A newsletter from Biodiversity Project Fall 2012
PUBLI C OPINI ON & COMMUNICATIONS N EWS
Look Into My Eyes Choosing the right photos can strengthen your message. The wrong photos can dilute it.
hen Biodiversity Project plans communications pieces for environmental campaigns, we use a holistic approach. We consider the audience’s values and the campaign’s goals. We carefully select formats and words to clearly and concisely convey our desired meaning. And we take as much time to strategically choose photos as we do choosing the words. Including photos in a promotional piece, educational brochure, website or article, emphasizes your carefully-created message and provides an at-a-glance reminder of your mission to readers. More than any other part of your printed or electronic media, a photo magnifies your voice. In other words, words matter, but sometimes photos matter more. To prove our photo philosophy, we tested two beautiful photos alongside the same environmental message. The message is part of a fundraising appeal letter used by a land trust. The goal of the piece is to convince readers to donate money to the organization using the enclosed envelope. We asked focus groups to comment on the images, answering specific questions: • Does the image grab your attention? • Does the image connect you to the issue? • Does the image make you feel like you can make a difference? Without question, Version A, which features two boys with fishing nets in a wetland, was the favorite photo among the focus groups. While both photos are pretty and show nature, only Version A conveyed how their actions could make a difference. Sixty-six percent of focus group respondents agreed that Version A showed how actions could make a difference, compared with only 33% for Version B. Some participants provided these telling comments about Version A: “The images drew me in. I imagined life without lands like this and the negative impact that has on people.” “The pictures were great, and brought me back to a time and place when I was young and carefree. I am assuming that the picture was showing me what it would look like if I donated money.” Compare those comments to these about Version B, the photo of a native bird in a person’s hand:
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A Photos matter. Biodiversity Project tested these two beautiful nature photos with focus groups to see which would have created a more effective fundraising appeal. Results reveal that choosing photos is just as important as choosing words.
“It grabs your attention, but doesn’t really explain what the issue is. It is a nice picture, but doesn’t really show me it will make a difference. It seems more as a picture to try to make you feel guilty enough to pledge.” “The image does get my attention, but doesn’t really touch on what the organization will do with my money.” To convince readers to take action, we need more than just a pretty picture. We must use images that emphasize the readers’ connection to the cause—images that help readers see themselves in the story and as beneficiaries of the organization. This organization’s fundraising appeal was well-written, beautifully designed and probably effective for segments of their audience who already believe in their organization’s mission. But, switching the bird photo for an image of people enjoying nature could have been a much more powerful tool for reaching new, unconvinced audiences. It could have magnified the words and brought the message home in an entirely new way.
From the BOARD CHAIR
Dear Friends,
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onths and years tick by quickly and it’s easy to forget to stop and recognize our hard work, successes and—well—areas where we could have done better. Plus we need to squeeze in time to contemplate and plan for the future. It’s all daunting, but in the end we do it, because we care and are invested in our work.
Gary Wilson
I’m pleased to report that in 2011 Biodiversity Project experienced all of those highs and lows and emerged excited about our work and accomplishments. Here’s what I mean. In our core program work we expanded our reach nationally by working on new projects that were successfully implemented in Ohio and Virginia. This was a big accomplishment for a small, but dynamic organization. Of course we maintained and even enhanced our programs in Illinois, Wisconsin and the 10 states along the Mississippi River.
Through all of this our balance sheet remained stable and viable. We invested in staff expertise and additions because that’s what it takes to meet the requirements of our clients. We also made tough decisions to not spend money in a few discretionary areas in order to keep our balance sheet strong. And of course we know there are areas where we can improve and they’re on our radar. I’m pleased to report that 2011 was a year of challenge, success and great energy for Biodiversity Project. On behalf of the board of directors I wish to thank: • our staff for their hard work and dedication. • our clients for their confidence in our ability to serve their needs. • and especially the foundations who have believed in and supported our work over the years. To all, your support is appreciated beyond what I can express in this brief memo. Gary Wilson Board Chair, Biodiversity Project
We added staff to the team bringing in a manager for our critical Mississippi River work. This addition not only increased management strength, but also made time for the executive director to focus on long term issues, a luxury for a small nonprofit. At the board level we added a social marketing executive to help us develop a new client outreach strategy, an area where staff can rarely devote the requisite time.
Thanks to our clients, funders and donors, in 2011, Biodiversity Project’s work reached from the Rock River basin in Wisconsin to the backwaters of the Mississippi River, and many places in between.
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Biodiversity Project Connections
Biodiversity Project 2011 Figures excerpted from 2011 Audited Financial Statements. These statements and our IRS 990 form are available upon request.
Mississippi River
2011 Total Expenditures Percentages Program Costs: 89% Administration: 10% Fundraising: 1%
We Need Your Help. An Illicit Discharge by Any Other Name Illicit discharges: What are they? What does this term mean? Why should we care?
