Glossary

A guide to key terms that are used across the toolkit.

501(c)(3) funds

Funds that come from tax-deductible donations to the organization. This is what most people think of when they think of charities or nonprofits. C3 funds are used for “charitable activities,” and by law can only be used for: public education, public interest litigation, and administrative advocacy.

501(c)(4) funds

Funds that come from non-tax-deductible donations to the organization. This is what most people think of when they donate to political organizations or campaigns. C4 funds can be used for lobbying and influencing laws, so by law they can be used for: legislative lobbying, member solicitation, and fundraising.

Action alerts

An action alert is a message that an organization sends to mobilize people, often members of the group and supporters of a specific point of view, calling on them to take action to influence public policy.

As the term is used inside the Sierra Club, it most often refers specifically to advocacy forms, a tools which allows your constituents (your members and supporters) to send a message to whatever target (the decision-maker) you choose! An advocacy form is also the basis for the petition section of an AddUp campaign. They’re good tools for two reasons. For one, they go directly to the mayor/local leader asking them to transition your community to 100% clean renewable energy. Two, they identify a person as a supporter of the campaign, giving you their contact information.

Action goal

A goal related to a specific action you are encouraging people to take, based on the outcome that you think would be both realistic and helpful for your campaign. Goals should be both observable and measurable. An example would be a goal to have “X” number of petition signatures by “Y” date.

AddUp

The Sierra Club’s online campaigning hub where we create campaigns that folks can use to take a variety of online actions on national and local environmental issues. The platform allows us to integrate many individual online actions on a single contiguous campaign "homepage" in support of a broad goal. This gives activists a one-stop shop for engaging on a campaign, in a variety of ways, and helps them understand how each individual action is connected and contributes to a broader, more easily understood goal ("Support a just and equitable transition to 100% clean, renewable energy for all in Michigan by 2030,” for example).
More information: AddUp website

Administrative actions

Actions taken by government bodies that do not require a vote for approval.

Administrative advocacy

Influencing the formation, application, or change of rules/actions that administrative agencies put in place to implement or enforce current laws. Administrative advocacy is considered a 501(c)(3) activity.

Administrative bodies

A government official or collective responsible for regulatory tasks (as opposed to the creation of new laws). Bodies may include Public Utility omissions, Planning Commissions, School Boards, Zoning Boards, State DEP, EPA, National Park Service, Bureau of Land Management, etc. Mayors are also considered administrative bodies, as they direct the administrative structures of city government.

Administrative processes

Any processes that relate to the implementation or enforcement of existing laws, or the process of creating administrative rules, regulations, or regulatory guidance as part of that implementation.

Allies

Groups or individuals who care about or support the vision and goals of your campaign.

Attendance rates

The percentage of people who show up (i.e. attend) your event out of the total number of people who said they were going to show up (i.e. RSVP’d or registered) to your event. For example, say 100 people RSVP’d online on your AddUp event—using the Rule of Halves, you might reasonably expect to get half as many people to show up, i.e. 50 people—but if you did your follow-up calls, which increases your attendance rate by roughly 30%, you should expect to have an attendance rate of roughly 83%!

Ask(s)

An ask, quite simply, is a request you make to others to complete an action that is beneficial to your campaign. Often, this is some sort of call to action.

Brand / Branding

Unique and distinctive design elements such as images, logos, fonts, and colors, used to advertise or promote a product or campaign. Branding creates recognition for a campaign, and provides a sense of unity.

Bridge fuels

A dated term for polluting resources that can be used as replacements for coal while we wait for renewable resources to become more viable. “Bridge fuels” most often refer to fracked gas, but ignore the long-term impacts of its production and the lifespan of energy infrastructure. Fracked gas facilities constructed as “bridge fuels” now have life spans for decades to come (well beyond the IPCC’s guidance for decarbonization), while renewable energy has become cost competitive nationwide.
More information: Oil Change International

Broadcast Text

Mobile Broadcasts allow you to send a message to very large audiences all at once. This can be used to share links for action alerts, events, call alerts, and more. Sierra Club uses Mobile Commons for broadcast texting.

C3 activities

The restricted list of actions and strategies that fall under what is allowed to be done using 501(c)(3) funds.

C4 activities

The restricted list of actions and strategies that fall under what is allowed to be done using 501(c)(4) funds.

Call alerts

Call Alerts allow you to connect supporters to the offices of important decision-makers you may be trying to influence. Within seconds of taking action, the supporter receives a phone call and is patched through to the target after hearing a short recorded message summarizing the issue. 

