Hosting Your Climate Advocate Workshop

No Image Description
Description
Hosting a Climate Advocate Workshop can be as simple as planning and hosting a birthday party for a friend. For workshops happening in-person, thinking about food and location are your primary concerns. And regardless of if the workshop is in-person or online, this training covers the invitation list, invitations, and how to best work with your trainer and state coordinator to get things up and running. If you have a large team ready to help or are looking for more details, read on below for a more detailed list of suggestions. 
Breadcrumb
/topics/starting-new-chapter
TOC and Guide Section
 
Purpose

The Climate Advocate Workshop (previously Climate Advocate Training - Group Start Workshop) will:

  • Formally start the activities of your local chapter
  • Serve as a mechanism to invite new potential volunteers to learn about us
  • Train existing and potential volunteers how to develop relationships with their elected representatives

Request to join the Trainers group headed by Elli Sparks if you would like to be trained to lead this workshop and for a sample recording, outline, and more support for using the Presentation Slide Deck for Climate Advocate Training Workshop (with Train the Trainer notes).

Using Eventbrite

Connect with Alison Kubicsko, CCL National Event's Manager, if you would like to use Eventbrite and post your training on Facebook. Watch this short 3-minute video for more information. 

Timeline

Two months ahead:

  • *Connect with Regional Director or State Coordinator to secure a trainer
  • *Connect with trainer to confirm a date for your group’s workshop
  • *Secure venue (i.e., church basement, library meeting room, school or community classroom, office boardroom, if needed your own living room)
  • Create your team for outreach
  • Identify groups to invite and start tracking the invitations with this shared sheet

One month ahead:

  • Start putting up flyers around the community
  • *Personally call to invite everyone on your chapter roster and other community networks. If you need this roster list for your area, contact membership@citizensclimate.org.
  • Check in with other local volunteers to assign workshop roles (see descriptions below)

One week ahead:

  • *Check in with your workshop trainer to confirm expected attendance numbers, what they expect you to cover, timeline of the day,  and any other details.
  • *Send final email and phone calls to your group and list of attendees to remind them of event
  • *Confirm with venue the timeline and any final requests/details
  • Confirm with team their plans for workshop
  • Circle back to media outlets for event coverage

The Day Of The Event Don’t Forget…

  • *Get plenty of sleep and bring your computer, technology needs, food and beverages, name tags, sign in sheets, pens, and your warm, hospitable self–it’s going to be an amazing event!
  • Don’t forget to take a lot of photos as well and share them everywhere you can!

*indicates essential considerations, the remaining items are suggestions that can be met if you have the time and resources

Assigning Roles and Tasks

These first four roles are the most essential to ensure a smooth event:

  • Host (coordinates the rest of the roles, works with and potentially offers to host the Workshop Trainer)
  • Venue Organizer (coordinates with venue)
  • Food Coordinator (decides what food will be served, where it will be from, how money will be collected to reimburse, what reusable plates/glasses can be used)
  • Phone Banker(s) (call(s) attendees to confirm attendance)

These can be added if you have the time and team power:

  • Flyer Runner(s) (print(s) flyers and post everywhere)
  • Media Contact(s) (contact(s) local media to post in calendar listings, contact local reporters to invite to workshop)
  • Greeter(s) (get(s) name tags and markers, stand at door, welcome people, provide them with a name tag, have folks sign in)
  • Technical support (confirm with trainer any tech and A/V needs, work with group to provide)
  • Coalition Builder(s) (invites other community organizations and volunteers to attend the event) 
Sample Email or Phone Script

Use This Template to Send to Your Email List

Hello [Name],

We’re a group of concerned citizens who are educating our [town or county] community about climate solutions, and encouraging our elected officials to pass strong climate laws. We believe that the only way to tackle climate change is together. Are you worried about how fast our climate is warming, and ready to do something about it? We invite you to join our meeting. We’d welcome your help.

[town/county/chapter name] Climate Advocate Workshop

[location, address, city, state]

[Day, date, time]

RSVP: [enter link to Eventbrite, or other way you are collecting RSVPs]

What we do:  

  • Start productive conversations about climate solutions in our community
  • Build support for climate action with community leaders 
  • Meet with our members of Congress to advocate for effective climate solutions

Join our Plug In! Climate Advocate Workshop to: 

  • Learn about our local group and our approach to climate advocacy
  • Meet with other concerned neighbors and friends
  • Hear how to join in and find your role in our local group

The event will run about 2 hours. Refreshments provided. Attendance is not a commitment to join!

