Basics

14 August 2008

What's coming up?

We've put together two calendars for local group coordinators and campaigners to plan their activities:

• key annual events and processes (PDF) that will affect your group throughout the year
• upcoming campaign opportunities (PDF) and their priority level

This doesn't include everything that's going on though - for the latest training opportunities and events take a look at our events calendar which is updated daily.

Structures and roles

Friends of the Earth local groups organise themselves in different ways. There are no rights or wrongs - but how your group is structured, and the various tasks that members take on, helps the group respond to changing circumstances.

Coordinators

Our guide to being a Coordinator gives an overview of the role, and you can also find out what benefits and support you can expect as a coordinator, and what we expect from you in return.

If you're a new Coordinator, you'll receive a call from a staff member within one month of taking up the role. This will be an opportunity to find out about available resources, to find out how you are settling into the role and to talk through your ideas for the group.

If you're an existing Coordinator, take a look at our Local Groups handbook for some practical advice, or contact us (email localgroups@foe.co.uk or telephone 020 7566 1677) with any questions.

Co-ordinator Support Programme
Want to become even more effective in your role?  Want a sounding board to explore new ideas? Our Co-ordinator Support Programme provides one-on-one support from a qualified member of the Capacity Building team to help you explore new ideas and find solutions that will work for both you and your group.

Treasurers

Keeping good accounts will help your group with financial planning and fundraising. It's also important to be accountable for the money you raise and spend. Read these top tips (PDF) and make use of this template spreadsheet.

Meetings

Regular meetings are perhaps the most important thing to help a group work effectively. We've produced a guide to Running better meetings.

Newsletters

Planning to publish your group's own newsletter? You might find our guide to writing newsletters helpful.There's also a template available for producing a newsletter.

If you produce a newsletter it would be great if you could send us a copy, either by email or in the post, as it helps us to keep up-to-date with what local groups are working on in their local area.

Recruitment

People are any group's most vital asset. Some advice on how to attract and hold on to them can be found in the briefing "Pulling Power" (PDF - 54K).

Insurance

Information on insurance cover for groups.

The Partnership Agreement

The Partnership Agreement includes a set of expectations for how local groups, networks and staff can best work together and support each other.

By building a clearer understanding of the way local groups and staff can relate to each other, the Agreement aims to strengthen Friends of the Earth as a whole so that we can campaign even more effectively.