News to Fellows & Affiliates 2015-12-16

Dear Fellows and Affiliates,

After receiving feedback from some of you that you would prefer an email over the Constant Contact newsletter, we will start following the Constant Contact newsletters with these emails to make sure we are reach everybody.  So, you can choose which format you prefer.  Note that you will receive both, but can choose which one you prefer to read.  These emails will have not have the images and graphic content of the newsletters.

  1. FOCUS ON CONSERVATION – We are more than halfway to our goal!! 

We are halfway through December and we are more than halfway to our goal of $30,000 in our year end campaign!!.  This is doable if everyone pitches in!!  Here are some ideas on how you can encourage folks to support us and make a contribution.

It is not too late to set up your own fundraising page on our Focus On Conservation page and the instructions to do so are below.  Or, if you don’t want to have this track to you individually, there are still many ways you can help!

In each case, use this short link as the proper URL: http://tinyurl.com/ilcpFOC15

  • Send out an email to Include a line in your email signature that says for example, “Make a charitable contribution to iLCP and support our important work!” and then hyperlink it to the URL above.
  • Post a message on your personal and professional Facebook pages asking your friends and fans to support iLCP because it is an organization that is important to you.
  • Include a request for support in Holiday emails you send out to your clients, family and friends.
  • Twitter a request for help, such as:  Join me and make a charitable gift to @iLCP this year and support our important work! http://tinyurl.com/ilcpFOC15
  • Don’t need another tie or knick knack for Christmas?  Ask your friends and family to make a gift to iLCP in your name instead!
  • Smile! Remind people in any of the above formats also that if they shop on Amazon this Holiday Season – or anytime in the year! – they should use shop from smile.amazon.com and designate iLCP.  Easy giving while they shop!
  • And of course, last but not least, set up a personal fundraising page on the FOC site by following the instructions below.
Instructions to Sign Up as A Champion
 
2) Click on the Sign Me Up! icon in the “Become an iLCP Champion” box, the last one down in the left hand column.
3) Follow the easy directions to setting up your own Fundraising page which takes no more  more than setting up your username and password, setting a fundraising goal, and customizing your page with your own text and conservation images (if you want).  It can be done in as little as 2 minutes!
4) The system comes with preset email invitations letters that you can edit, or you can just write your own.  Whatever works best for you! Just get emails out and let your friends, co-workers, fans, and family know that they can support you and iLCP by contributing to this effort.
Incentives
 
As before, we have incentives for donors and some for the Fellows especially to act as Champions.  Any amount you raise over $500 will go towards your 2016 Dues.  So, for example – if you are a Senior Fellow and your Dues are $300 – if you raise $600, $100 will go to your Dues and $500 to iLCP.  If you raise $850, $300 will go towards your Dues and $550 will go to iLCP.  It’s a win for you and for the organization!!
At the end of the campaign, we will also award $1,000 to the top fundraising international Fellow (must have raised at least $1,500) and $500 to the top US based Fellow towards your travel or lodging to attend WiLDSPEAK and our 2016 Annual Meeting in Washington DC next fall.

Of course, we also have incentives for the donors including cards, books, and prints – depending on their level of giving.  In addition, some Fellows are being creative in offering their own incentives, such as a portfolio review or perhaps an image to folks who give to iLCP in their name.  You can add such details to your customized note on your personal fundraising page.

So please participate and set your goal for any level you feel comfortable with.  Having everyone make an effort is the most important thing.  Showing your support of the organization in this way will not only demonstrate to everyone that it is the Fellows who are at the very core of what we do, but it will also show the staff that each of you sincerely value their work and efforts that they do each day on your behalf.
In short, not a single one of us can do this alone.  But together – we can have a huge impact.  This is the very idea that iLCP was founded on and is true not just for conservation projects, but also for the organization’s very existence.
2. NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC SEMINAR IN JANUARY 2016
Send us a quick note at info@ilcp.com if you will be attending the National Geographic Seminar in January 2016 and tell us what your dates in Washington DC will be.  It would be very helpful to know which of our Fellows will be in town during that week, so that we might plan some get together or meetings!
3. SOCIAL MEDIA AND COMMUNICATIONS COORDINATOR JOB POSTING
We have posted the job announcement on our website.  Please take the link below and forward it out to your networks or to individuals you think might be interested!  Here is the link: SM&C Coordinator Job Posting
4. WiLSPEAK 2016 DATES AND COMMITTEES
WiLDSPEAK 2015 is barely over but already we are starting to look ahead to 2016!

So mark these dates down now so your calendar stays open for it!

Monday, November 14 – Thursday, November 17, 2016
Professional Development Workshops for Fellows 11/14
Portfolio Reviews and Story Pitch Session 11/14
WiLDSPEAK 11/15 – 11/16
Annual Meeting and Fellows Meeting 11/17

If you have any interest in serving on the WiLDSPEAK 2016 Planning Committee, please send Alex an email to that effect at alexandra@Ilcp.com.

Separately, we are are also exploring the launch of a youth education & community outreach program that would culminate at the same time as WiLDSPEAK next November.  We hope this will become a model that can be replicated in other cities around the country and around the world!  If you are interested in helping us develop this effort, again, please email with Alex.

Both of these requests go out to Fellows and Affiliates, so let’s get some of you Affiliates engaged in these efforts!