Call to action (CTA)

A call to action (CTA) is a clear and simple engagement tactic, usually asking your audience to take an action—like signing an online action/advocacy alert or petition, sharing a post on social media, making a phone call to a Target, or RSVP’ing to an event. CTA’s are most commonly used in online organizing tactics—such as mass email, mobile alerts, and social media posts, but can also be used in communication tactics—such as at the end of a blog or during a press event.

Capacity building goal

A goal related to building the longterm strength and potential of your group and movement through strategies such as membership recruitment and leadership development. Like action goals, good capacity building goals are both observable and measurable. An example of a capacity building goal would be a goal to have “X” number of new attendees at your next membership meeting.

Campaign Graphic

The artwork image associated with the Ready for 100 campaign. The Ready For 100 campaign graphic is a yellow, black, and white image containing a map of the continental U.S. and wind turbines. The Ready For 100 Action campaign graphic is circular, and denotes “Action.” These are distinct from the campaign logo, which features the Sierra Club’s logo of a tree with “Ready For 100” written beneath. Campaign graphics are best used for informal purposes, or when eye-catching visuals are an asset. Local teams are welcome to modify the graphics to customize them to your campaign. The Ready for 100 and Ready for 100 Action campaign graphics, and any customized graphics are Sierra Club trademarks.

Campaign Logo

The campaign logo should be used for official purposes. The Ready for 100 logo shows the Sierra Club logo, with “Ready for 100” written beneath. The Ready for 100 Action logo shows the Sierra Club logo with “Ready for 100% Action” written beneath. Campaign logos may not be modified, and they may not be used by other organizations without authorized permission. The Ready for 100 and Ready for 100 Action campaign logos are Sierra Club trademarks.

Clean, renewable energy

Energy derived from naturally replenishing sources like wind, solar, geothermal, and waves or tides, and specifically excluding fossil fuels, nuclear technology, incineration of municipal and medical waste, or large-scale future hydroelectric development. Refer to the Sierra Club’s Resource Policy for a full guide to what we consider clean and renewable.

Click to Tweet

An action that can be added to your AddUp campaign that can help you market your campaign. Supporters can click to Tweet out a pre-written message with a link back to your campaign, or put additional pressure on social media by including their handle (i.e. their Twitter name) in pre-written Tweets.

Communications plan

A comprehensive and detailed organizational document developed at the beginning of the year or the beginning of a campaign that focuses on honing messages, planning a timeline of events, identifying key spokespeople, mapping out upcoming news hooks, determining necessary press materials, and having a plan for surprises.

Community mapping

A process that builds a team's understanding of what makes up a community, what its strengths, challenges, and opportunities are, and what resources it has.

Compliance

The rules and guidance we have to follow to ensure our funding types are used correctly. The Sierra Club operates with two kinds of funds, c3 and c4 funds. IRS law requires that each of these funding types be used in different, specific ways. There could be significant consequences if the money allocated to one fund supports actions that aren’t allowed with that funding.

Core team

The group of individuals that hold positions or responsibilities that allows the campaign to function. This group meets and communicates regularly.

Cycle of Change

Real change requires a cycle of new behaviors. The cycle of change includes measuring progress, envisioning (and planning for) the future, taking action, and celebrating progress made. Each of these behaviors can bring a focus to some of your campaigns core values - accountability, ambition, equity, and community. Each cycle, repeating over time, will bring you closer toward your vision of the future.

Databasing

Collecting and organizing information so that it can be analyzed and more easily accessed. Typing up and entering the information collected from paper petition cards collected at a tabling event into your list of action-takers allows you to more easily call or email those people and share that information with others on your team.

Digital Channels

A digital channel is any platform or tool that allows you to communicate directly with an audience. For example, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Hustle, MobileCommons and your mass email platform are all examples of digital channels.

Digital Platform

A foundation upon which you can create digital actions and/or communications and interact with a particular audience. Facebook is an example of a web-based social media platform. Hustle is a SMS platform. And Salesforce, which the Sierra Club national staff and chapters use for setting up actions and email, is a platform as well.

Digital Tool

A digital platform, channel, or application, or a particular function contained in one of the above, that allows you to accomplish a particular task.

Distributed campaign

A practice of organizing that focuses on the power of collective action across a wide geographic area towards a shared goal. In distributed campaigns, organizers partner with community members and activists from different locations to implement localized strategies and tactics in pursuit of a centrally determined goal.

