
VAFP has undertaken the mission of assisting organizations where they
exist and helping to organize them in parks without a support group.
Friends groups are collections of people who share compassion for a
special place. Friends groups raise money for parks, speak up for parks,
volunteer in parks, celebrate parks, and develop supportive
relationships with and for parks. Friends groups appreciate parks, and
parks appreciate friends groups.
Consider joining or forming a friends
group to protect the relevance of a park in your life and in your
community. With or without a group, there are a number of ways for you
to get involved in park protection. Go for a hike through a park. Write
a letter to the editor of a local newspaper to let your community know
about problems in the parks. Organize a clean-up day or a March for
Parks. Help plan the future of your favorite park. Learn about more
opportunities to be a friend.
HELPFUL HINTS ON FORMING A
FRIENDS GROUP
(adopted from NPCA)
Assess the Need
Before
gathering fellow park supporters, ask
yourself some basic questions:
- Does
your park need support?
- Is
your park managed effectively?
- Is
your park adequately funded?
- Can
the health of your park be improved?
- Is
your park used inappropriately?
- Do all
members of the community "feel welcome"
visiting your park?
- What
can you do to become a better advocate
for your park?
- What
do you ultimately want to accomplish?
Answers
will help determine the initial focus of
your park group.
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Hold a Meeting
Clear goals,
good publicity, and a willingness to reach
out to the local park constituency will
attract many supporters. Productive meetings
will keep them coming back.
Pick a date
and reserve a room at a central location.
Library conference rooms, church basements,
park headquarters, or donated spaces from
companies and nonprofits all will suffice.
Sign people
up upon arrival, and talk to them. Create an
enjoyable mood for the group by opening with
an icebreaker or food.
Have an
agenda. Be prepared to lead or prompt
discussions, and set time frames for
discussions. Be able to articulate concerns
but be equally open to listening and
addressing the concerns of others. Keep
things moving.
Ask one of
your guests to take legible and complete
notes of the discussion.
Provide a
flip chart to record ideas and issues.
Identify
and list shared visions and concerns. You
can figure out how to achieve or address
them later.
Encourage
full participation to ensure ownership of
outcomes by all members of the group. Learn
why people have responded to your invitation
to help and what they are willing to
contribute.
Develop a
list of tasks to accomplish for next time,
and delegate tasks according to interest and
ability.
Come to
some sort of closure. Make every effort to
cultivate a sense of common concern among
your group that will keep people coming
back.
Expand your
list of contacts by getting a commitment
from this core group to bring friends and
colleagues to future meetings.
Set the
date for a second meeting.
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Develop a Purpose
Effective
groups have a clear understanding of what
they want to accomplish. Early efforts will
determine a group's course of action for
years to come.
Strategic
objectives and goals are solutions to the
challenges and concerns that your group
identifies. For each goal, it may be helpful
to determine an indicator of success and a
deadline. Who are the key stakeholders, and
how might they be involved? Make it a goal
to work cooperatively with park management.
- A work
plan is a step-by-step map from where you
are now to where you want to be in the
future. Thorough work plans keep you on
track and go a long way.
Once in
action, it may be easier to articulate
statements that define your group.
- A vision
is an image of your park in ideal
circumstances.
- A
mission is a clear, concise sentence or
two that synthesizes the primary goals of
the group. The initial mission may take
many years to accomplish. Set your sights
high.
Create
agendas for the day, the month, and the year
that are achievable. Make sure the right
person is chosen to carry out a given duty.
If you become lost and start losing focus,
stop and reconsider these four key elements
of success: objectives and goals, work plan,
mission, and vision. They may evolve over
time.
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Build and
Maintain Support
It's best
to form a small and strong group, and build
from there.
Identify a
core group of individuals in your community
who have already demonstrated an interest in
protecting your park.
Develop a
handout that describes the purpose of your
group. Include contact information. Make the
handout attractive and highlight group
successes. Give a copy to everyone you meet.
Talk to all
kinds of people about your group.
Non-traditional participants may be able to
spread the word for you or provide advice or
services. Face-to-face recruitment is best.
Follow up on important discussions with
phone calls.
Go to
meetings of other groups and communities,
and invite them to join your efforts.
Inform the
park about your group, and post contact
information where appropriate.
Advertise
your planning meetings.
Once you
have a critical mass, establish guiding
principles that set the parameters for
conduct at meetings and use them to ensure
civil discussion and exchange of ideas and
opinions.
To retain
active participation in your group, consider
developing position descriptions that
include
- Title
- Purpose
or objective of position
-
Responsibilities and/or tasks to be
performed
-
Qualifications
- Time
requirement
Hold people
accountable for their commitments. Don't
forget to recognize the efforts of
individuals and honor and acknowledge group
successes. Continually evaluate your work
program in order to stay focused and
communicate your group's purpose
effectively.
Evaluation
of your group's operations will make it
stronger and more stable. Once a year or as
needed, take the time to openly and honestly
assess the group's accomplishments and
problems. It may be helpful to arrange for
an outside facilitator so that everyone can
actively participate.
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Fundraise for
Expenses
Most
likely, your group will need to learn how to
obtain donations and raise money.
Estimate
budgetary needs for mailings, meeting food,
overhead supplies, phone calls, utilities,
space rental, and time (if there are paid
positions in your group). Also anticipate
expenses for travel and materials for
individual projects.
Research
organizations who donate free or discounted
services and supplies to volunteer and
non-profit groups and programs.
