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Clean Air-Cool Planet is the Northeast's leading nonprofit organization dedicated to finding and promoting solutions to global warming.
  Outreach Audiences  |
ALUMNI College and university alumni and development offices across the country have discovered an enormous alumni interest in green campus initiatives. Projects range from tours of renewable energy installations during Reunion Weekends to alumni giving specifically for green building initiatives. Read about more examples below: Alumni clubs are typically based on geographic proximity; members come from a particular city, a region in a state, an entire state, or entire countries. Activities may include book club readings, social or speaker events, community service, casual gatherings at a local cafe or bar, cultural events, and other activities. Many colleges and university alumni clubs have hosted sustainability or green events, everything from home owner workshops to faculty lectures on renewable energy. In addition to geographic clubs, some schools have alumni clubs organized around interest. Many Alumni Associations have begun to sponsor Sustainability clubs. Example 1:
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Many schools have sparked alumni interest in green campus efforts with articles in the Alumni Magazine. These articles have also worked to cultivate alumni giving and donor support for green campus efforts and renewable energy installations. Example 1: Click image for example. Example 2: Click image for example. 3. Alumni Trips Travelling with the Alumni Association: Many schools offer educational travel programs for their Alumni. Many travel companies, like National Geographic, have begun to offer trips centered around climate change and sustainability. Perhaps association educational travel will soon be planned around these issues, and feature faculty research in the low-carbon future. 4. Annual Report The college’s annual report is perhaps its most important public document, and it is the primary means for communicating with a number of community stakeholders – alumni included. Many schools have recently begun to report on sustainability efforts and renewable energy installations in these public documents. Example 1: Worcester State College Annual Report (2007)
5. Athletic Events and Homecoming Recently, many colleges and universities have tackled the challenge of greening athletic events, homecoming, and reunion recognizing the huge communications opportunity of such large events. Example 1: Game Day Recycling The University of Notre Dame (IN) has launched 'Game Day Recycling,' a new program designed to make recycling easier for the ND tailgating crowd. As part of the program, students pass out recycling bag in each of the tailgating lots at every game; additional bags are made available at recycling stations placed on lampposts; and recycling bins are available across campus and in the stadium. Additionally, all recyclables go in the same bin. The new program was launched after a successful pilot program during last year's football season. Find out more information at http://enlighten.nd.edu/notre-dame-and-energy. Example 2: “Get Your Green On” Homecoming at Ohio University Ohio University made a conscious effort to minimize the ecological footprint of all aspects of Homecoming - including the parade, sporting events, and tailgating. The campus community was reminded of the effort with OU’s homecoming logo. Find out more at:http://www.facilities.ohiou.edu
6. Bookstore The campus bookstore can be a great place to tell Alumni your green campus story. Many campuses have found the bookstore an important place to inform students, too.
7. National Press and Surveys The list of surveys and national magazines covering and ranking college and university sustainability grows by the day. Those undertaken by the Sustainable Endowments Institute and the National Wildlife Federation get a great deal of attention, but so do many others. To stay up to date on surveys and national press stories on sustainability, check out the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability’s 2007 Digest. In it, the section “Sustainability in the Media” has a compendium of the biggest articles and surveys of the year. Find it on-line at: http://www.aashe.org/publications/digest.php The research for sustainability features often begins where you or I would – with a Google™ search. Issuing frequent press releases and updating your website with your green intiatives, renewable energy courses, and sustainability events is a great way to increase your national green exposure. 8. On-site Information and Brochures Alumni frequently visit campus and those campus visits are a key part of building alumni involvement and giving. Take advantage of the exposure your projects have by being promoted within the campus itself. Many campuses have found that informational posters in "green" buildings call attention to features that are often invisible, or difficult to visit. Posters and brochures about general sustainable or renewable initiatives are also important. Check out the examples below from UMASS Lowell, Cape Cod Community College, and Massasoit Community college, or click here to use our poster and brochure templates. Example 1: Sustainable Energy Lighting Measure from UMASS Lowell
Example 2: Massasoit’s “Able” Poster Campaign
Example 3: Cape Cod Community College’s
Renewable Energy course brochure
9. Press Coverage Issuing press releases is an important part of keeping alumni informed of your green initiatives. Example 1: STCC connects with local alumni through frequent coverage in local papers. Click here to see a recent article about STCC’s renewable energy course offerings. (pdf: The Reminder) Example 2: Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts released this press release when its PV array went on line: http://www.mcla.mass.edu/Publications 10. Website Information and links on the college’s home page is a great way to inform alumni about campus greening and renewable energy efforts. Both Cape Cod Community College and Greenfield Community College have made explicit links to green efforts on their websites. Example 1: Greenfield Community College
Example 2: Cape Cod Community College Tell Us Your Outreach Story! |
