Starting a group

Change your world - Start a Friends of the Earth group

Across England, Wales and Northern Ireland people are getting together to campaign on local and national and international environmental issues – the things that matter to them. They are winning environmental battles great and small. They are changing the world for the better. These people are our network of local Friends of the Earth’s groups. This guide (PDF† format - 501K) will tell you more about them, what they do, and the first steps to setting up your own group.

Get in touch

The first step in starting a group is to get in touch with us - telephone 020 7566 1677 or email localgroups@foe.co.uk to speak to the Activist Information Officer who will be able to tell you more about the process and put you in touch with the Network Developer or Regional Campaigns Co-ordinator in your area. Regional staff can tell you more about groups and campaigns happening in your area, while the Activist Information Officer can tell you more about all the resources and support available.

Start the ball rolling

Once you've made contact with staff at Friends of the Earth we will send out the first new group mailing which contains leaflets and posters to help you attract potential members in your area, information about what groups are up to in your area, a copy of our local group newsletter as well as some background information about Friends of the Earth.

Getting started

The second new group mailing contains all the licensing papers which all groups need to sign to become a Friends of the Earth group as well as a guide (PDF† format - 1141K) packed with great advice on running your first meeting, generating publicity, attracting members, getting funds, starting to campaign and all the other things you might face as a new group.

Once your group is up and running there are lots of resources available to help you get active. New groups are entitled to a start-up grant, a web page and free publicity resources to help get you going. There's also a Co-ordinator Calendar (PDF† format - 29K) to help you plan and a series of How to guides providing advice on a range of topics.

Here to help

Regional staff and the Activist Information Officer are here to help at every stage in the process of forming a new group. Please get in touch on 020 7566 1677 or localgroups@foe.co.uk for more information, or any questions you have about starting a group.

†To view PDF files you will need to download Adobe Acrobat Reader. Visually impaired users can get extra help with these documents from access.adobe.com.