Hello!

Welcome to GMT's monthly e-newsletter for July! We hope you have had a great spring and have plans for an enjoyable summer.

We are sending out this e-newsletter on the first Monday of every month to share feature announcements, membership tips, links to recent articles from environmental reporters, new members and other helpful resources.

You are receiving this as your organization is a member of Green Media Toolshed and you are currently a registered GMT user. Should you wish to opt out of this monthly communication, please see the instructions in section 8 below.

In this issue you will find:
1. Member Connections.
2. Buzz from the Beat.
3. Link(s) of the Month.
4. Community Coverage.
5. GMT's Newest Members.
6. Be in the Know: Why You Need GMT's Tools.
7. Support options.
8. Opt out instructions.

1. Member Connections: Capacity-building programs to consider...

# The Environmental Support Center has several grant programs that help nonprofit environmental organizations meet the goals stated in their missions. These capacity building programs are geared towards local, state and regional groups. The Fundraising for Sustainable Organizations program helps organizations to expand and diversify their funding base. The Leadership and Enhanced Assistance Program is a two year program that helps groups reach important, internal goals through support and training. For all of the programs, make sure to check ESC's website to verify that your organization meets the eligibility requirements.
# The Institute for Conservation Leadership also has several programs that help organizations with capacity building. One of these is Leading From Within. This five month program starts in November and focuses on helping participants to strengthen their leadership skills so they can have a greater impact inside and outside of their organization. Check out the ICL website for eligibility requirements and information on other programs, such as their Complete Fundraiser Program, which is for groups located in the Mid-Atlantic, along the Mississippi River, and the Dakotas.
# MapLight.org, one of GMT's newer members, is a comprehensive site that allows you to search for and view campaign contributions and how legislators have voted. The site allows you to view information about different bills, legislators and interest groups. For example, within the Bills section, you can conduct a search by Environment, Agriculture and other subjects. If you want more information about the Gulf of Mexico Energy Security Act of 2006, you'd be able to find it here. Check out the site when you have a chance - Maplight.org is helping to make the connections between money and votes more transparent.

2. Buzz from the Beat: The return of the bald eagle...

David Fahrenthold wrote in the Washington Post recently about how the bald eagle should soon be removed from the federal government's list of endangered and threatened species. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has been preparing for this legal decision for months. Despite its removal from the list, the bald eagle will still be protected from being killed or wounded and its nests cannot be disturbed. "It's really one of the greatest conservation success stories in U.S. history," said Tony Iallonardo, a spokesman for the National Audubon Society. Officials say the number of bald eagles in the United States has rebounded from 417 breeding pairs in 1967 to 10,000 pairs today. This success is partly due to a ban on the use of the pesticide DDT. Now the bird can be found in all of the lower 48 states. Read the full story here.

3. Links of the month: Make cell phones a part of your communications toolkit...
# This month's skill-building training will focus on Mobile Advocacy and will happen on July 11th at 2pm EST. This month's guest trainer is Katrin Verclas, of < href="http://mobileactive.org/">MobileActive and NTEN. Katrin frequently blogs on the MobileActive site, with her latest post focusing on the new wiki called Share Ideas, which is designed to share ideas on how to use mobile phones for civil society. The training will focus on what mobile advocacy is and help attendees understand how their groups can use it in their work. MobileActive is a project of GMT and NTEN. Download one of the strategy guides on its website for information about how to make mobile phones a part of your organization's advocacy work. Space is limited so send an email to Yvonne if you wish to sign up for this training!
# E-Media Tidbits is a group blog on Pointer Online. The blog gives its readers insight into online media and journalism tips, tricks and trends. Recent posts have included tips for building a citizen media toolbox and recent skill-building guest trainer Amy Gahran's new community journalism project, the Boulder Carbon Tax Tracker. The blog is a great way to keep up with what's happening in the online media world. Readers can subscribe to it via email or RSS feed.
# Lifehack.org recently posted an article about how to gain Maximum Exposure for Your Business or Blog. The focus of the post is creating a complete press release strategy through targeting your audience. You'll find several tips for building a targeted list, along with other possible sites to check out for more tricks. GMT's Media Training section also has several helpful guides to help with your communications outreach, including tips on writing a press release.

