Difference between revisions of "Promoting and Building Your Group"

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<center><font size="+1" color="green">'''Trademark Guidelines for Promotional Items'''</font></center>
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== Ideas for promoting and building your group ==
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How much time you spend on promoting your group is entirely a personal decision. There are plenty of ways you can promote your group. Any way you do it, know that you are helping the community by keeping usable items out of landfills. Reuse, recycle, and reduce waste!
== For volunteers moderating approved local Freecycle groups ==
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===No approval required===  
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Here are some ideas:
In general when promoting The Freecycle Network, we have professionally developed brochures which contain general organizational info in brochure format which local moderators are welcome to make use of for promotion. There are both professional-print-ready formats and formats appropriate for printing on one’s home printer (without the green background). Other similar flyers which have been developed by other local volunteers are likewise available in your national modsquad in the files section under "promotional materials." <br><br> Such non-saleable printed matter which promotes the overall organization and properly follows the trademark guidelines does not require getting extra approval for their use by local Freecycle volunteers. <br><br>
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=== On social media ===
===Approval required===  
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Leveraging social media is the single best way to promote your group. It's easy and the potential reach is enormous. 
Anything saleable requires pre-approval. This would include t-shirts, bumperstickers, mugs, bags, etc. You may request this approval from [mailto:info@freecycle.org the info team] . <br><br> Events and event posters. Events necessitate event liability insurance, and we need to make sure the event is not one which is misusing the name, for example, to promote one's own yard sale, etc. <br><br> Ultimately the liability may be traced back to the organization and we have learned this can be legally risky and costly if not done properly <br><br> Media / City Council / External Website Logo requests. Often external requests are made for use of our logo. These likewise need to be forwarded for approval to [mailto:info@Freecycle.org the info team]. We need someone legally authorized to make such approvals. <br><br> To reiterate, local volunteer Freecycle moderators may use the logo/mark within the local approved Freecycle groups following the standard trademark guidelines as noted on Freecycle.org and that they may further use the logo/mark elsewhere such as in promotional, non-saleable brochures (general org info, not specific event info), but any use for items which may maintain a commercial or saleable value, or for specific events or for external use would require direct approval via [mailto:info@Freecycle.org the info team]. <br><br> We know that no set of guidelines will ever cover every question, and when in doubt, we simply ask that you ask at [info@freecycle.org the info team] to be safe. The Freecycle trademark represents the goodwill of millions of members making a difference every day. We need to use it with care. <br><br> These guidelines are intended to provide our approved volunteers with a general framework for trademark use in promotional material. The Freecycle Network reserves the right to amend the above general guidelines as needed. When in doubt, simply request approval at [mailto:info@freecycle.org the info team].
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* [[Moderators_and_Social_Media|Start a group promotional page]]
 +
* Promote your group on your personal Facebook page.
 +
*Promote Freecycle.org and your local group on the Facebook pages of other local community groups. "Like" their pages and chances are they will reciprocate. 
 +
*Post links to articles on The Freecycle Network's social media channels: 
 +
:* [https://www.facebook.com/freecycle Facebook]
 +
:* [https://twitter.com/Freecycle Twitter]
 +
:* [https://www.instagram.com/freecycle Instagram]
 +
 
 +
===On your group ===
 +
* Your members are your best advertising resource. Ask them to "like" your group's promotional page. Remind your members keep spreading the word about Freecycle.  
 +
*[[Moderator_Manual:Challenges|Have membership challenges]] to increase activity on your group.
 +
 
 +
=== In the community ===
 +
* If your neighbors are having a garage sale, stop and give them a [[#Flyers|flyer]] so they can get rid of the stuff that doesn't sell.
 +
* Pass on the word to realtors, since people buying and selling homes are always looking to declutter or refurnish. 
 +
* Find some parents' groups in your community and get them involved.  
 +
* Contact the local school's principals and ask them if you could place  [[#Flyers|flyers]] in the teachers’ mailboxes or send flyers home with the students. Maybe join in the school recycling educational programs in some of the areas. Sometimes you can even get the schools to offer you a booth during their open house.
 +
* Contact your local waste management department. Sometimes they are willing to add a line to the bills and letters they send out at no charge.
 +
* Join in the local Earth Day & Arbor Day events
 +
* Pass out [[#Flyers|flyers]] at farmers markets.  
 +
* Contact your local churches, Salvation Army, and other community resources.
 +
* Place [[#Flyers|flyers]] on public bulletin boards, like at grocery stores, libraries, Laundromats.
 +
 
 +
=== In the press ===
 +
 
 +
* Contact your local/community newspapers. They may be interested in doing a story about your group. When working with local media, please provide a link to our pressroom: https://www.freecycle.org/about/pressroom
 +
 
 +
=== Emails ===
 +
* How about a tag line in your emails?
 +
 
 +
=== Events ===
 +
 
 +
[[Moderator_Manual:Mod_events|Click here on some ideas and requirements for events.]]
  