Email arcs

A series of planned emails sent over a period of time (e.g., days, weeks, or even months) that help you reach a short-term objective or organizing tactic. The purpose of planning an email arc is so that each of your emails is sequenced strategically, with each one building on the last.

Energy system

All components related to the extraction, production, conversion, delivery, storage, use, and disposal of energy.

Environmental justice

Environmental racism is the disproportionate impact of environmental hazards on people of color. Environmental justice is the movement's response to environmental racism. The environmental justice movement isn't seeking to simply redistribute environmental harms, but to abolish them.
More information: EJnet.org

Equity

The guarantee of fair treatment, access, opportunity, and advancement while at the same time striving to identify and eliminate barriers that have prevented the full participation of some groups. (UC Berkeley Initiative for Equity, Inclusion, and Diversity). It means sharing power, influence, resources, and a commitment to the eradication of all forms of social oppression.

Events & RSVPs

Allow organizers to digitally track engagement when supporters organize community dialogues, town halls, volunteer meetings, and more. Using an online event page and collecting RSVPs helps you attract potential attendees you’re not already in contact with and keep track of who is attending so you can follow up over phone or email. This follow-up tactic can increase attendance rates by 30%!

Frontline Communities

Directly and disproportionately impacted communities who are hit first and worst by a problem.

Goals

Milestones that progress a strategy toward your longer term vision. Make your goals more effective by making them “SMARTIE” with support from the Management Center’s SMARTIE goals worksheet.
More information: SMARTIE goals worksheet

Greenwashing

Marketing a product or service as “green” when it’s simply not true or doesn’t tell the whole story. Often, this means that more money is spent by a company advertising a product as “eco-friendly” than is spent on environmentally-sound practices.

Hustle

Hustle is web- and mobile-based, peer-to-peer (P2P) text messaging platform that initiates personal conversation between organizations and their targeted supporters or clients.

Inclusion

The act of creating environments in which any individual or group can be and feel welcomed, respected, supported, and valued to fully participate.
Source: UC Berkeley Initiative for Equity, Inclusion, and Diversity

Issue framing

Information that suggests a problem’s effects, how it can be addressed, and who may be at fault. For example, a polluting power plant creates many problems. A media narrative urging its closure could be framed through real stories of polar bears struggling from climate change or more impactfully from stories of local residents struggling with asthma.

Jemez Principles

On December 6-8, 1996, forty people of color and European-American representatives met in Jemez, New Mexico, for the “Working Group Meeting on Globalization and Trade.” The Jemez meeting was hosted by the Southwest Network for Environmental and Economic Justice with the intention of hammering out common understandings between participants from different cultures, politics and organizations. The principles adopted are: Be inclusive; Emphasis on bottom-up organizing; Let people speak for themselves; Work together in solidarity and mutuality; Build just relationships among ourselves; Commitment to self-transformation.

Justice

A vision of society in which the distribution of resources is equitable and all members are physically and psychologically safe and secure, have a sense of their own agency and social responsibility toward and with others and the society as a whole.
Source: Teaching for Diversity and Social Justice, Adams, Bell, Griffin, 2nd ed., Routledge 2007

Justice Framing

A communications methodology that exposes structural inequity, emphasizes social responsibility and corporate accountability, and highlights the role of government and policy. Justice framing uses news coverage, policy, entertainment media, and all forms of communications to move public conversations toward a collective vision of progressive structural change.
Source:

Ladder of Engagement

A framework designed to deepen engagement and develop leaders. It works by asking someone to take increasingly important actions, leading up to an ultimate goal. Oftentimes the steps of the ladder involve moving supporters online to offline.

Legislative asks

Asks made of government bodies or officials related to new or pending legislation, such as asking a city councilperson to vote pro on an upcoming resolution.

Legislative lobbying

Influencing government decisions, either by directly asking elected officials to take legislative action or indirectly by advocating for the public to contact their government leaders with legislative asks, including ballot initiatives or measures, and non-binding resolutions. Legislative lobbying is considered a 501(c)(4) activity.

Legislative processes

Any action related to the proposal or creation of new or pending laws, or the amendment of a current law, and usually requires a vote by a legislative body or the public.

Legislators

A government official who makes laws or is a member of a legislative body (such as a city council, or county supervisory board).

