Design Planning for Activists

A few places to start:

• Planning Your Next Conference (855KB PDF)
  “This paper is intended to assist organizers in developing successful grassroots/community level conferences within 5 months. It is written from a designer’s perspective to help you complete your tasks for maximum impact and minimum stress.”
  
  
• Failing By Design: Why Bad Ads Happen to Good Causes (1.9MB PDF)
  On layout and messaging.
  
  
• 14 ways to cut design and production costs (while increasing response)
  How to work with print shops.
  
  
• Public Relations Strategy and Media Relations Tips for Non-Profits and Advocacy Campaigns