Our group is a local chapter of Citizens Climate Lobby (CCL), a volunteer-driven grassroots climate organization with more than 200,000 climate advocates across the United States. CCL volunteers work locally to educate and build support for climate action, and with their members of Congress to get meaningful climate solutions passed.

I’d love you to come to learn more and consider joining our group. Do you think you can make it?

All the best,

[Your name]
[Contact Information]

Inviting The Community and Local Media

You can download and edit the Climate Advocate Workshop press release template, or use the event description template below to send to local media outlets and or post in community calendars/newsletters:

  • Regional newspapers
  • TV and radio stations
  • Town webpages or messageboards
  • Local Blogs
  • Environmental or Conservation groups
  • Ethnic groups
  • Political groups
  • Religious organizations & places of worship
  • Nextdoor (learn more about posting events on Nextdoor)
  • Homeowner Associations

Event description: 

Title: Plug In to our Climate Advocate Workshop!

Short summary: You can’t solve climate change alone, but we can solve it together. Join us. 

Description:

Hi 👋We’re a group of concerned citizens who are educating our [town or county] community about climate solutions, and encouraging our elected officials to pass strong climate laws. We believe that the only way to tackle climate change is together. Are you worried about how fast our climate is warming, and ready to do something about it? Join our meeting. We’d welcome your help.

What we do:  

  • Start productive conversations about climate solutions in our community
  • Build support for climate action with community leaders 
  • Meet with our members of Congress to advocate for effective climate solutions

Join our Climate Advocate Workshop to: 

  • Learn about our local group and our approach to climate advocacy
  • Meet with other concerned neighbors and friends
  • Hear how to join in and find your role in our local group

The event will run about 2 hours. Refreshments provided. Attendance is not a commitment to join!

RSVP: [enter link to Eventbrite or other way you are collecting RSVPs]

Questions? Please contact: [enter contact person name, email address]

About Citizens’ Climate Lobby 

Our group is a local chapter of Citizens Climate Lobby (CCL), a volunteer-driven grassroots climate organization with more than 200,000 climate advocates across the United States. CCL volunteers work locally to educate and build support for climate action, and with their members of Congress to get meaningful climate solutions passed. CCL’s work is nonpartisan, bringing people from across the political spectrum together to work towards solutions. 

Together, we're turning the tide on climate change and ensuring that our planet's future outshines its past.  

Using Social Media

For local events, local social media works best in reaching your community! We suggest creating a Facebook event and posts using your Chapter or State’s accounts. You can use the Canva graphics templates below to make social media sized graphics and create posts on your CCL chapter and/or CCL state social media accounts.

Following up

After the event, there are a few things left to do.

  1. Send thank you cards to event organizers.
  2. Add new contacts to your Chapter Roster. 
    **Please note, if attendees registered through Eventbrite, they should already be on your roster, you do not need to add them again**
  3. Follow-up with new recruits by phone and review their preferences from the completed Volunteer Opportunities Sheet for ideas in their local involvement.

Sample follow-up phone script:

Hello, and thank you for attending our workshop.
Do you have a couple of minutes to chat?
I was wondering what you thought of the meeting? (really listen to what they say!)
I was wondering if you could see yourself getting involved with CCL?
I was wondering if you can think of anyone else who may be interested in CCL? May I contact them or would you like to?
See you at the next meeting… or ask to join Wednesday informational session
Length
Press play to start the video (39m 36s)
https://vimeo.com/showcase/6629975
Video Outline
Emerging Group Leader Call - Dec. 4, 2019
(full length)
Instructor(s)
  • Elli Sparks
Downloads
Audio length
Click the link below to start the audio (39m 36s)
Audio embed code
Audio Outline
Emerging Group Leader Call Dec. 4th, 2019
(full length)
Instructor(s)
  • Elli Sparks
Have you completed this training?
Let us know if you've completed this training! Your progress will be logged in the Action Tracker so you can reference a list of trainings that you've completed.
Log your training
Go Deeper
As you begin, be sure to be in touch with your state or regional coordinator and if you have any questions as you move along feel free to email Elli Sparks, CCL’s Field Development Director at elli@citizensclimate.org.
Discussion Topic
To Print
Category
Training
Topics
Chapter Organizing
Format
Other