List

Your list includes names (and, ideally, contact information) of supporters who have signed on to your online petition or have been added to your online database after they have signed-on via an offline petition.

Marketing Cloud

Marketing Cloud is an add-on to the standard Salesforce Sales Cloud license and a separate login, which provides enhanced email and marketing automation tools. Marketing Cloud is used primarily to send mass emails—such as newsletters, fundraising asks, advocacy emails, and other major email blasts. Marketing Cloud is used by the Sierra Club’s Digital Engagement Team including National Online Organizers, Regional Online Organizers, Chapter Digital (formerly Local Entity Outreach Support, LEOS) and some Chapter staff and volunteers (Chapter Organizers, Chapter Directors, Chapter and Group Volunteers, and Chapter Support Staff and State Lobbyists) have access to Marketing Cloud.

Mass email

A digital tool that emails information from one sender to a large number of members and supporters. For the RF100 campaign, mass emails are sent via Marketing Cloud.

Member solicitation

Encouraging individuals to become members of the Sierra Club. Member solicitation is considered a 501(c)(4) activity.

Members

Members of the Sierra Club are people who have contributed a certain amount of money to become a card-carrying member of our organization.

Message box

A tool for developing a nimble, succinct, and clear message that connects the campaign problem, solution, values, and action.

MOCHA

The Sierra Club (and the Ready For 100 campaign) uses The Management Center’s “MOCHA” model to help specific projects and teams more clearly define who is playing what role (or roles) and thereby generate the best results. (Find more information on assigning responsibilities with MOCHA via The Management Center.)

Mobile Commons

Mobile Commons is a web-based platform for managing mobile and text messaging campaigns where you set up one message that is sent to many people and is not designed for ongoing conversation.

Newsworthy

A story that is worthy of media attention because it has impact, timeliness, prominence, proximity, bizarreness, conflict, or currency.

Non-legislative asks

Asks made of government bodies or officials that do not relate to new or pending legislation, such as signing a letter, publishing an op-ed, or requesting they talk with their mayor.

Offline recruitment

Process of educating and activating community members directly, either in-person or on the phone, to support the campaign and collecting their information so you can mobilize them at moments in your campaign or invite them into a deeper level of involvement or leadership.

One-on-one

An important tool to build relationships with people, as your campaign develops, which requires taking time with an individual to get to know that person, what motivates them, experiences that shape them and how they might be part of this work.

Online Organizer

The role of a person who is responsible for building relationships and mobilizing people through online interactions. Online organizing interactions may include building online petitions and events, sending mass emails and mobile alerts, sharing on social media, and more.

Online Organizing

The process of building relationships and mobilizing people through online interactions.

Online recruitment

Process of outreach, education and activation of community members via virtual, digital, or online-only tactics, aimed at growing your campaign's supporter base and contact list, so you can mobilize them at key moments, engage with them more deeply, and/or develop them as leaders on your campaign.

Opt-in

To choose to do or be involved. In the context of email or broadcast text messaging, it means for people to confirm they want to receive text messages from your campaign or organization.

Peer-to-Peer Texting

Peer-to-Peer Texting allows organizations to send batches of templated text messages, have real conversations with the recipients, and record data based on their responses. Sierra Club uses a tool called Hustle for Peer-to-Peer texting, which allows users to have hundreds—or even thousands—of personalized one-to-one conversations with our supporters.

Petition

Unlike action alerts, petition comments/signatures are collected over time and then delivered to the target at a later date. Petitions are useful for kicking off an email arc, and supplementing on-the-ground petition collecting activities. They can also be useful when there’s a need to generate awareness on an issue and educate supporters, but there is not an externally existing hook.

Powermap

A powermap is a process that details the community’s position on an issue by constituency (informal or formal organized groups of people) and their power to affect the issue. It is often visualized on a x-y axis.

Privilege

Power and advantages benefiting a group derived from the historical oppression and exploitation of other groups. Unearned access to resources only readily available to some people as a result of their group membership.
Source: UC-Merced

Public education

A full and fair exposition (or explanation) of the facts, without opinion, or a call to action. Public education is considered a 501(c)(3) activity.

Public interest litigation

Researching, initiating, and prosecuting public interest lawsuits to enforce existing laws. Proposing or starting lawsuits to enforce laws already on the books is considered a 501(c)(3) activity.

