Basics

What's coming up?

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

• key annual events and processes (PDF) that will affect your group throughout the year

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

Structures and roles

Friends of the Earth local groups organise themselves in many different ways. There are no particular rights or wrongs, but keeping an eye on the way your group is structured, and the various tasks that members are asked to take on, helps to ensure that the Group can respond to changing circumstances.

Coordinators

If you are new Coordinator, you will 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 are an existing Coordinator and are looking for some new ideas on running your group then please contact your Regional staff member in England, Wales or Northern Ireland.

Following some training sessions with Coordinators we've also put together some guidance which will help you to develop and define your role.

You can also find out what benefits and support you can expect from your involvement with Friends of the Earth as a coordinator, and what we expect from you in return.

Treasurers

Keeping good accounts will help your group with financial planning and fundraising. It is 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 about your group. Here is a summary (PDF - 103K) of workshops about meetings that Local Groups have attended and contributed to.
You might also find the guide "How to run better meetings" from our collection of Change your World inserts useful.

Newsletters

Planning to publish your group's own newsletter?
You might find this workshop summary (PDF - 55K) on writing newsletters helpful, as well as these top tips (PDF). 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

Insurance cover for up to £5 million of third-party public liability is provided by Friends of the Earth. This allows groups to hire venues and carry out many activities to raise awareness of their group and campaign, without worrying about insurance cover. For example when hiring a hall, organising a bike ride or even just campaigning out on the street. We have put together a list of frequently asked questions about insurance cover.

The Partnership Agreement

The Partnership Agreement's terms state a set of expectations for how local groups, networks and staff can best work together and support each other consistently and to a good standard. 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 EWNI as a whole so that it can campaign even more effectively.

Image © Paul Fitzgerald (Polyp)