How To Use This Toolkit

The National Joint Venture Communications, Education, and Outreach Team (CEOT) has put together a Joint Venture Media Outreach Toolkit to assist the Joint Ventures (JVs) with conducting outreach to target audiences around the theme of the 25th Anniversary of the JVs.

Each JV should adapt these materials to best suit regional needs. Keeping this in mind, the overall content and feel of these tools is intentionally general in scope, although we also provide some JV-specific examples that you may wish to use or adapt.

Below we provide some ideas, suggestions, and best practices for how to use the various tools. If you have questions about how to best adapt these materials, suggestions for their improvement, or encounter any problems in opening the various files, please contact the CEOT.


Toolkit Items


JV Final Cut w/ Intro from Cornell Lab of Ornithology on Vimeo.


Tips and Suggestions

Developing a Fact Sheet

We have created an easy-to-use PowerPoint template to help you create a fact sheet for your own Joint Venture. The style and color are designed to match the 2012 National JV Fact sheet.

We have also created an example Fact Sheet to give you ideas of how this might look if you use it.


Creating Effective News Releases

The CEOT has developed a draft news release. As with most of the items in the Toolkit, this is meant to be adapted to suit the specific needs of your JV. Below are some helpful tips and hints for creating a News Release, adapted from "Communication Skills for Conservation Professionals," by Susan K. Jacobson.


Creating and Delivering a Powerful PowerPoint Presentation


Talking Points

You may be called upon to give a speech about the Joint Venture 25th Anniversary. Alternately, you may ask dignitaries to give a short speech at a special event hosted by your JV. In these cases, providing talking points to the speaker is an important tool that helps ensure the most salient points are addressed and the speaker stays within time constraints.

The talking points created by the CEOT provide a starting point. These should be adapted and expanded to meet the needs of your own situation. Keep in mind the rules for a good news release when creating your talking points. Avoid jargon, keep your statements simple, clear, and active, and try at all times to make a connection to your audience.


JV Articles

We have created two articles that can be adapted for a variety of media outlets. There are two versions: one long, the other short. Both provide an overview of the Joint Ventures on the occasion of their 25th anniversary.

As with all of the other items in this toolkit, these articles are meant to be adapted. Consider adding text about your JV and the outstanding accomplishments of your partners. Carefully consider your audience and find angles to capture their attention and inspire their engagement.

The CEOT has developed a Google Doc to (1) track publications about the JV 25th and (2) avoid duplication of efforts. If you plan to pitch a story to a newspaper, magazine, newsletter, etc., even at the local or regional level, please either send a member of the CEOT the general details or add the information to the Google Doc. This will help us not only be more efficient in our efforts, but will also help us track our impact.

Google Doc Planned Media Outreach Document


How To Host A Tour

The San Francisco Bay Joint Venture has a great track record in coordinating tours to project sites. They have put together this very helpful pamphlet of suggested steps, tips, and other ideas to help you put organize a successful tour.