John J Zeugner
September 2007
Where is Everybody?
As the fairly new Chair, I tend to look at the Falls of the James Group from two main perspectives: its external issues and its internal issues. Externally, we should be dealing with our region's main environmental issues, and we do, to a limited extent. Why is it limited? Because its your Executive Committee (ExComm) doing almost all the group's work. We get good support from our SC employees and other partners in the Richmond region, but we lonely eight or nine ExComm members often wonder where everybody else in the group is? Keeping a low profile in right-wing neighborhoods? Too busy with kids? And where are the young folks? Too radical for a handful of graying greens? Our group contains 1,650 members, and we see two or three dozen...
What can we do to get you more involved? We moved our meetings to the Science Museum (upscale and centrally located); we arrange good programs, and we have fun and refreshments after -- but attendance ranges from one to three dozen. We've offered urban walks and shorter hikes, which seem to attract a lot, but that's the Group doing something for you, not you doing something for the Group. We need your involvement!
As for the internal issues, you may not know them as well. We, the ExComm, seem to spend too much time fundraising, and not enough time on activism and conservation issues. We have about $9,000 in annual expenses: we pay the Science Museum rent ($500); print and mail 5 newsletters ($1,200 each), maintain a great website $2,200 plus), and deal with environmental issues, proactively and as they arrive.
Our fundraisers are the Big Yard Sale in May, and the December event - usually an auction. The Yard Sale is a week of very hard work and then its done ($3,000 profit) - and special thanks to the die-hard crew of "Charlie's Army" loyalists! The Auction/ Holiday Celebration consumes several months, and is lots of work (soliciting donations) -- and our "return" is moderate ($3,000 profit). For the most part, 1,600 of you don't support it, so it's the usual two or three dozen, devoting time, energy, and money to keep the Group afloat. We receive $1 from SC national for each FOJG member, but that's not much "support".
So how can we be smarter about keeping the Group solvent, and devote more time for activism and less time for fundraising? The ideal solution is for some of you to become official "supporters" of the group, either by outright donations to our tax-deductible Foundation, helping to underwrite the newsletter, or buying space in it. Ten donors of $500, or any variation, would let us scale back the December event and do something different (see related article in this issue). Maybe you'll plan to come to some of the upcoming meetings, and get a little more involved - local elections in November, and the Clash of the Titans in '08.
Our next newsletter will have a questionnaire, which will give you an opportunity to provide feedback, and we'll have more information on sponsorships, the December Awards event, and elections business. Please feel free to call or e-mail me if you have ideas or concerns. JJZ 288-5005