What will help YOU through 2009?

Recession. Budget cuts. Redundancies. I'm hearing about lots of turmoil in campaigning organisations. The irony of the times is that the worse the economy gets the MORE campaigning is needed. So with all that is going on, what e-campaigning support do YOU need in 2009?

2009 is going to be a touch year not just for you, but for me and many others supporting campaigning and e-campaigning. So I'll make you a deal: you tell me what you are likely to want/need in 2009 to help you get through the year and I (and others who read this) will try and provide it.

The State of Campaigning

The need for campaigning doesn't decrease when there is a recession - it gets greater. Globall, regionally, nationally and locally the planet and more people will need defending though campaigning than in 2008 Your going to need to defend against government budget cuts, donation declines and a decline in attention to environmental and social issues.

Conclusion: campaigning will be more critcal than ever.

How Can I (and others like me) Help?

I set-up FairSay to help more organisations have access to my e-campaigning skills, knowledge and networks than I could working inside any one campaigning organisation. I've identified critical gaps in e-campaigning and organised FairSay's services to help you ge the most out of e-campaigning and minimise the risk. That should be even more valuable in a recession as you don't have time to waste time and money doing things that don't work.

However now that I am outside the day-to-day operations of any campaigning organisation (I used to be in Oxfam GB), I don't know if what I can provide is what you want/need. If I am to help you succeed, you need to tell me what you need.

Next Steps...

Here's how we can prepare for 2009:

  1. Comment below as to what types of things you think you'll need in 2009
  2. I'll compile those into a number of key options
  3. I'll launch a poll to help gauge opinion on what is the most/least important
  4. Everyone will be able to view the results - so we'll all learn from it
by Duane Raymond — published Dec 17, 2008,
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Graham
Graham

Hi Duane

Perhaps stating the obvious here, but I guess online fundraising will be a high priority during '09. I completely agree with your point about the need for more campaigning when faced with tough economic times (I notice the BHA are already cutting staff, and I'm not sure they're cutting the right ones!)

For an org like Republic the focus is on major donors and large-scale small giving. Any e-techniques that improve our success rate through email and site visits would be useful. On that note we're fully re-designing our site at the moment, and that includes improvements aimed at making it easier for people to support us through donations/membership.

  • Dec 18, 2008 04:14 am
Ben Margolis
Ben Margolis

In 2009, I will be working with Oxfam and the Global Campaign for Climate Action to mobilise in a massive and ambitious way for a deal in Copenhagen. The financial crisis is a threat and opportunity for this. It is clear from Poznan that what we need is a sense of global public moral outrage at the failure of rich countries to make the necessary commitments on mitigation and adaptation. One critical media for this will be to generate the sort of buzz Obama did through e-campaigning and building a community of people who drive a sense of 'humanity being in this together' for the good of impoverished communities and future generations. Broad one I know but critical! Thanks.

  • Dec 18, 2008 06:10 am