Most of the funds citizens raise to protect neighborhoods and the environment from development impacts comes from those directly affected by the project, not foundations or other institutions.  CEDS has perfected a quick, highly effective approach for raising the funds essential to preserving quality of life. 

How quick? 

How effective? 

How does $3,000 to $30,000 in one night sound? 

And the approach costs almost nothing, which means that all the proceeds go to neighborhood and environmental defense.  Plus, the fundraiser can take place within three- to four-weeks of  when you make the decision to create a quality of life defense fund.

The approach is built around a community meeting.  The meeting has a 45-minute agenda with five topics:

1. How the project may affect those attending the meeting;

2. Your strategy for preventing project impacts;

3. Why the strategy has a good chance of succeeding;

4. How much it will cost to carry out the strategy; and

5. How much you need each meeting attendee to contribute so you can preserve their quality of life.

You control the meeting.  The applicant, government officials, and others only get a place on the agenda if you chose to grant it, though usually it's best no to.

The folks invited to the meeting are all those potentially impacted by the project, which includes nearby residents as well as:

• those who drive roads that may become more congested because of the project;

• parents of children who attend schools that may become overcrowded because of the project;

• those whose viewshed or night-sky view would be affected;

• downstream residents who may be harmed by floodwaters or water quality impacts;

• those who cherish the forests and other natural resources threatened by the project; and

• those affected by a long list of other potential impacts.

The community meeting can be designed for a dozen attendees in your living room on up to 500 in a fire hall or school auditorium.  We've found a flyer to be the best way of getting the word out about the meeting with a follow-up phone call to those most directly impacted by a project.  A sample flyer and other community meeting materials can be found on our publications webpage. 

The cheapest and quickest way to distribute the flyer is usually to have a couple of volunteers handing them out at a traffic light during morning rush-hour.  If you pick the right light then you reach most of the impact-zone residents in a single two-hour period.  Of course, verify that this is legal in your area and volunteers must follow safety precautions.

Detailed advice on how to organize and conduct a community meeting can be found in Chapter 36: Mobilizing Support For Your Strategy, of our free book How To Win Land Development Issues. 

CEDS offers a service called an Initial Strategy Analysis.  A part of the analysis includes providing our clients with the support needed to conduct a fundraiser-community meeting.  For further detail on this service click the following webpage title: Strategy Analysis.

For further fundraising assistance contact CEDS at 1-800-773-4571 or Help@ceds.org.  Our advice is always available free to citizen advocates by phone.