Identify
funders who have knowledge and awareness of
local concerns and enthusiasm for funding
local grassroots initiatives. Make a list
and then expand it to include national
charitable organizations.
Contact
identified companies, foundations, and
individuals to determine their procedures
for accepting requests. Respond promptly.
In-depth
Look at Foundations
Identify foundations and charitable groups.
The
Chronicle of Philanthropy
is an
excellent resource. Also, you can
consult the
Foundation Center
and
GrantSmart.
Evaluate the fit. Be sure to read the
foundation's statement of intent, determine
where the foundation is active, and become
familiar with the sort of work it typically
funds.
Look at the
size of the grants.
Ask the
foundation to provide application guidelines
and dates.
Draft a
program and proposal outline that will
explain what your organization is, its
history, the context of your efforts, your
group's problem(s) and challenge(s), why you
think you can make a difference, and what
you intend to do.
Submit your
proposal on time. Continue to keep your
foundation contacts updated on group
progress when the initial process is
completed.
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Promote the
Group
Email and
snail-mail lists are easy ways to keep both
active participants and casual contacts
informed of your group's activities. Your
mailing list can and should include the Park
Service personnel at your park and your
park's regional office, activists in other
environmental organizations, local
businesses, your congressional delegation,
media, paid membership (if you have one),
volunteers, and anyone else who shows an
interest in your group.
If your
group needs more attention from the public,
it's best to reach out in a variety of ways.
You never know what method of communication
will strike a tune with someone.
Press releases provide all of the
information a reporter needs to write a
basic news article on your event, plus
contact information for more in-depth
queries or interviews. Structure all press
releases so that the most important
information is contained in the first few
sentences. Avoid sending press releases
after 4 p.m., on Monday or Friday, or on
weekends.
In addition
to press releases, make use of press
statements (short quotes on policy) and
op-ed columns (600-word statements or
rebuttals) to make your case in local
papers.
Local TV
and radio stations offer free air time for
community members to express viewpoints.
TV and radio stations are required to donate
a certain amount of air time for
public service announcements.
With
sufficient notice, groups with community
calendars can post meetings and event
announcements.
Advertisements are often expensive, but
strategic placement can be very effective.
Sometimes newspapers, newsletters, and
magazines provide free advertisement space.
Websites
provide convenient descriptions for those
who prefer to surf the web for information.
Be
creative. Establish one person to serve as
your group's press liaison and direct all
media inquiries to that person. Take photos
of your group members at meetings and events
to add impact to the communication methods
you choose to use.
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Become a
Nonprofit
If your
group will be dealing with money, you may
want to become a nonprofit corporation. Some
of benefits of doing so may include:
-
Tax-exempt status
Permission to receive public and private
funds
- Limited
liability
- Separate
and perpetual legal existence
- Employee
benefits
- Lower
postal rates on bulk mail (called a
"non-profit franking permit")
-
Potentially cheaper advertising rates
- Free
radio and television public service
announcements
- Lower
store membership rates offered to
nonprofit employees
- Employee
eligibility to participate in job
training, student intern, work-study, and
other federal, state, and local employment
incentive programs
-
Formality and structure
In order to
make your nonprofit status official, there
are two processes to go through. Learn both
before doing either, to make sure all bases
are covered. Anticipate the time it takes to
push paperwork and decisions through the
system.
1.
Incorporate as a nonprofit group in your
state.
Contact the Secretary of State or other
officials in your state to find out what you
need to do to register as a nonprofit
corporation and what requirements need to be
satisfied to qualify for nonprofit status.
Any well-organized individual with a
permanent address can serve as your agent.
If an attorney is willing to volunteer to
act as the group's agent, take advantage of
that option.
2. Obtain
federal nonprofit tax status.
If you want contributors to be able to take
deductions on their income tax, you will
need to file for the appropriate status,
probably chapter 501(c)3. If you are granted
501(c)3 status, you are limited in the
amount of funds that can be expended on
federal lobbying efforts. Another option is
to establish a chapter 501(c)3 foundation as
an auxiliary organization and use the
"tax-free" donations only for nonpolitical
purposes.
Starting an
organization requires a great deal of time.
Expenses may be more than a small group can
dedicate out of pocket. Help is available.
Y our
public library has books and reference
manuals on how to apply for grants. Look for
start-up funding from retailers in your
area. Service retailers located near a park
have a financial stake in the well-being of
the park—encourage them to support you, or
at least join you in your efforts. Outdoor
retailers, even if they are not located near
your park, are often big supporters of
grassroots environmental protection efforts.
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Transition
Group Leadership
Once your
group or project is well established, you
may find yourself ready to move on to other
opportunities. It's possible to maintain
group momentum while shifting leadership
responsibilities.
Identify
someone who stands out because of his or her
interest in your group's activities and
potential to stay organized and focused.
Schedule a meeting with him or her to
discuss:
- Responsibilities of the leadership
position
- Timetable for completing the duties of
the position
- Unfinished projects
- Important resources and contact
persons
- Mistakes that were made that could
have been avoided
- Advice you wish you had received
before embarking on your experience
- Valuable leadership training
opportunities
- Any questions the new leader may have
- Where you can be reached in the
future, in case more questions arise
Keep in
mind that the person may have a different
leadership style than you. Share your
concerns respectfully and don't be afraid to
let go. You can still be involved as a park
friend in many ways.
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