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Volume
1, Issue 2
December 21, 2005
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In This Issue:
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THUNDERHEAD TRAINING BID WINNERS
Our bidding process for our July and
October 2006 Training slots drew lots of interest, but two stars shone
above the rest. Bike Denver,
founded just two years ago and led by volunteers, impressed us with
their ability and enthusiasm for creating a community coalition effort
to host our Training. The Bicycle
Coalition of Greater Philadelphia, one of Thunderhead’s founding
member organizations, presented an enticing menu of community partners
and affiliated organizations eager to make this one of Thunderhead’s
best campaign development Trainings. So mark your calendars!:
Thunderhead Training
Washington, DC May 9-11 (hosted by WABA)
Thunderhead Training
Denver, CO July 14-16
Thunderhead Training
Philadelphia, PA October (date TBA)
And don’t forget Thunderhead’s biennial flagship event for leaders of
Thunderhead member organizations:
Thunderhead Retreat near
Madison, WI September 2-5 Theme:
Getting the Money!
Bring your fellow org leaders to these events to hone your campaign
development skills and tap into Thunderhead’s national strategies for
winning SAFETEA-LU funding and complete streets policies. We’ll be
posting registration forms and promotional flyers soon at: http://www.thunderheadalliance.org/trainings05.htm
SAFETEA-LU
IMPLEMENTATION – SAFE ROUTES MODEL
Few states have jumped to the task of
establishing their new Safe Routes to Schools programs mandated through
our new federal transportation law, SAFETEA-LU. This leaves many
Thunderhead organizations still in the thick of this action working
hard to ensure their state’s program is the best it can be. If your
organization and state are still in the early stages of this process,
you can benefit from the hard work of two Thunderhead organizations,
the Chicagoland Bicycle Federation and the League of Illinois
Bicyclists, which resulted in an excellent model for other states to
follow. Please find their statewide taskforce’s recommendations among
other documents at:
http://www.biketraffic.org/downloads/SR2S
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REMINDER: RENEW YOUR MEMBERSHIP BEFORE END OF YEAR!
We renew all member and supporter dues at
the end of each year and all of you should have received your renewal
notice by now. This year we have a special offer for those who renew by December 31st: receive a
free copy of Thunderhead’s Guide
to Successful Fundraising Galas! We’ve heard glowing reviews of
this Guide from leaders of Thunderhead organizations who wouldn’t have
dared to attempt a gala before they got hold of it. Most have netted
over $10,000 from their first event! So get those dues in ASAP for your
nicely bound copy full of the magic ingredients for your own,
profitable fundraising gala! And don’t miss a Thunderhead beat.
If you did not receive your renewal notice, simply go to our Join page,
print out the form and send it in with your check: http://www.thunderheadalliance.org/member_form.htm.
If you have any questions, please call or email Sue: (928) 541-9841 sue@thunderheadalliance.org.
MEMBER NEWS
Each
month, The Weather Report will highlight an outstanding member
organization that has a particularly inspiring achievement or story. We will publish the most inspiring story and list the web
links of
other contributors within that month’s theme. The theme for January is:
"From Crisis To Opportunity". Please
send your
suggested item (maximum 300 words) to: david@thunderheadalliance.org.
For those of you who really want to do your homework in advance, the
theme for February will be "Complete Streets".
To get you started, here is a quote which we think embodies next
month's theme quite well: "To hell
with circumstances; I create opportunities." - Bruce Lee
We look forward to hearing from you!
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ORG TIP: EFFECTIVE NEWSLETTERS
Stop! Think about what you're doing right
at this moment. You're reading a newsletter, and not just the first few
words at the beginning of the message; you're almost all the way
through it. And you're continuing to read...
One of the most effective and commonly overlooked communication tools
for your organization can be an electronic newsletter. Here are five
simple tips to help you craft and maintain an effective newsletter for
your members, constituents, supporters, and decision makers:
- Know
and target your audience - besides your members and supports,
add your local media contacts, legislators, and decision makers to your
mailing list. These people should be kept up-to-date with your progress
and needs, too. Often, a well-written newsletter will serve as a mini
press release, prompting the media to contact you.
- Keep
your articles short and to the point - Too many articles and
links in a newsletter will cause your reader's eyes to cross. Aim for
4-6 articles, no more than 3-4 paragraphs in length for each article. A
good newsletter should take no more than 3-5 minutes to read from start
to finish.
- Give
your articles broad appeal - write your articles so that anyone
in your target audience will understand the importance of your work.
Avoid insider's jargon. Never publicly bash another organization or
person; instead, look for ways your readers can get involved in a
positive way.
- Simple
is good; gaudy is bad - plain text email newsletters are just
fine. If you have the capability and time to send HTML newsletters,
make sure that they're not over-engineered with too many graphics, font
changes, and colors.
- Respect
your reader's privacy - be sure to BCC: (blind carbon copy)
everyone on the list to keep everyone's personal contact information
private. Give your readers a chance to opt out, too - especially if you
add them to your mailing list without first obtaining their permission.
Send your newsletter about once a month - if you have the need to reach
your audience for a specific, high-priority item, send it as a separate
"Action Alert," instead of using your newsletter.
For samples of effective newsletters, email
David Hoffman, Director of Member Resources: david@thunderheadalliance.org
- he'll get right back to you.
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CUT AND PASTE FOR YOUR NEWSLETTER: YEAR-END APPEAL
Last month we suggested that you
send out a year-end appeal to your membership and supporters. We know
that everyone is busy at this time of year, so we've decided to include
a year end appeal letter that you can insert into your next
e-newsletter.
All you need to do is fill in a few of the areas which are marked with
[fill me in]. Take a few moments and fill in the needed information; it
could be worth quite a bit of untapped support!
[Organization Name] Needs
Your Support!
As a supporter of [Organization Name] you
know that the work that we're doing is important to both you and our
community. We want to take a few moments and remind you of some of our
important accomplishments this past year and ask that you support us
with an end-of-year [tax-deductible (only if your organization is a
501(c)3 or 501(c)4 charity)] gift of your financial support. Your
contribution will help us to maintain our current efforts in to 2006,
and is our most important source of income.
Here is a short list of some of our more important accomplishments this
past year:
- [List 4-6 important things]
- [in a bulleted format,]
- [1-2 sentences]
- [for each item]
Many employers offer a matching gift
program; check to see if your employer will match your gift. This is a
great way to stretch your contribution to us even farther! Please be
sure to include your mailing address, phone number, and email address
so that we may send you a receipt. Send your year-end gift to:
[Organization Name]
Year-End Appeal
[Address]
[City, State, Zip Code]
Thank you for your continued support!
May
your Holiday Season be warm, loving, peaceful, and safe. Our very best
from all of us here at Thunderhead to you.
-Sue, Dave, David,
Gayle, Ron, Barbara, and the Board
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This monthly Thunderhead Alliance
Weather
Report is for the leaders of our member organizations and our
supporters. The Thunderhead Alliance, a 501(c)(3) non-profit
organization, is the only coalition of state and local bicycle and
pedestrian advocacy organizations working in unison to break down the
barriers to safe bicycling and walking in North American communities.
Find more info at: www.thunderheadalliance.org
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