• About
    • What We Do
    • Membership
    • Our Advocacy
    • Newsletter
    • Donate
    • Board of Directors
    • Staff
    • Plans and Reports
    • Sponsors
  • Events & Activities
    • Heritage BC Conference 2023
    • BC Heritage Awards
    • Heritage Week 2023
    • Dates to Know
  • Learning Centre
    • Heritage 101
    • Advocacy
    • Accessibility for Historic Places
    • Climate & Sustainability
    • Heritage Place Conservation
    • Heritage Policy & Legislation
    • Homeowners
    • Intangible Cultural Heritage
    • Non-For-Profit Organizations
    • Reconciliation
    • Webinars On-Demand
  • Cultural Maps
    • Mapping Heritage
    • Submerged Heritage Resources
    • Columbia Basin Region Heritage Places
    • Francophone Historic Places Map
    • Chinese Canadian Historic Places Map
    • Japanese Canadian Historic Places
    • South Asian Canadian Map
    • War Monuments and Memorials Map
  • Funding
    • Heritage Legacy Fund
    • Government Funded Grants
    • Climate Disaster Response Fund
    • Funding Opportunities
    • Additional Funding Resources
    • Grant Writing Webinar
  • News
  • Professional Development
    • Educational Opportunities
    • Job Hunting Resources
    • Submit a Job
    • Job Board
    • Annual Conference
    • Professional Organizations
  • Contact
  • Membership
  • Donate
  • Newsletter
Heritage BC
Membership Donate Newsletter
  • About

    About

    • What We Do
    • Membership
    • Our Advocacy
    • Newsletter
    • Donate
    • Board of Directors
    • Staff
    • Plans and Reports
    • Sponsors
  • Events & Activities

    Events & Activities

    • Heritage BC Conference 2023
    • BC Heritage Awards
    • Heritage Week 2023
    • Dates to Know
  • Learning Centre

    Learning Centre

    • Heritage 101
    • Advocacy
    • Accessibility for Historic Places
    • Climate & Sustainability
    • Heritage Place Conservation
    • Heritage Policy & Legislation
    • Homeowners
    • Intangible Cultural Heritage
    • Non-For-Profit Organizations
    • Reconciliation
    • Webinars On-Demand
  • Cultural Maps

    Cultural Maps

    • Mapping Heritage
    • Submerged Heritage Resources
    • Columbia Basin Region Heritage Places
    • Francophone Historic Places Map
    • Chinese Canadian Historic Places Map
    • Japanese Canadian Historic Places
    • South Asian Canadian Map
    • War Monuments and Memorials Map
  • Funding

    Funding

    • Heritage Legacy Fund
    • Government Funded Grants
    • Climate Disaster Response Fund
    • Funding Opportunities
    • Additional Funding Resources
    • Grant Writing Webinar
  • News
  • Professional Development

