The thunderhead alliance weather report

Volume 1, Issue 2 December 21,
2005
In This Issue:
Thunderhead Training Bid Winners
SAFETEA-LU Implementation –– Safe Routes Model
Reminder: Renew Your Membership Before End of Year!
Member News
Org Tip: Effective Newsletters
Cut and Paste for Your Newsletter: Year-End Appeal
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 afliated
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 agship 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
snational strategies for winning SAFETEA-LU funding and complete streets policies. We
ll be posting registration formsand promotional yers 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 ournew federal transportation law, SAFETEA-LU. This leaves many Thunderhead organizations still in the thick of thisaction working hard to ensure their state
s program is the best it can be. If your organization and state are still in theearly stages of this process, you can benet from the hard work of two Thunderhead organizations, the ChicagolandBicycle Federation and the League of Illinois Bicyclists, which resulted in an excellent model for other states to follow.
Please nd their statewide taskforce
s recommendations among other documents at: http://www.biketrafc.org/downloads/SR2S 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 rst event! So get those dues in ASAP for your nicely bound copy full of the magic ingredients for
your own, protable 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 ORG TIP: EFFECTIVE NEWSLETTERS
Stop! Think about what you're doing right at this moment. You're reading a newsletter, and not just the rst few words atthe 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 electronicnewsletter. Here are ve 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 nish.
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 ne. 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 rst obtaining their permission. Send your newsletter about once a month - if you have
the need to reach your audience for a specic, 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.
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 thateveryone is busy at this time of year, so we've decided to include a year end appeal letter that you can insert into yournext e-newsletter. All you need to do is ll in a few of the areas which are marked with [ll me in]. Take a few momentsand ll 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 ourcommunity. We want to take a few moments and remind you of some of our important accomplishments this past yearand ask that you support us with an end-of-year [tax-deductible (only if your organization is a 501(c)3 or 501(c)4charity)] gift of your nancial support. Your contribution will help us to maintain our current efforts in to 2006, and is ourmost 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 tostretch your contribution to us even farther! Please be sure to include your mailing address, phone number, and emailaddress so that we may send you a receipt. Send your year-end gift to: [Organization Name]Year-End Appeal[Address][City, State, Zip Code] May your Holiday Season be warm, loving, peaceful, and safe. Our very best from all of ushere at Thunderhead to you.
-Sue, Dave, David, Gayle, Ron, Barbara, and the Board 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-prot organization, is the only coalition of state and local bicycle andpedestrian advocacy organizations working in unison to break down the barriers to safe bicycling and walking in NorthAmerican communities. Find more info at: www.thunderheadalliance.org

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