Building Tools | pro-rural-alliance

Tools for
Community Building & Communications

Group Leaders

In our experiences so far, we’ve found that those who are inclined to lead will emerge voluntarily and “naturally."
The “Goldilocks” rule seems to apply to the core team: Not too big to be unwieldy, not too small to be burdensome to the individuals, but “just right” to be comfortable.
Identify areas of focus for each core team member, such as website author, meeting presenter, petition organizer, social media communicator, etc. The leader of each focus area can assemble a team of their volunteers if needed (for example, the “petition army” to canvass the neighborhood).

Contact List

Find out the email addresses of those who want to be involved or stay informed. The only way we know of to do this is through one-on-one contacts with neighbors, who help spread the word to others they know. We do not know of a way to “look up” someone’s email address.
If people are reluctant to share their email address, assure them that your communications will be sent as blind copies (bcc), to protect everyone’s identity and email address.

Emails

Email is an efficient way to announce deadlines, send updates, etc., to your contact list.
As noted, these recipients should be “bcc” to protect their email addresses from being widely distributed.

As your contact list grows, you may exceed the limits of how many bccs can be on an email message. For example, we found that gmail would only allow about 60 or so bccs. In that case, break your contact list into groups and send your email out group by group. Using a paid distribution software such as Constant Contact can avoid this problem (and we understand Mail Chimp might also work for this, and that the “free” level might be sufficient).
It is best to first have a non-bcc communication with an individual who is joining your list; that way, your future mass bcc communications are likely to arrive in their inbox and not their spam/junk folder.
Identify a person who will be the “sender” of the emails for your group, and consistently have the emails come from that email account. You may wish to make a new dedicated email account for this purpose so that multiple people can help with emails (example: "stopthisproject@gmail.com").
Advise your group to adjust their email settings to allow emails from your sender.
Take care not to overload your recipients with too many emails.

Neighborhood Meetings

Face-to-face meetings are really helpful to inform everyone and spread the word, especially at the start of an issue.
Finding a venue for a meeting can be challenging! It may be a neighbor’s house that has a suitable workshop or studio space. One group we know of worked with local churches for their meeting space. Perhaps a business has a space to offer up.
It is helpful if the venue has a way to project a presentation such as a PowerPoint. In the beginning stages of an issue, some will know a lot, but others will know very little. A well organized and concise presentation will help get everyone in the group on the same page.

Informational Flyer

Develop a one-page flyer (front, or front and back).
It should communicate the facts about the issue, reasons for concern, how the issue fits in (or doesn’t fit in) with Boulder County policies, and identify the community contact persons.
Website links to the docket are helpful.
Circulate this flyer by email, knocking on doors, etc., and include it if you are carrying a petition door to door.
Here is an example.

Petition (online and in person)

Petitions are useful to spread the word and ultimately to show the Commissioners the magnitude of your community.
If the group has a website (see below), use it to provide an online option for people to sign. An example online petition is linked here. If the issue is a County docket, we do think it is best to mention the docket # in the petition language.
Also offer paper copies of the petition, for those who may prefer it or who don’t have a computer. Walking the neighborhood with a petition is a good way to spread the word.
The wording of the petition is specific to your issue. The language could be developed by a lawyer for your group, but it is not automatically necessary to involve a lawyer. Make it clear what they are signing. An example drafted by a lawyer is posted here.
Be sure your petition asks for the signer’s name (on hard copy, both printed and signed), street address, city, zip code, and email address of the signer.

Check with your County Planner on whether your petition can be signed by people who do not reside in Boulder County, and the minimum age for signers. You will get asked this question, so it’s good to know the answer ahead of time. (The planner for our issue told us that the signer did not have to be a County resident, and they should be old enough to understand the basic issue.)
When submitted to the County, the petition becomes a public document.

Map of Petition Signers

True statement: “A picture is worth a thousand words”!
It is useful to show the locations of your petition signers on a map such as a Google map. This shows County decision-makers that your issue is of concern beyond just your neighborhood, and helps combat the inevitable NIMBY (“not in my back yard”) accusations that can arise from some in the public.

If embedding the map as a “live” interactive map on your website, be sure to hide the individual addresses of your locator pins. This is potentially sensitive information that some signers might prefer not be displayed. (We suggest this even though eventually, when submitted to the County, the signed petition becomes a public document.)
Another way to display your map is to take a screenshot of the map and post it as a static image. This protects individual addresses and potentially identifying information. You can update your screenshots as you gather more petition signers.

Website

We’ve found that it is invaluable to have a website. You can use it to convey information, build your contact list, provide your petition online, and more.
Examples of websites are stop63rdstreetsubdivision.org, stopkanemotosubdivision.com, and stop79thsttenniscomplex.org
We think it is helpful to build your message into the name of your website, as in the above examples.
There may be volunteers in your midst who can implement a website for you.
Writing the content and developing the structure for the website is a time-consuming job at startup, but take heart because it becomes more manageable with time!

Roadside Banners and Signs

“A picture is worth a thousand words,” but a banner might be worth a million! We found them to be well worth the ~$100 investment.
Find strategic and logical places for your banners. Approach private property owners who are vested in your issue to seek their permission. Businesses and HOAs will possibly be reluctant to host a banner.
Keep the banner simple and the message clear and action-oriented.
We saw big increases in our petition signature gathering when the banners were posted.

Social Media

If you dare! And if you have enough volunteers.
We’ve seen this work best when a few individuals were dedicated to the task of making posts and responding constructively to comments.
There will inevitably be commenters who push back, accuse your group of being a bunch of NIMBYs, etc. Take the high road and stay out of the gutter when responding to them (it’s no fun there). Your comments will be a reflection on your group, so be diplomatic and constructive.