Storm Fighter Tool Kit
Resources for the Taking
How to Protect Preservation Programs in Your State Budget
Given the serious budget shortfalls in most states, many historic preservation programs are in jeopardy. The National Trust’s Department of Public Policy offers the following tips for protecting the programs in your state.
Working with an Advocacy Coalition
Working with a coalition can greatly increase the chance of getting a preservation policy adopted or passed by a governmental body. Coalitions can also have a positive impact when organized for defensive reasons (e.g., protecting a historic site or an existing preservation policy).
Planning an Advocacy Campaign
To many people, the word “campaign” usually conjures up images of political debates and elections with enormous media attention. What some people do not realize is that campaigns are strong advocacy tools that can be used by anyone to advance or oppose a cause or idea.
Media Communications for Advocacy Campaigns
An advocacy campaign benefits greatly from a well-run media outreach program. A media campaign represents an organization’s single best opportunity to be in touch with its intended audience. Communicating through the media can be an excellent—and low-cost—advocacy tool.
Developing a Grassroots Network
Grassroots advocacy is collective citizen action to influence decision makers. Its goal is to activate a broad group of people to take action on an issue and to give those people the tools to communicate to their elected officials effectively.
Communicating with Elected Officials
Communicating with elected officials is a key component of any advocacy endeavor. And just as it is your responsibility as a citizen to exercise your right to vote, it is just as important to communicate with officials once they take office. Also, check out our governor sample letter.
Share with Us
Pen a good letter to the editor or op-ed lately? Have good examples of outreach to local and state officials under your belt? From tip sheets and leave-behinds to sample letters and testimony, we want you to share your resources with us and the preservation community at large. Attach your files and a brief explanation of each, and send them to policy@nthp.org. We'll include them in a special section on this page so others can see (and learn from) your great work.
Or, if you just have a few minutes on your hands, consider leaving a quick comment below with your advocacy tips, success stories and/or words of encouragement.
Submitted by William Honachefsky Jr at: May 24, 2009
The public awareness campaign initiated by Union Forge Heritage Association produced hundreds of letters, emails and other correspondence from across the United States in support of saving this iconic historic structure. This effort also spurred several proposals for adaptive use of Lake Solitude Dam for hydroelectric power. Currently the Borough of High Bridge is in contractual negotiations and is in process of obtaining the necessary permits from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.
Submitted by William Honachefsky Jr at: May 24, 2009
Here in New Jersey, Union Forge Heritage Association launched a grassroots effort to Save Lake Solitude Dam. The Dam is last known remaining New Jersey example of an I-beam dam, Lake Solitude Dam, built in 1909 by master engineer Frank S. Tainter, to provide hydro-electric power for the Taylor-Wharton Iron and Steel Company, a prominent munitions manufacturer whose history spans from the American Revolutionary War through the Korean War. The dam holds significance for its civil engineering design and for the role that it played in permitting Taylor-Wharton ironworks, downstream, to expand. Both the dam and 35-acre Lake Solitude, created by the dam, are eligible for listing in the New Jersey and National Registers of Historic Places individually as well as part of a possible larger industrial historic district and the Taylor Iron Workers Historical Greenway connecting Columbia Trail to the Amesbury Furnace.