    Professional Development

    • Educational Opportunities
    • Job Hunting Resources
    • Submit a Job
    • Job Board
    • Annual Conference
    • Professional Organizations
  • Contact
  • Heritage 101
    • Heritage Quick Studies
    • Definitions and Heritage FAQs
    • Organizations to Know
  • Advocacy
    • A Guide to Making a Case for Heritage
    • Election Resources
    • Reports : Heritage Conservation in BC
    • State of Heritage: Provincial Roundtables
    • Heritage Week
  • Accessibility for Historic Places
  • Climate & Sustainability
    • Building Resilience and Sustainability
    • Climate Adaptation : Making A Case Resource Guide
    • Climate Adaptation: Framework and Implementation
    • Seismic Risk & British Columbia’s Historic Streetscapes
  • Heritage Place Conservation
    • Heritage Conservation Tools: Resource Guides
      • Community Heritage Commissions
      • Community Heritage Register
      • Heritage Conservation Areas
      • Heritage Designation
      • Heritage Revitalization Agreements
    • Conservation in BC : Reports and Factsheets
    • Heritage Real Estate
      • Insuring Heritage Properties
    • Publications on Heritage Place Conservation Practices
  • Heritage Policy & Legislation
    • Heritage Legislation in BC
    • Local Government: Library of Source Documents
    • Heritage Conservation Tools: Resource Guides
  • Homeowners
    • Building Code, Heritage Standards & Laws
    • Heritage Designation
    • Heritage Professionals
    • Energy Improvements & Sustainability
    • Funding Opportunities
    • Insurance
    • Materials, Construction & Design
    • Heritage Building Maintenance
    • Safety & Hazardous Materials
  • Intangible Cultural Heritage
    • Intangible Cultural Heritage: A Resource Guide
    • ICH: Creating a Community-Based Inventory
  • Non-For-Profit Organizations
    • Organizational Capacity Building
    • Heritage Tourism
    • A Compendium of Tips and Information for Governance, Management and NFP Operations
  • Reconciliation
    • Indigenous Cultural Heritage
    • Setting the Bar: A Reconciliation Guide for Heritage
      • 1. Heritage and Reconciliation Pledge
      • 2. Acknowledging Land and People
      • 3. Celebrating Days of Recognition and Commemoration
      • 4. With a Commitment to Learn
      • 5. Committing to Strategic Organizational Diversity
      • 6. Mission-Making Room for Reconciliation
      • 7. Possession, Interpretation, Repatriation and Cultural Care
      • 8. Shared Decision Making
      • 9. Statements of Significance and other heritage planning documents
      • 10. Heritage Conservation Tools, Local Government Act
    • Racism: Do Not Let the Forgetting Prevail
      • Erasure 2.0: Gatekeepers
      • Why should we remember?  The legacy of remembrance
      • Racism is like an addiction
      • Black Lives Do Matter
      • The Powerful Position of Learning
      • Beyond Acknowledgement to Diversity and Inclusion
      • Erasure: A Statement on Racism, Inclusivity and Equity
      • Taking Action: resources for diversity and inclusion
  • Webinars On-Demand
  • Learning Centre
  • Advocacy
  • A Guide to Making a Case for Heritage

Making a Case for Heritage: Communicating Your Message

Once you have developed your case, it is time to share your message.

It is important to craft your messages according to the medium of communication and for the recipient. You will want a more formal style when writing to the mayor, but a casual tone when preparing a Facebook post.

Here are some ideas on sharing your information. Not all of these may seem necessary or appropriate for your situation, but keep in mind: the more people who hear your message, the greater your support. Acting on several fronts allows you to be more visible to your decision makers.

  • Send a letter to the mayor and council. Every local government website provides either a joint email address or separate contacts. Your communication will become part of the public record.
  • Meet with your mayor and councillors; one-on-one meetings can be particularly effective as it gives you the opportunity to customize your message to each person. More importantly, you have an opportunity to learn about their interests and priorities, as well as their gaps in knowledge, so that you can continue to strengthen your case.
  • Write to and meet with your local MLA and MP or their senior staff.
  • Deliver your message at Annual General Meetings and other public forums.
  • Organize town hall meetings and other types of information sharing meetings and celebrations.
  • Hand out flyers at fairs and other public events.
  • Consider live streaming with services such as Facebook Live.
  • Deliver your information through electronic newsletters; you can get greater mileage out of your information by spreading it out over several newsletters.
  • Send a letter to the editor and radio station.
  • Prepare an opinion piece for the local press.
  • Prepare a series of bite-sized information statements for social media posts.
  • Put your message on your website.

Tips for a Successful Communication Strategy:

  • Do not assume people understand your situation. Help them to understand by offering relevant facts.
  • To develop a community of advocates, provide resources that can be distributed as handouts or by email.
  • Make your activities accessible by reducing barriers to participation.
  • Deliver a clear message by using accessible language, avoiding jargon and acronyms.
  • Always be open and responsive to any questions, suggestions, criticism, or comments.
  • Craft your message for your audience and for the medium of communication.

Previous in Developing and Communicating Your Case for Heritage

Setting the Bar | Governor's Awards 2022 Recipient
Join Heritage Week 2023
NEW! Homeowner Resources

Support Us

Membership Donate
Heritage BC

604-417-7243

PO Box 846
Ladysmith, BC
V9G 1A6

Connect with Us

© 2023 Heritage BC.
Website by SplitMango

As an organization of provincial scope, Heritage BC recognizes that its members, and the local history and heritage they seek to preserve, occupy the lands and territories of B.C.’s Indigenous peoples. Heritage BC asks its members and everyone working in the heritage sector to reflect on the places where they reside and work, and to respect the diversity of cultures and experiences that form the richness of our provincial heritage.