Holiday 2010
Tuesday, November 23rd, 2010
Courage is not the towering oak that sees storms come and go; it is the fragile blossom that opens in the snow. ~ ALICE M. SWAIM
Dear friends,
You’ve probably heard us talking up the release of our new book, Re:Imagining Change – How to Use Story-Based Strategies to Win Campaigns, Build Movements, and Change the World. We’re pretty psyched about the response we’re getting…
After the BP oil disaster (and subsequent PR blitz), our email box lit up with requests from the Gulf Coast to ship books to Louisiana for an organizers meeting.
As the nation’s attention turned to the racist anti-immigrant legislation in Arizona, we were boxing up books for activists offering training on the front lines in Phoenix.
After our book launch in New York City, one activist was so inspired he brought his new copy to a local environmental organizing meeting, but someone else got there first, and was already holding up a copy of the book, imploring the group to read it and firing off ideas for how they could use it to take effective action.
This is why we wrote Re:Imagining Change, and this is why we need your contribution this season.
In fact, we’ve already sold out of the first printing of the book, published by PM Press in April. With your support, smartMeme’s vision of spreading tools and inspiration for grassroots action is coming to fruition. We’ve been coast-to-coast offering training and collaborating with like-minded groups to build a stronger progressive narrative and develop media strategy across our movements.
Nevertheless, it is a dangerous and distracting time. We all know that the Tea Party doesn’t really represent the views of very many people, but they have something even more powerful than all that corporate cash — they have a powerful story! The right wing has hijacked populist anger at Wall Street bankers and is using it to sell the same old fear-mongering, race-baiting ideology.
So how can we tell a better story of ecological justice, community transformation, reconciliation and reform?
That’s why we founded smartMeme. Powerful storytelling is the rocket fuel of movement building. Grassroots activists need the skills to not only tell their stories but also to challenge the existing stories of fear, domination and greed. We’ve trained nearly 4,000 grassroots activists and partnered with over 100 organizations fighting for peace, social justice and the environment to design story-based strategies and win framing fights that matter. But the fight is far from over.
Your donation can write the next chapter of story-based strategy.
SmartMeme is offering ideas and innovation for 21st century social change, and building stronger movements that can tell smarter stories. We do it for cents on the dollar of the corporate PR machines we fight with the generous contributions from our community of donors like you. With foundation support waning in the wake of the recession, we need your contribution now more than ever.
As you read this, we’re working on the front lines of the movement for climate justice, helping amplify the voices of grassroots leaders at the COP 16 talks in Cancun, Mexico and continuing to build momentum for the rights of Mother Earth.
With your support, we will convene the first ever “smartMeme Academy” in 2011 – an intensive training for a new generation of leaders who can carry smartMeme’s story-based strategy tools for framing back to the communities and movements who need it most.
Our goal is to raise $20,000 this holiday season. Will you chip in $500, $250, $100 or $50? Whatever amount you can give will directly support critical campaigns, training grassroots leaders, and wide-scale distribution of Re:Imagining Change. Your donation is an essential contribution to build the movement for ecological justice and progressive social change.
The demand for smartMeme’s tools and training is growing everyday: building the grassroots climate movement, fighting for migrant’s rights, challenging corporate dominance and supporting community resilience. Our modest operations can hardly keep pace with the demand for what we do. Only with your support can smartMeme continue to be a one-of-a-kind resource for progressive change makers.
Please, make a generous gift today to support smartMeme’s important mission, and change the story for a better future.
Thank you.
Onward,
Doyle Canning & Patrick Reinsborough, smartMeme Co-Directors
PS: Still haven’t got your copy of Re:Imagining Change? A holiday contribution of $50 or more gets you two signed copies: a gift for you, and one to give away!
SmartMeme does not get funding from corporations, the government, or even large foundations. Because of the financial crisis, our already limited family-foundation funding has been cut by 60%. SmartMeme –along with the nation—is facing tough economic times. We are optimistic, totally committed, and ready to seize the promise of progressive change. But we must do it together, as a community.