In 2017, right at the very beginning of building Halt the Harm Network, our team ran an experiment. What if we could utilize a tool like Action Network to build a list of supporters and then ask that list of people to support a leader in the movement.
Leader Lisa Graves-Marcucci from Environmental Integrity Project had a proposed rule that EIP (and 18 other organizations) were petitioning the EPA for.
This rule would for the FIRST TIME require natural gas processing facilities to report the toxic chemicals they release into the environment if passed.
With Lisa’s leadership, we put together a quick and short call-to-action to all the 15,025 people who were subscribed to the network and shared this public comment opportunity.
Lisa worked with us to write and confirm the email. It was simple and quick, but it packed a punch (and just a few small typos) and pressed send. Off it went to our supporter list.
Monday morning when we checked in on the EPA site, the comment number had jumped from just five comments on Friday afternoon to 211 (and we know that 1,186 people clicked on the link in the email).
The experiment was successful, and it showed that HHN had something unique to offer. It could be a platform for leaders like Lisa (and you) to spread actions farther and reach more people.
It also meant that we (our small operations team) could help facilitate the comms process by setting up the Action Network emails, managing the list, and maintaining trust with supporters.
Today there are 22,000 people on the supporter list, and an even more engaged list of leaders that’s over 5,000 people from around the country. We’ve refined the process and turned it into a Digital Campaigner Fellowship. Now we can combine training in professional email action writing with a service for leaders.
You can find this service in the Services Lab, and you can contact our team today to discuss a potential campaign that you’d like to boost.
None of us have control over who gets to lead the EPA, but we can at least make sure the people within the EPA can hear us loud and clear.