Build momentum for a recurring Hour of Action.

If you’re here, you’ve completed Toolkits 1-3, and you’re ready to make your Hour of Action a regular thing! 

Making a sustainable commitment to avoid burnout.

Hosting a recurring Hour of Action is a commitment, and burnout is real. Here are a few ideas to get ahead of it:

  • Lighten the load. Find a co-host, then divide and conquer. One of you can focus on building the community around your Hour of Action, while the other focuses on event logistics. If you’ve been hosting solo for a while, ask your crew of regulars if one of them might be interested in helping out.

  • Be realistic: pick a cadence you can keep. Consistency is more important than frequency. If you just don’t think you can swing a weekly Hour of Action, opt for biweekly or monthly.

  • Ask for help. Most people who are capable and willing to help you will not offer until you ask them explicitly. Once asked, they’re happy to jump in. Be sure to make a specific ask of a specific person, rather than a vague request to the broader group. This targeted approach will help you build relationships, make it more likely you’ll get a ‘yes,’ and help you cultivate future leaders within your growing community.

    Don’t over think it: “Hey, would you be willing to fill in for me as host next week? It’s my birthday and I made dinner plans.”

At the end of the day, know that your mental health comes first. A burned-out person can’t serve our burned-out planet — and that’s what we’re here to do. There is no shame or judgement in needing to scale back, whether that’s taking a break, transitioning from a leadership role to a participatory role, or stepping back from climate advocacy all together while you restore your inner balance. The Climate Changemakers team is here to support you. 💚

💡 Why host a recurring Hour of Action?

If your first Hour of Action went well and you want to host another, consider hosting on a recurring basis. Whether it’s weekly, biweekly, monthly, or quarterly, landing on a consistent cadence is one of the best ways to generate momentum for your Hour of Action.

You’ll take all the guesswork out of scheduling, freeing up mental time and energy to focus on the work itself — both for you and for attendees!

Most importantly, you’ll make a greater impact. Advocacy requires persistence and follow-up, and a recurring Hour of Action allows attendees to build relationships with each other and the decision-makers you’re contacting.

Tips for growing your group.

  • Offer attendees a community space where they can interact with each other. You want attendees to build relationships with each other, rather than funneling all the group connections through you. Not only will your Hour of Action crew be more resilient, engaged, and impactful, but it will inspire attendees to bring their networks into the web.

    You have several options:

    • (Easiest) Create a dedicated channel in the Climate Changemakers Slack group. This connects your attendees with changemakers across the country and lets Climate Changemakers staff provide support more readily.

    • Create a group text or WhatsApp group.

    • (Most work) Activate the “Community” feature on Lu.ma that allows guests to join, create profiles, post comments on a discussion board, and message each other.

  • Take 👏 a 👏photo 👏. Pictures are the social proof that climate action is cool. The world needs to know that we have FUN while we make the world a better place!

    One of the best strategies to grow your community is to help your existing attendees feel a sense of ownership or stake in the event. Try asking attendees to (re)post the group photo on their own social media feeds. Maybe you create an Instagram handle for your Hour of Action, and post each week’s selfie. Tag each attendee’s account, and odds are a lot of them will repost. If you post each week, you’ll also have an amazing record of the crew that shows up, week in and weekd out, to advocate for climate solutions. Just don’t forget to tag @theclimatevote for a boost!

  • Identify and reach out to other climate action organizations in your area. Introduce yourself and invite them to attend your Hour of Action. Many groups are actively looking for opportunities to engage their membership.

    You might also come across an organization working on a local issue that you find interesting. Ask for their help in planning an action on the issue is a great way to build a relationship and get them to promote the joint event to their audience, too.

Woohoo! 🎉 You are making a world of difference.

NEXT UP: Woah - You’ve learned all our team has to teach. Now we need you to teach us by sharing your feedback on these toolkits! Email madeline@climatechangemakers.org.

Put Event Management on Autopilot

Make things easy for yourself. Carve out 60 minutes a few days in advance of your Hour of Action and do all your prep at once. Here’s a checklist:

☑️ Program the week’s reminder and thank you emails in Luma.

☑️ Make your Run of Show.

☑️ Send 1:1 confirmation messages to key folks on the fence.