4. Community Coverage: A Victory for the Tennessee Clean Water Act of 2007...

The Tennessee Clean Water Network (TCWN) recently sent out a release about how the Public Access Bill was unanimously passed by the Tennessee General Assembly in early June. The bill became effective on July 1st, so now "the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation will be required to post all enforcement activity on the internet." The Tennessean public will now be able to view online who is complying with clean water laws and who isn't. This bill is just one of 5 bills in the Tennessee Clean Water Act of 2007. The main purpose of this Act is to streamline the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation's enforcement process so that Tennessee?s waters are protected from harm.

Cortney Piper, TCWN's Communications Director, explained that the list she sent the press release to targeted all major media markets in Tennessee. What this means is the "5 major cities: Memphis, Nashville, Knoxville, Chattanooga and Kingsport and their 50 mile radius." After the release was sent out, she followed up with a pitch phone call to each major news paper.

The Shelby Times-Gazette was on of the papers to cover the story and Cortney felt they "did a great job with our message." You can read the article here. The Tennessean included TCWN's information in a bill round up that they complete at the conclusion of every Assembly session and The Chattanooga Times Free Press is currently working on a piece featuring TCWN.

Learn more about the Tennessee Clean Water Network.

Read the full press release here.

Read about issues GMT members are working or post your press release to the GMT News Feed.

Do you have a success story you'd like to share? Submit it to yvonne@greenmediatoolshed.org to be featured in our next e-newsletter.

5. GMT's Newest Members: Please welcome the following groups to the GMT network!

1. Conservation Trust of Florida is working to "protect the rural landscapes of Florida." They have two programs, the Farmlands Program and the Greenways Program, that help them carry out their goals of land conservation and stewardship.
2. East Coast Greenway Alliance is working to support the East Coast Greenway, "the nation's first long-distance urban trail system" that spans from Maine to Florida. Check out their site for more information on the trail and to see a map of it.
3. Honor the Earth is working to "create awareness and support for Native environmental issues." They are also working to develop resources for sustainable Native communities through the media, music, the arts and more.
4. Manitoga is working "to preserve the legacy of pioneer designer Russel Wright," including his home, which was designed to respect the earth. You can learn more about Wright here.

6. Be in the Know: Why You Need GMT Tools: Yep, reporters still receive faxes... here's how to send from the GMT media database...

The media database allows you to send your press releases via fax to a list of contacts. There are two important things to remember when faxing. The first is to remember to enter in your correct billing code. If you don't know your billing code for faxing, call Yvonne at 202-464-5357. The second thing to remember is that faxing is $0.13 a minute. If you have several users/groups who are faxing and you wish to be able track who is sending what, you can create additional codes and add these to the end of your organization?s billing code. If you have any questions about this, please give Yvonne a call or send her an email.

7. Support Options and Monthly FAQ: How do I give feedback about Green Media Toolshed?

GMT office hours are Monday through Friday, 9am to 5pm Eastern Standard Time.

For a full list of web browser requirements and support options for the media database, please visit this link.

For web tools or general GMT support, contact Yvonne Archer at 202-464-5357 or yvonne@greenmediatoolshed.org.

*FAQ of the month: How do I give feedback about GMT?

If you have feedback you'd like to give about GMT, the newest way is to call our new comment line. Simply dial 202-730-9468 and leave a message with your comments about GMT's tools, feedback on our trainings or overall opinion about GMT. We'd love to hear what you have to say! Your comment may then be posted on our website so that other members and site visitors can listen to what people have to say about Green Media Toolshed. And as always, your feedback helps us to improve the services we provide for members so we can continue building an effective environmental community.

8. Opt out or Submit feedback: Come on, ask me a question - or better yet, pay me a compliment!

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View past e-newsletters in our monthly e-newsletter archive section of the GMT Training Center.

Happy summer and have a great 4th of July!

Take care,
Yvonne

Yvonne Archer
Green Media Toolshed
(ph) 202-464-5357
yvonne@greenmediatoolshed.org