That is where the public comes in. We need to inspire residents and business owners to report things that look out of the ordinary or strange in our rivers and streams to the appropriate authorities.
USEPA defines an illicit discharge as:
We need the public’s help, but municipalities often don’t have the right words or tools to inspire their help. Clearly, the legal terminology listed above does not seem to resonate with people outside of the permitting office. That’s why the Rock River Stormwater Group, a coalition of 16 cities, towns and organizations dedicated to improving our communities by keeping local waterways clean, pooled regional resources to hire Biodiversity Project to find those right words.
any discharge to the municipal separate storm sewer system that is not composed entirely of storm water, except for discharges allowed under a NPDES permit or waters used for firefighting operations. These nonstormwater discharges occur due to illegal connections to the storm drain system from business or commercial establishments. As a result of these illicit connections, contaminated wastewater enters into storm drains or directly into local waters before receiving treatment from a wastewater treatment plant. Illicit connections may be intentional or may be unknown to the business owner and often are due to the connection of floor drains to the storm sewer system.
After reading the government’s definition above, let us know what you think that means. Give us one or two words besides “illicit discharge” that convey the definition properly
Try explaining that to local restaurant owners or homeowners. The typical response would probably be, “Huh?”
or better describe the IDDE program. By renaming the problem, we can
Biodiversity Project works with the Rock River Stormwater Group, a coalition of municipalities with National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System permits that are required to develop a program for detecting and eliminating illicit discharges (called an IDDE program) within their communities. A successful IDDE program relies not only on the expertise of certain municipal staff, but also on the watchful eyes of community members. While routine maintenance and inspection plans are very important and helpful, they are not 100% foolproof for preventing illicit discharges.
business owners to play their important role in protecting our waters.
create effective communications materials that will inspire local home and
Visit www.biodiversityproject.org/recent-news to enter your suggestions.
A successful IDDE program relies not only on the expertise of certain municipal staff, but also on the watchful eyes of community members. Biodiversity Project Connections
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Supporting a Nontraditional Nonprofit No single person or organization can change the world on their own. It takes an informed and engaged public to get things done.
Our unique mission makes us a nontraditional nonprofit organization. While we rely heavily on grants from large foundations like the McKnight Foundation and the Walton Family Foundation and for the peer organizations that hire us to help with their communications needs, we still depend on individual supporters to help cover the extra services we provide for free or at discounted rates to other nonprofits.
tional messages and materials. We use values-based communications and social marketing tools to move people toward lasting behavior changes. We do this through:
That’s where we come in. Biodiversity Project helps nonprofit organizations, coalitions and government agencies understand and consider the needs and values of their audiences in order to create compelling and motiva-
researching, designing, implementing and evaluating communication and education strategies that connect personal values to environmental causes helping other groups reach their own communications goals through workshops, trainings and consulting hours.
Thank you to all of our 2011 supporters! Anheuser Busch Grand Victoria Foundation Integris Consulting Group McKnight Foundation TJS Design Inc. Walton Family Foundation
Client Partners
Individuals
Alliance for the Great Lakes Arlington Master Naturalists and Tree Stewards of Arlington ComEd Chicago Wilderness City of Dublin, Ohio Hanson Material Service Illinois Department of Natural Resources Kettle Morain Land Trust Midwest Generation National Parks Conservation Association Rock River Stormwater Group
Paul Angermeier Jane Balaban Nan and Alan Buckardt Sharon Dunwoody John Falk and Lynn Dierking Marian Farrior Conrad and Carol Fialkowski Julie Hodgson and Chris Yamaya Kelly Novak Theodore Odell Chris and Nan Parson Sara Race*
Biodiversity Project
Jennifer Browning Executive Director jbrowning@biodiverse.org Rebeca Bell Communications Manager rbell@biodiverse.org
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Biodiversity Project Connections is published by Biodiversity Project. Inquiries should be sent to project@ biodiverse.org.
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Protect Your Local Endangered Species
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*Board Member
Chair: Gary Wilson Grimard Wilson Consulting, Inc. Oak Park, IL
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Diana Reid Rey Phillips Santos* John Sentell* Joan Straumanis Mary Evelyn Tucker Lawrence Williams and Patricia Pride Gary Wilson*
Board
www.biodiversityproject.org
Bio
Communications to INSPIRE Environmental ACTION
4507 N. Ravenswood, Suite 106 Chicago, IL 60640 773-754-8900
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Foundations & Businesses
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Laura Brown Amy Sauer Office Manager Mississippi River Program lbrown@biodiverse.org Manager asauer@biodiverse.org Megan Kelly Program Manager Annette Gomberg mkelly@biodiverse.org 1 Mississippi Outreach Coordinator agomberg@biodiverse.org
Vice Chair: Sara Race Commonwealth Edison Evanston, IL Todd Cywinski Imagination Publishing Chicago, IL Rey Phillips Santos City of Chicago, Department of Law Chicago, IL John Sentell Lake Forest Open Lands Association Lake County, IL