Page 157 - Information and American Democracy Technology in the Evolution of Political Power

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Political Organizations
60,000 in 1987 to 300,000 in 1995 – about 400 percent in eight years –
74
membership was now actually falling. Although it continued to report
membership at 300,000 publicly, by 2001 the actual figure was 200,000,
down a third in half a decade. In addition, the organization’soverall
intensity and richness of communication with those members was on
the decline. As was true of many other major environmental groups,
by the mid-1990s, ED was sending newsletters to its membership less
frequently than it had in earlier years. The number of issues covered in
each newsletter had also declined over time, from about fiftyonaverage
in the late 1970s to about thirty in the 1990s. 75 The median length of
membership was three years, and about 18 percent of its members had
belonged for less than one year. 76
The only bright spot for ED in the resource arena was funding.
Through growth in grants and nonmember-related funding sources, the
late 1990s were a period of increasing financial resources that more than
offset slipping membership revenue. Between 1995 and 2000, funding
expanded from about $25 million to nearly $40 million. ED’s success
at attracting institutional support helped distinguish it among environ-
mental groups in the 1990s. In 1996, ED spent about $27 for every $100
raised in donations and gifts, a figure substantially less than those of
Greenpeace, the Sierra Club, the Audubon Society, and Defenders of
77
Wildlife. So ED had plenty of funds, all things considered, but an ailing
membership to which it was less connected than in the past.
The change of strategy to embrace new technology represented a way
to invest financial resources in a new approach to communication with
citizens beyond its bounded set of dues-paying members. It targeted a
variety of issues in its new web-based system: clean air, pesticides, na-
tional forest protection, and other issues. In a comparatively short time,
the organization found that its efforts were attracting large numbers of
citizens. These were not traditional donor-members, but what one offi-
78
cial calls “a second type of membership.” These citizens visited the web
site, expressed interest in some particular issue, and frequently left con-
tact information. By 2001, ED had compiled a list of 120,000 interested
citizens seeking information and communication from the organization.

74
Source: Environmental Defense (Fund) Annual Reports, 1974 through 2000.
75 76
Shaiko, Voices and Echoes for the Environment, p. 112. Ibid., p. 157.
77
Only a few major groups had comparable or lower costs of funds. Source: AIP Charity
Rating Guide, reported in ibid.
78
BillPease,EnvironmentalDefense,personalinterviewwithJoeGardnerfortheauthor,
May 13, 2000, New York, New York.
140