Great Lakes Aquatic Habitat News

The Newsletter of Freshwater Future

The Great Lakes Aquatic Habitat News is the newsletter of Freshwater Future, published four times per year. The News is intended to provide a forum for the free exchange of ideas among citizens and organizations working to protect aquatic habitats in the Great Lakes Basin.

Volume 16, Number 2 • Summer 2008

Freshwater Future's Help is Only a Phone Call or Email Away

Is your project or issue? Do you feel overwhelmed or unsure of the best next step? Are your communications falling flat? Sometimes all it takes is an outside ear and objective help. Freshwater Future staff can provide that outside assistance with the added benefit of an understanding of what it takes to make a project successful. Our staff is available for a very reasonable cost to help your group get organized, clear up your message, and find ways to reenergize and work together.

After working with grassroots groups for over 12 years, we have learned some of the key ingredients that are shared by successful efforts. One of the biggest key's to success is asking for help and assistance.

"If we could have had Freshwater Future staff help us with campaign organizing in the beginning we would have saved much time and better anticipated future hurdles." Mary Jo Cullen formerly with Citizens Concerned for Michipicoten Bay shared.

Freshwater Future staff can help with organizational development needs such as:

  • Forming a new organization
  • Planning for the future
  • Building a budget
  • Building a sustainable fundraising plan
  • Deciding when an organization is no longer needed and how to dissolve
  • Developing a volunteer program

We also can offer a special workshop for your organization's leader to address programmatic needs such as campaign/project planning, restoration planning, keeping the work positive, and grassroots the entrepreneurial way. In an effort to reduce our carbon footprint, Freshwater Future uses the latest technology such as web and teleconferences, but good old fashioned face to face visits would work too.

Visit our website for more detail on specific programs we offer. Or please just give us a call we can talk with you to determine if our services are the best fit for your organization at this time or direct to others to keep your effort moving forward.

Disclaimer: The interpretations and conclusions presented in this newsletter represent the opinions of the individual authors. They in no way represent the views of the Tip of the Mitt Watershed Council, the C.S. Mott Foundation, subscribers, donors, or any organization mentioned in this publication.

Freshwater Future builds effective community-based citizen action to protect and restore the water quality of the Great Lakes basin. We work toward this goal by providing financial assistance, communications and networking assistance and technical assistance to citizens and grassroots watershed groups throughout the Great Lakes basin. Through these efforts we work with over 1,800 grassroots watershed groups and citizens to protect and restore the rivers, lakes and wetlands in their communities. Freshwater Future is a non-profit, tax-exempt organization.

For more information, please contact:

info@freshwaterfuture.org
P.O. Box 2479,
Petoskey, MI 49770
PH (231) 348-8200;