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Wednesday, August 27, 2008

Who to Tap for Education Funding?

Does it seem like you’re always scrounging for money to promote your program or fighting to keep the money you have now? If so, you’re not alone. 
Lack of education funding is a huge problem for recycling programs across the country. It’s a vicious cycle, but one that we have to deal with. Successful programs get promoted, but programs have to be promoted to become successful in the first place! It’s frustrating, but don’t throw in the towel just yet. Successful programs are made with a little hard work and a lot of creativity. 
I use the terms promotion and education interchangeably. They are actually distinctly different but both require funding. I’ll leave it to someone else in a future blog to describe just how they differ, and how they fit together to market your program.
So, the question remains - How are you going to get the funds you need to educate the public and build your program?
The first step I would recommend is a trip to city hall. It is vitally important to befriend your community’s mayor or city administrator or at least be on friendly terms. I say this because they are probably the most valuable champions for your program and it is of the utmost importance that they understand the value that marketing brings to the program. Don’t forget to show some love to the city council too. They hold the purse strings in your community and have the ability to make or break your marketing budget.
For those of you who read Charlotte Pitt’s July 2008 blog (if you haven’t, I encourage you to do so!), I hope you caught her message about measurement and it’s importance. Charlotte stated that having the ability to measure your program’s effectiveness will help you defend the worthiness of your program - including the precious dollars that fund education. Having measurable results is the most effective way to prove that your recycling program, and the marketing you’re doing to promote it, are worth while.
Also, remember to keep the mayor and city council’s support staff in mind when communicating the success of your program and areas for improvement. Often times support staff can be very influential and easier to touch base with! Feed them with information all year long and don’t overwhelm them right before the budget is due. Remember that they are likely political appointees that want their boss to look good. 
Another aspect to keep in mind is whether your community’s mayor is a self-promoter. If he or she is – great! Let the mayor take center stage. As long as you are providing the mayor with key messages about your program he or she has the potential to be a very effective spokesperson. A word of caution—watch out for council member members that may try to upstage the mayor. Don’t get caught in the crossfire!
What about money that is free of political influence? It’s always important to have a funding source that doesn’t disappear when the city or county budget gets too tight. This excellent source of funding can actually be written into your collection or processing contract! There are many ways to ensure this money is written into the contract but the simplest way is to include a clause that requires funding of education initiatives in some way.
The educational funding that you include in the contract can come from different places. For example, the company hired to empty the downtown litter cans could be required to print advertising inserts for the litter cans that promote recycling.
Another great example is to require the garbage company you hire to install advertising frames on the sides of their trucks. Combined with really creative artwork, these truck banners act as a mobile billboard and can be a great way to promote your program throughout the community.
On a big contract, you may just want to ask for cold hard cash. For Omaha, our collection and recycling processing contracts have terms with reverse payments that pay for our entire education program excluding personnel. Annually that gives us $1.35 per household for education. The best part? Because it’s part of our contract, its money we can count on every year. 
Now everyone, I want you to practice the following phrase “Good morning Mayor, I have something fantastic to tell you about our recycling program...”
Paul Dunn is the Recycling Coordinator for the city of Omaha. He can be reached at pdunn@ci.omaha.ne.us.
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