Changing from 'me' to 'we'

[scoutabout]

I was on UFWDA's board, and a post by someone asking "What's in it for me?" got me thinking. Here is an edited version of my response.

Ah yes, the age old question, "What's in it for me?" or "Why should I donate to a land use group?"

Unfortunately, this age old question is what's killing us.

Instead of thinking "what's in it for me" our community needs to think "what's in it for all of us." When someone writes a check to the Sierra Club, they aren't consciously thinking "what's in it for me?" Sub-consciously, they have the benefit of the good feeling that comes from "saving the environment" (their marketing is far better than ours), but they aren't asking "what do I get?" when they see a solicitation.

If every wheeler stopped saying, "what's in it for me" and started saying "together we can win" we would face a much less dismal outlook. "Think of the whole, not yourself" is the mantra I'd like to promote.

I'm sick of every wheeler who has a $20K rig, a $5K trailer, and $50K tow rig, but they can't give $100/year for land use causes. It's pathetic, and it's why we'll be left with private parks and a few scattered trails within 20 years unless we change our way of thinking.

Keep thinking it won't happen.

4000 miles of open routes are being closed in Moab this summer as a result of the new RMP. We went from 1.5 million acres of open cross-country travel to 6000 miles of routes and now to 2200 miles of routes. What do you think will happen with the next RMP in 15 years?

Discuss.

 

[SAMI]

i agree. i've thought about making some type of a ratio for myself.. a percentage of money into the rig, to the U4... something like every $500-600 spent on the rig, i kick over $50 to U4.. something to that effect.

it's hard to consciously act on it on a day to day basis for me.. i would assume most people think about it, and have it cross their minds now and then.. but then forget, or lose track in the day to day stuff...

i really appreciate the new automatic payment system.. it's a no brainer, just choose the amount and let the comp do it for you. 200 people on auto pay, paying even $10 a month for a year... that's nice.. how many members are in the U4? and then how many potential members out there? there is huge potential..

 

[scoutabout]

i agree. i've thought about making some type of a ratio for myself.. a percentage of money into the rig, to the U4... something like every $500-600 spent on the rig, i kick over $50 to U4.. something to that effect.

The ratio is a good thing to promote. Also, I'm not thinking about U4 at all, but more about groups like BRC and United Four Wheel Drive Associations and donating to RR4W if you like to wheel Moab.

i really appreciate the new automatic payment system.. it's a no brainer, just choose the amount and let the comp do it for you. 200 people on auto pay, paying even $10 a month for a year... that's nice.. how many members are in the U4? and then how many potential members out there? there is huge potential..

The monthly pledge option is awesome, and hopefully more will sign up for it. It would make sense to donate your max amount to U4. Then U4 can distribute the money to the groups doing work for 4x4 users in Utah as well as continue our own projects. The Moab RMP is a good example. We sent $1200 to BRC to help pay for analysis on the RMP.

 

[rockreligious]

Ive gotten friends, family and co-worker/wheelers to sign up w/U4wda, some of those who have told me they wanted to sign up but put it off, got a birthday gift from me in form of a u4 membership and classy t-shirt.

If you have Friends or Family who are public land users and have put off signing up for U4fwda, get them a Membership for Christmas, and shame them into participating.

 

[Seth]

I go back to my days of snowboarding every weekend. $30-$40-$50 a week was not uncommon. A monthly $10 donation by each member of U4 would establish a substantial amount. And I don't know of a more knowledgeable, better educated, more ethical group to entrust my money with. But you make up your own mind. Give to RR4W, give to BRC, any amount helps. The key is a long term mental and finical commitment to this fight. Without that we have real and serious problems.

I met with our financial guru last week and he helped me get a different train of thought about money. He tells everyone to automate as much of their finances as possible, bill pay, savings, investments, taxes and just spend the rest. And it is so true. When you don't see the money you don't miss it. I for one know how important money is in this fight. Everything revolves around it. Marketing to gain members, printing and distribution costs to promote involvement in the rmp process, and in the extreme money to help with legal issues. Volunteer effort only gets you so far.

I have had a real education this past year / year and a half. I have come to know that anyone can be an activist and a asset. I am the first to admit I still don't have the knowledge or experience of our elder members but I also know that it is not hard to get involved and be an asset to the team.

 

[Jared]

Steve,

When I emailed you a few weeks back about setting up a recurring, monthly donation option, I was feeling like a leech. I would use public lands often but never show up for any service projects, or donate money. I felt like a good, responsible user, but not a productive user. I'm sure alot of us fit into this category.

After reading up about the Moab RMP process and submitting my comments via email, it really got me thinking. We really are losing almost 2/3 of our accessible areas in Moab. This is HUGE! I also started to realize that this was not going to be an isolated incident. This would likely be a model for other RMPs within and outside of the state. It brought back recent memories of Factory Butte's closure. The Moab RMP was a definite turning point for my attitude and commitment to the fight for public land access. It was time to start doing!

After reading the official U4 response and seeing the coordination that your organization had done on the RMP project, it became very clear that U4WDA was a group worth supporting. I agreed with your letter to the BLM on every level. You hit the nail right on the head when you talk about what will happen when the next RMP is formed in another 15 years in your post above. During the last 10 years, almost everything near Ogden has been blocked to motorized access. I don't see why this trend will stop unless something significant changes.

I want to help, but it never works out that I can make it to a service project. Although it's hard for me to put in two hours mending fences, it's very easy to put in two extra hours at work one day per month. For me, diverting an hour or two of overtime pay per month is my way of giving my time to the offroad community.

Please, keep up the good work that you all do! But thank you especially for making it easy for me to do something good. All I do is send a trivial amount of money and I know it makes a difference.

Regards,
Jared McKeeth