Tips for Starting a Local Gifted Advocacy Group
Successful Meetings and Events Newsletters
Networking and Communications Fundraising Contact AAGT Affiliate Liaison
Successful Meetings and Events
To attract the most people to your meetings and events, consider doing the following:
► Publicize meetings and events in local newspapers, flyers, group emails and newsletters, and/or notices sent home with students.
► Have a speaker on a topic connected with giftedness or how to support giftedness. You can also arrange for a panel of speakers to address a specific topic, such as local teachers or administrators, psychologists, or other professionals who work with gifted and talented. The AAGT Board of Directors is also available to assist your organization with locating and arranging guest speakers, and may be available as speakers themselves as well.
► Hold workshops to educate your members. Consider topics such as parent education and involvement
Networking and Communications
Nearly all AAGT affiliates have newsletters, particularly via email, for members. Newsletters allow affiliates to provide members with important information about meetings and events and other local programming for gifted and talented, and to relay information provided by AAGT that is useful for the organization and its members to stay connected to Arizona's gifted community.
Newsletters
Here are some recommendations to consider for successful newsletters:
► Include special features such as special recognition of local individuals, book reviews and recommendations on the subject of giftedness, spotlights on local programs and services for the gifted and talented, upcoming conferences, events, competitions, etc.
► For communities in which printed newsletters rather than email are preferred, consider seeking assistance from school districts, local printers, and businesses to help fund printing and mailing costs. When you have non-profit status (i.e., a tax ID number for non-profit organizations) you may apply for a bulk rate mailing permit through your local branch of the U.S. Postal Service.
► Keep newsletters short, one or two pages at the most, and be sure to include contact information for your officers.
► Try to include as many important "players" in your community on your newsletter mailing list, such as school district governing board members, administrators, gifted teachers, counselors, and psychologists. The goal is to educate and inform your local community about the needs and opportunities for the gifted and talented.
It is also useful and prudent to communicate regularly with local school district officials, such as the governing board, the superintendent and other administrators, and teachers. Attend meetings, get involved, demonstrate that your organization is interested in being a "team player".
Fundraising
As organizations mature, they inevitably consider fundraising. Funds are essential for gifted classroom supplies, training of teachers and counselors, scholarships for gifted students to attend gifted-related events or summer camps, etc.
Some affiliates have been successful with the following fundraising tactics: holding silent auctions, used book sales, game booths at school carnivals, selling food at events, hosting workshops for parents or students, sponsoring theatre trips, hosting speaking events with state experts or nationally-recognized experts in the field of gifted and talented. You may also consider seeking corporate donations from local businesses. Businesses should be asked to donate precise amounts for specific purposes. Requests for internships, field trips, classroom materials that are not funded by the local school district are appropriate appeals to make. A business needs to know that it is providing funding for specific items that the regular school taxes cannot cover. Remember that personal access to key business decision-makers is what will be successful. Also remember to describe to businesses the return on their investment; business leaders want to see some future benefit for their interests, besides a tax break, resulting from their donation. They will be glad to know that they are investing in the children who will be the future leaders, idea-people, and creative problem-solvers of business.
AAGT does not advise selling door-to-door, especially if the sellers are children. AAGT recommends checking with your local school district at an early stage to see if a desired fundraiser is permissible.
Contact the AAGT Affiliate Liaison
For more information or for answers to your specific organizational questions, please contact the AAGT Affiliate Liaison at AAGT Affiliate Liaison Information