Public narrative

Motivating others to join you in action on behalf of a shared purpose through communications (a story of self / story of us / story of now).
Source: Marshall Ganz

Public will

Critical mass of active popular support, such as people taking action by voting, marching, persuading, donating, and generally non-cooperating with the status quo.
Source: Momentum

Racism

Racial prejudice combined with institutional or systemic power.  Racism involves one group having the power to carry out systematic discrimination through the institutional policies and practices of the society and by shaping the cultural beliefs and values that support those racist policies and practices. Includes exclusion, discrimination against, suspicion of, fear and hatred of people of color.
Source: Dismantaling racism

Ready for 100 Action

Ready For 100’s separate C4 brand. If your team is approved to do C4 work, it needs to be conducted as a parallel campaign under the Ready for 100 Action brand.

Rule of Halves

Is what we like to call "Organizer Math." It's a rough—but generally a statistically accurate—calculation for setting goals and knowing if you're on track. It states that you’ll need to get at least twice as many people to commit to volunteer in order to get the number of volunteers you actually need to show up.

Salesforce Marketing Cloud

The name of the platform through which Sierra Club staff and many chapters send mass emails, which are emails that go out to many supporters at once.

Secondary Target

Someone who has influence over or can pressure the target. This might be someone such as a sustainability officer that your team may have more power to influence, who can then move your target.

Self-interest

The reasons why someone is individually motivated to take action to support an issue. Self-interest is often directly connected to an experience or experiences that have shaped why and how specific values and beliefs plays a role in who they are.

Sierra Club chapter

Sierra Club chapters are local Sierra Club groups that are organized and run by volunteers. Sometimes these chapters have their own staff. Chapters create their own programs and goals, and may operate both independently and in coordination with the national Sierra Club organization. You can see a list of Sierra Club’s current chapters here.

Social Media

Includes all electronic (via computer, desktop, phone, tablet) platforms where people create communities—using public posts, videos, personal messages, blogs and shared information. Some of the most popular social media platforms are Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

Spokesperson

A person who uses their voice and perspective to speak publicly to an issue. This is a strategic messenger who can reach the target and has a perspective that will resonate with specific audiences.

Stakeholder group

Any group of individuals with their own self-interests in a topic at hand. A strong stakeholder group established to weigh in on policy decisions will be representative of your community and the array of interests throughout it—including frontline voices that are often left out.

Story of self / story of us / story of now

The three components of public narrative that connect your personal calling to the movement (story of self), to the purpose in which you will call upon others (story of us), and to join you in action (story of now).
Source: Marshall Ganz

Strategic Communications

Consistently and persistently conveying the right thing, to the right people, at the right time, to mobilize social power and advance your narrative, so you can accomplish short-term objectives and set up long-term victories.
Source: ReFrame

Strategy

The sum of actions (tactics and goals) taken to reach your long-term vision. An important part of strategy is making choices between various possible paths and re-evaluating those decisions with each iteration of campaign planning.

Style guide

A document detailing the design elements of a particular brand. It contains the font, colors, and artwork used, as well as guidance on when to use specific assets such as logos and graphics.

Supporters

Supporters of the Sierra Club (or Ready For 100) are activists, people who have taken any kind of an action with us—online or off.

Surveys

A tool for collecting information in order to gain insights and feedback. A set of questions is sent out to a target audience and members of this audience can respond to the questions. 

Swag

Physical materials that can be seen—like a poster, banner, or lawn sign—or worn—like a sticker, sweatshirt, t-shirt, or tote bag. These materials display a graphic or message to draw attention and spread awareness about an issue. Swag can even recruit new action takers—by directing people to a website or social media handle or hashtag.

Tactics

Tactics are steps in carrying out your strategy. They are the specific things that a team can do to build power or put pressure on decision makers to achieve a goal.

Target

The person who can give you what you want. This is a specific entity (e.g., mayor or chair of utility board) that makes decisions that can be influenced. This is always a person. Even if the power is actually held by an institution, identify the person who can make the decision or at least strongly influence it.

Technical assistance (IRS definition of)

The condition of technical assistance is satisfied if a written invitation from the city council, or a committee of the city council (on behalf of all members), is received that asks us to testify regarding a considered energy policy, and the testimony will be available to all members of the city council or committee hearing the issue. When technical assistance is satisfied, engaging with legislators on proposed or pending legislation constitutes a 501(c)(3) activity; otherwise, it would be 501(c)(4).

Twitter handle

A Twitter username beginning after the @ sign in a Twitter user's URL. When you include the handle in a message, the user who is mentioned will be notified of the Tweet.