@bethgranter CampaigneR

THE WORLD’S LARGEST ONLINE COMMUNITY OF PEOPLE, BRANDS, AND CHARITIES COMING TOGETHER FOR THE GREATER GOOD.

Using advocacy, community and engagement to find new supporters and donor leads

The power of the petition

How petitions saved a domestic abuse helpline from closure, and

drove MPs into action against badger culling.

•  Save Broken Rainbow - LGBT Domestic Violence Helpline

•  Stop the killing of badger cubs in the UK!

•  Urge Solihull Council not to close Fat Fluffs Rabbit Rescue

•  Urgent: Tell MPs to Protect Access to Abortion

Why a petition? Petition goals

Petitions can help to achieve more than a single objective:

•  Pressure a target by showing public support for an issue

•  Increase chances of media coverage for an issue, which amplifies

progress in all the other objectives

•  Raise public awareness of an issue

•  Raise public awareness of a solution

•  Increase your brand awareness

•  Improve your brand identity

•  Engage new and existing supporters

•  Generate new warm contacts to convert into donors

How to write an effective petition

An effective petition will have a strong call to action – asking people

to do something and explaining why they should do it.

An effective call to action has:

A verb.

An expected outcome.

A theory of change.

A sense of urgency.

Reader-centered language.

How to write an effective petition

A verb. E.g. Tell MPs to protect access to abortion An expected outcome. E.g. Save Broken Rainbow-LGBT domestic violence helpline A theory of change. I.e. “if this, then that”. E.g. If enough people sign, we will show the Home Office that this service needs funding and must continue. A sense of urgency. E.g. MPs are voting on the amendment next week. Sign now to tell them why they should vote against it. Reader-centered language. E.g. You deserve the truth about the food you eat. Demand Sainsbury’s properly label its meat.

Petition launch and promotion

Once the petition is launched the following steps

will help it gain signatures:

•  Email to existing supporters

•  Publish on your Facebook and Twitter

•  Directly ask influential advocates to sign and

RT on Twitter

•  Email bloggers you have relationships with (get

some!) and ask them to blog about the petition

•  Press release once a good number of signatures

achieved, including delivery plan

Petition delivery

•  Private meeting with delivery target

•  Public meeting/rally outside delivery

target office

•  Email to target with selected comments

from signers and signature PDF file

•  Email blast with each signature creating a

separate email sent to target

Work with on-the-ground activists on a petition delivery plan:

Supporter conversion to donor

•  Have a long-term conversion strategy

•  Multi-channel welcome series: email, telephone, DM.

•  ROI may take 3 to 6 months

•  CIWF: 50% of supporters made first donation 12+ months after joining

the list

•  Supporters may make first donation 3 years after joining your list

•  Supporters recruited via Care2 petitions make long-term committed,

multiple-action-taking members.

Beth granter campaigner Email: bethg@care2team.com Twitter: @bethgranter

THANK YOU