American Association of University Women of Virginia
AAUW of VA Resource Library: How Does A Branch Get Visibility?
Visibility…what is it?
It’s being seen and perceived by the public for who we are.
It’s a way of getting our message across and it’s a way of attracting new members.
AAUW of Virginia is an active force in the community and we want people to know about it. There are a number of ways we do this.
We have this web site, and perhaps you have your own branch web site as well. For more about this kind of visibility, click HERE.
We have our branch NEWSLETTERS.
We have the state newsletter, Virginia VISION.
We have our branch WEBPAGES.
We also need to reach out to the public. We now have online a list of media resources listed by Districts. This list is far from complete, but it’s a start. We urge you to contact your local media whenever your Branch does something of interest…publicize your projects such as Sister-to-Sister, your fund raisers, your programs, your accomplishments. If a member of your branch is elected to a state or national office in AAUW, be sure to let the media know. Whenever a member of your branch receives and honor or has an achievement of general interest, make sure her/his connection to AAUW is mentioned in any news release you send.
Check out the Association Press Center for press releases concerning current AAUW events. If you choose to send such a release to your local media, be sure to change to the wording to give the story a local “angle”:
“Lib Advocate, president of [Ourtown] Branch, American Association of University Women, announced today that AAUW, on behalf of its 150,000 members nationwide, applauds the Senate Judiciary Committee for its decision to reject the nomination of Charles Pickering to the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals.”
Use the “Letters to the Editor” feature in your local newspapers. If you write about an issue that is of concern to AAUW, be sure to mention that. Show up at public forums on issues of concern to our organization. And if you get to the microphone or find yourself being taped by the media, be sure they know you are represeting AAUW.
Do you know that the Alexandria Branch produces a TV show called AAUW On the Go? Get more info.