Cover Story: Giving Voice
A clear mandate
More than 100,000 people from 182 countries voted, and 96 percent of them said, "Yes, Let's go all out on climate" — a resounding response and the mandate the organization was looking for to move forward on the campaign.
Solomon says if only 30 percent had said, "Yes," the organization wouldn't have done the campaign.
"That would have defeated the whole idea," he says.
As promised, about a week after the initial e-mail, the organization sent out a second e-mail to all members announcing the results of the vote and asking them to donate to fund the "global climate wake-up call" on Sept. 21. "With our ambition now sky high, our collective challenge is to fund what could be the largest coordinated global climate event ever," the e-mail challenged.
The e-mail featured four donation links and included a time- sensitive, specific goal to raise $150,000 by Sept. 7, so Avaaz could build an online world map and event registry that linked all the Sept. 21 events together, establish a global phone database so supporters could call leaders demanding climate action at the Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen, and organize the media to get the message out. When clicked on, the donation links led to a page that included a donation form, tell-a-friend form and counter showing the amount donated so far. According to Solomon, the organization surpassed its goal, raising $158,000 only five days after the e-mail went out.
A third e-mail let recipients know, again, the results of the poll and then got down to business, detailing the plans for the wake-up call event and urging recipients to host events in their areas. The copy in that e-mail succeeded in motivating because it:
● Was enticing. It talked about the event in a way that was equal parts edgy and also fun: "These will be quick, politically powerful, and a lot of fun … Together we can beat it, but time is short — we can't rely on old tactics to generate new results. Let's get creative!"
