The Challenge - The California Parks and Recreation Society, a membership organization of 4,000 professionals active in the administration of park and recreation services statewide, asked i.e. communications to design a communications plan that would elevate community support for local parks and recreation programs by: raising public appreciation for the role played by local parks and recreation programs and professionals in solving community problems and in increasing quality of life; advocating funding for local parks and recreation programs; and increasing media coverage of parks and recreation professionals and their role in strengthening a community's fabric, health and well-being, economic base and security.

Strategies & Advocacy to Communicate a Mission - i.e. researched, drafted and carried out a communications plan supporting the California Parks and Recreation Society's mission featuring:

• A Message: "Space to Learn & Play. Space to Be Safe and Secure. Space to Create & Imagine."
  
• Research, including public polling to measure public perception of parks and recreation agencies, quantify the benefits of parks and recreation programs, and envision ways to communicate the organization's nine-part mission to elected officials and communities.
  
• Communication materials, which incorporated researched messages conveying the contributions made by local parks and recreation programs in improving a community's quality of life.
  
• Policy Advocacy Training, including strategies to educate and train local parks and recreation professionals as advocates for funding of local programs.

Results

• The communications plan effectively created a unified voice among California Parks and Recreation Society (CPRS) members.
  
• CPRS members developed a deeper understanding of and appreciation for the impact of media relations in their work.
  
• CPRS members obtained concrete skills in communicating their mission to the media, policymakers and the public.