Archive for the ‘ Advocacy ’ Category

4 Tips to Maximize the Association Advocacy Day

If your association has decided to have an advocacy day, you’re probably wondering where to start. Sending advocates to visit Congress or their state legislature can be a daunting task, from getting the meetings scheduled to making sure your advocates can effectively deliver your message.

Here are a few tips to help improve your advocacy days:

1. Have a clear message.

The decision to have an advocacy day usually comes from some legislative activity that is important to your association. But you need to be clear about the purpose of your event. What is the ask? Do you want support for a bill, increased funding for a program? It’s acceptable to have “meet and greet” advocacy days, where your group comes in and says, “this is who we are and this is what we do,” but you can do that only once. If there is nothing in particular that you want from legislators, why have advocacy days?

2. Hit your targets.

Because time is limited during advocacy days, you want to make sure that your legislative targets are covered. Find out which legislators sit on the committees that are in charge of your issue and make them the priorities. That means making sure that constituents from their districts are in attendance. If you see holes in your targets, go through your membership roster and find people from those districts and invite them to your advocacy days. Your database cannot do this for you. You have to pick up the phone and ask. It’s amazing what people will do if you just ask.
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2011
01/12
CATEGORY
Advocacy
Association Advocacy
Homeschool
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Learning Advocacy Efforts

I often go to the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival. As usual, in the midst of three days of fun, frivolity and fantabulous jazz I, of course, got to thinking about advocacy. I mean, wouldn’t you? And this wasn’t just in a daiquiri-induced haze while wandering around the French Quarter. No, in fact, I was struck by the similarities between Jazz Fest and every advocacy campaign with which I’ve been ever been affiliated.

Following are five techniques you should use to get you through any advocacy campaign – or music festival for that matter.

Strategize: One does not just walk into Jazz Fest and wander around. With eleven stages offering up multiple acts, only careful planning will ensure that you’ll catch what interests you most. At Jazz Fest, this tactic applies doubly to your food options. Before the festival, my husband and I looked over the musical acts and decided what we wanted to see in about ½ hour. We spent another 3 hours drooling over the food. Jambalaya. Bread Pudding. Po Boys. Muffalettas. See, no one can eat everything. But you can eat some of everything with a good plan – and stretchy pants.

The same applies to your advocacy efforts (the strategizing, not the stretchy pants). Think of your strategy development in four stages: First, you want to outline your specific goal – usually in terms of dollars or policy outcomes. Then you want to look at the variety of ways to reach that goal. For appropriations, for example, this might include earmarks, additional line item funds or even report language directing the agency to spend more. Third, consider the competition, distractions and road blocks standing in your way, such as other worthy programs in need of funding (yes, there are a few). Finally, in light of all this information, identify your preferred path. We navigated through Jazz Fest using this four step process – I know it will work for advocacy.
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2011
01/10
CATEGORY
Advocacy
Learning
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