 
== Brochures ==
 
== Brochures ==
  
The profesional Brochure has a colored/green background unlike the home print brochure which has a simple white background and won't use up all your ink.  
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The Professional Brochure has a colored/green background unlike the Home Printed Brochure which has a simple white background and won't use up all your ink.  
  
 +
[http://static.t-f-n.org/pdf/fcflyerprintgreen.pdf Professional Print Brochure] has a green background, looks better, but is intended for professional printing. If you print this at home, it will use up your color cartridges.
  
[[Professional_Brochure|Professional Print Brochure]]
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[http://static.t-f-n.org/pdf/fcflyerprinthomewhite.pdf Home Print Brochure] has a white background and may be printed using a regular inkjet printer.
  
 +
[[Brochures_Spanish|Click here for Spanish-language brochures.]]<br>
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[[Brochures_German|Click here for German-language brochures.]]
  
[[Home_Brochure|Home Printed Brochure]]
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== Flyers ==
  
== Flyers ==
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The easiest way to prepare the first two flyers for printing is to copy and paste the graphics to a word document or another similar program. Adjust your top and bottom margins to fit graphics to the page. Replace all XXX references with the local Freecycle group name. Print the page. Distribute!
[[File:Freecycleflyer.jpg]]
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* [[Moderator_Manual:Files flyers 02|Larger Flyer]]
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* [[Moderator_Manual:Files flyers 03|Quarter-Page Green Flyer]]
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* [[Moderator_Manual:Files flyers 01|Generic 5x2 Flyers]]
 +
 
 +
If you decide to produce your own material be careful to use appropriate logos so that you do not risk damaging the Freecycle® logo. Information and what you have to do is available here:
 +
 
 +
:[[Trademark|Trademark]]
 +
 
 +
The [mailto:graphics@freecycle.org Graphics Team] may be able to help with designing these too.
 +
 
 +
Do share whatever you have done with the rest of the moderator community at:
 +
https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/FreecycleLeadershipCommunity/info
 +
 
 +
== Trademark Guidelines for Promotional Items (for volunteers of approved Freecycle groups only)==
 +
===No approval required===  
 +
No approval is required when local Freecycle volunteers use the above, non-saleable printed matter which promotes the overall organization and properly follows the trademark guidelines. <br>
 +
 
 +
===Approval required===  
 +
*Anything saleable requires pre-approval, including t-shirts, bumperstickers, mugs, bags, etc. You may request this approval from [mailto:help@freecycle.org Freecycle Help Desk] .
 +
*Events and event posters. Events necessitate event liability insurance, and we need to make sure the event is not one which is misusing the name, for example, to promote one's own yard sale, etc. Ultimately the liability may be traced back to the organization and we have learned this can be legally risky and costly if not done properly.
 +
*Logo requests by media, governments, other external websites. Often external requests are made for use of our logo. These likewise need to be forwarded for approval to [mailto:info@Freecycle.org the Support team]. We need someone legally authorized to make such approvals. <br>
 +
 
 +
To reiterate, local volunteer Freecycle moderators may use the logo/mark within the local approved Freecycle groups following the standard trademark guidelines as noted on Freecycle.org. They may further use the logo/mark elsewhere, such as in the above-provided, promotional, non-saleable brochures (general org info, not specific event info). Any use for items which may maintain a commercial or saleable value, or for specific events or for external use, would require direct approval via [mailto:help@freecycle.org Freecycle Help Desk]. <br><br> We know that no set of guidelines will ever cover every question, and when in doubt, we simply ask that you ask at [mailto:help@freecycle.org Freecycle Help Desk] to be safe. The Freecycle trademark represents the goodwill of millions of members making a difference every day. We need to use it with care. <br><br> These guidelines are intended to provide our approved volunteers with a general framework for trademark use in promotional material. The Freecycle Network reserves the right to amend the above general guidelines as needed. When in doubt, simply request approval at [mailto:info@freecycle.org the info team].

