What is an Action Tree?

Action Trees are one of Prepare the Future’s key strategies for building a powerful public voice. An Action Tree is an online community built by friends who share common values, including a commitment to quality public education for all children. A 100% successful Action Tree will include 11,240 people who grow from a seed of 40 people identified by a participating organization or individual.

How does it work? The first 40 members will find just five friends each, adding 200 advocates to the Action Tree. Those 200 new advocates will each find five more friends, adding another 1,000. Those 1,000 will each find five more, and the 5,000 advocates they find will each find one last friend, adding a final 5,000 people to the Action Tree.

40 + 200 + 1,000 + 5,000 + 5,000 = 11,240

The Four Commitments

Each person in the Action Tree makes four simple commitments:

  1. To our values and agenda of providing a quality public education for every child;
  2. To find five friends who will join you in making these same commitments;
  3. To contribute annually to support the work; and
  4. To be willing to take action (write a letter to your newspaper or legislator, etc) quarterly.

Joining an Action Tree makes you part of an online community — a powerful, two-way channel of communication. Through blogs, links to websites, emails, podcasts and other uses of technology, members learn about public education and other issues related to the shared values of Prepare the Future. Members can also:

  • Provide regular feedback to their own Action Tree host and to Prepare the Future;
  • Comment on advocacy activities;
  • Make suggestions for greater strategic effectiveness;
  • Make their voices heard on important education issues;
  • Take advantage of occasional "meet-ups" to join fellow-advocates personally in rallies, house meetings, and other settings; and
  • Participate in internet and telephone-hosted live conferences with prominent guests.

To learn more about Action Trees and other Prepare the Future strategies, read our Executive Summary or our full length Program Description.

Help Prepare the Future

 

You can help prepare America's future. Join our network now to take a stand and take action toward ensuring a quality public education for all children everywhere in America.

 

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