Guidance

Groups often need to engage in publicity – for example: promoting events, attracting new members, asking for help – and some groups choose a small number of their membership to focus on this.

All publicity should provide a positive, respectable and well-run image of LALG, and be in line with LALG’s Publicity and Copyright policies, found in Policies. See also additional copyright guidance under the General section.

The Publicity team are always ready to help you.

The Group Contact is responsible for details of the group’s activities being sent to the newsletter.  Email newsletter@lalg.org.uk by the 10th of the previous month at the latest. The volunteer editor starts compiling the newsletter at the start of the month so earlier entries help to spread the workload.

Advice on creating and sending an entry is at lalg.org.uk/sendentry

The Website is important as it is an open site and thus potentially the first point of contact by those seeking information about Letchworth.

The Website can be accessed at lalg.org.uk

Group contacts are responsible for ensuring that the information on the website is accurate.  This can be achieved by yourself, or another group member, becoming a content editor and putting the information on yourself.  This is especially useful if the group has a lot of information on the website or it needs to be updated regularly. To become a content editor contact website@lalg.org.uk . For groups without a content editor the web editing team carry out the updating using information that will appear in the next Newsletter.

The menu bar gives access to information on the LALG website and to specific information on the over 125 Groups which cover the arts, sports, crafts, food and drink, games and travel. Each Group Page contains a general description of the aims and activities of the Group and any other information which does not change frequently. The Group Logo is usually included and photographs can be added (with the permission of those featured) as plenty of space is available. An aim of this page is to attract new members.

• There is a search capability, and on the right-hand side of the display the name of the Group Contact and a list of future Group Events.
• Future events for many months can be added, typically until the end of the calendar year. This is useful for regular meetings, e.g. Sports Groups for which the details do not change.
• The date of each event is automatically entered in the LALG Calendar (Calendar is opened by Events in the menu bar).
• Information on past meetings, including photographs, can be presented on the Group Page beneath the heading Articles.  Many groups use this to keep a record of meetings and significant events.

To help build local awareness of LALG’s broad range of activities, please consider sharing your Group’s news on our Facebook or Instagram pages (links are external).

To add your post to our social media schedule, please send the information and any relevant images us. Photographs (if included) should be well executed and captioned; and you must have the permission of those in the photo.

For any help with social media, email socialmedia@lalg.org.uk

• Templates for A3, A4 and A5 posters and fliers are available to download
• Include the LALG logo and Letchworth Arts and Leisure Group in Verdana font.
• Ask someone who is not involved to read your draft poster/flier and comment constructively on whether it is clear, concise and complete.
• Keep a note of where you display the poster(s) and remember to remove them when they become out of date.
• For any help with poster design, email publicity@lalg.org.uk

Sustainability Statement

LALG works towards sustainability of the environment, the local community and LALG itself.

Environmental sustainability

LALG respects our local and wider environment by:

•    Helping to maintain a clean environment – in partnership with the council, our Blitz an Open Space group collects over 400 sacks of litter each year.
•    Raising awareness of environmental issues via our Decarbonise Letchworth group 
•    Embracing nature in our gardening groups, walking groups and Wildlife in Gardens, Town & Countryside
•    Encouraging members to meet in locations accessible by public transport; and encouraging car-sharing
•    Encouraging online communication instead of paper – over 60% of our members receive the newsletter online only.
•    Using sustainably sourced materials, for example in our Textile Art group
•    https://lalg.org.uk/textileart

A sustainable local community

We believe everybody can play their part in carving out a brighter future through connection, understanding, helping each other and we aim to develop active thriving communities. We support this by:

•    Using local facilities to host meetings, supporting local businesses
•    Hosting trips, outings and excursions
•    Creating opportunities for finding out more and experiencing more locally
•    Providing real solutions to social isolation
•    Committing to our Equality, Diversion and Inclusion policy, offering a warm welcome to all

Sustainability for LALG

To ensure that LALG will continue to thrive, our committee:

•    Refreshes its business strategy every 5 to 7 years
•    Monitors its Risk Assessment plans twice a year
•    Encourages succession planning within groups, and the committee itself
•    Encourages new ideas to ensure LALG stays fresh and relevant