Revision as of 19:01, 29 September 2020

Ideas for promoting and building your group

How much time you spend on promoting your group is entirely a personal decision. There are plenty of ways you can promote your group. Any way you do it, know that you are helping the community by keeping usable items out of landfills. Reuse, recycle, and reduce waste!

Here are some ideas:

On social media

Leveraging social media is the single best way to promote your group. It's easy and the potential reach is enormous.

  • Start a group promotional page
  • Promote your group on your personal Facebook page.
  • Promote Freecycle.org and your local group on the Facebook pages of other local community groups. "Like" their pages and chances are they will reciprocate.
  • Post links to articles on The Freecycle Network's social media channels:

On your group

  • Your members are your best advertising resource. Ask them to "like" your group's promotional page. Remind your members keep spreading the word about Freecycle.
  • Have membership challenges to increase activity on your group.

In the community

  • If your neighbors are having a garage sale, stop and give them a flyer so they can get rid of the stuff that doesn't sell.
  • Pass on the word to realtors, since people buying and selling homes are always looking to declutter or refurnish.
  • Find some parents' groups in your community and get them involved.
  • Contact the local school's principals and ask them if you could place flyers in the teachers’ mailboxes or send flyers home with the students. Maybe join in the school recycling educational programs in some of the areas. Sometimes you can even get the schools to offer you a booth during their open house.
  • Contact your local waste management department. Sometimes they are willing to add a line to the bills and letters they send out at no charge.
  • Join in the local Earth Day & Arbor Day events
  • Pass out flyers at farmers markets.
  • Contact your local churches, Salvation Army, and other community resources.
  • Place flyers on public bulletin boards, like at grocery stores, libraries, Laundromats.

In the press

  • Contact your local/community newspapers. They may be interested in doing a story about your group. When working with local media, please provide a link to our pressroom: https://www.freecycle.org/about/pressroom

Emails

  • How about a tag line in your emails?

Events

Click here on some ideas and requirements for events.

Brochures

The Professional Brochure has a colored/green background unlike the Home Printed Brochure which has a simple white background and won't use up all your ink.

Professional Print Brochure has a green background, looks better, but is intended for professional printing. If you print this at home, it will use up your color cartridges.

Home Print Brochure has a white background and may be printed using a regular inkjet printer.

Click here for Spanish-language brochures.
Click here for German-language brochures.

Flyers

The easiest way to prepare the first two flyers for printing is to copy and paste the graphics to a word document or another similar program. Adjust your top and bottom margins to fit graphics to the page. Replace all XXX references with the local Freecycle group name. Print the page. Distribute!

If you decide to produce your own material be careful to use appropriate logos so that you do not risk damaging the Freecycle® logo. Information and what you have to do is available here:

Trademark

The Graphics Team may be able to help with designing these too.

Do share whatever you have done with the rest of the moderator community at: https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/FreecycleLeadershipCommunity/info

Trademark Guidelines for Promotional Items (for volunteers of approved Freecycle groups only)

No approval required

No approval is required when local Freecycle volunteers use the above, non-saleable printed matter which promotes the overall organization and properly follows the trademark guidelines.

Approval required

  • Anything saleable requires pre-approval, including t-shirts, bumperstickers, mugs, bags, etc. You may request this approval from Freecycle Help Desk .
  • Events and event posters. Events necessitate event liability insurance, and we need to make sure the event is not one which is misusing the name, for example, to promote one's own yard sale, etc. Ultimately the liability may be traced back to the organization and we have learned this can be legally risky and costly if not done properly.
  • Logo requests by media, governments, other external websites. Often external requests are made for use of our logo. These likewise need to be forwarded for approval to the Support team. We need someone legally authorized to make such approvals.

To reiterate, local volunteer Freecycle moderators may use the logo/mark within the local approved Freecycle groups following the standard trademark guidelines as noted on Freecycle.org. They may further use the logo/mark elsewhere, such as in the above-provided, promotional, non-saleable brochures (general org info, not specific event info). Any use for items which may maintain a commercial or saleable value, or for specific events or for external use, would require direct approval via Freecycle Help Desk.

We know that no set of guidelines will ever cover every question, and when in doubt, we simply ask that you ask at Freecycle Help Desk to be safe. The Freecycle trademark represents the goodwill of millions of members making a difference every day. We need to use it with care.

These guidelines are intended to provide our approved volunteers with a general framework for trademark use in promotional material. The Freecycle Network reserves the right to amend the above general guidelines as needed. When in doubt, simply request approval at the info team.