Thursday, August 21, 2008
The Grassroots Advocacy Olympics!
Monday, August 18, 2008
Why This Week (August 18th) is the MOST IMPORTANT WEEK OF THE YEAR For American Democracy
It doesn't seem like such an auspicious week, does it? And yet, it will make all the difference for what Congress and even the Presidential candidates have to say in the coming months.
I recognize that most people would give the honor of "most imoprtant week for democracy" to the week of November 3rd, when citizens across the country will be voting in the Presidential election. Or maybe they'd give it to the week of August 25th or September 1st when, depending on your party, delegates gather to select a president.
What they're missing is the fact that this week represents the last opportunity for citizens to connect with their lawmakers at home before the national conventions and the end of the 110th Congress.
Why is that important? Traditionally, the views expressed by constituents during what's known as the "August district work period" dramatically impact Congress' policy agenda and schedule for the remainder of the year. This impact increases exponentially during a presidential election year.
In short, members of Congress will go to the conventions and back to DC with hearts and minds full of what they are hearing back home. So if citizens really want elected officials to listen up, whether it's on the economy, gas prices or the regulation of industry X, Y or Z, now's the time.
If you want to be most effective in your communications, stop by our Article Vault or FAQs page for more ideas on how to be a truly great advocate -- and happy advocating!
Thursday, August 14, 2008
Grassroots Advocacy and the Net: Ships passing in the night?
Wednesday, August 13, 2008
Tuesday, August 12, 2008
Making the world safe for grassroots advocacy
- 73 percent of the groups surveyed reported engaging in some type of policy advocayc or lobbying during the year
- Well over half engage in some advocacy activity every month or more, although a very limited amount of resources are devoted to those efforts.
- Most organizations reported that those they serve (clients, members or patrons) are rarely involved in the advocacy efforts of the organization. Most of the work is done by the executive director.
- Most advocacy is directed toward state or local policy makers as opposed to federal.
- People get involved for three reasons: relevance of legislation to the organization itself, relevance of the legislation to the people it serves and interest of the executive director.
- Advocacy involvement is on the rise in the non-profit world, although the funds to undertake advocacy are still very limited.
What all this tells me is that while lobbying and advocacy are certainly an important part of non-profit life, there is SO MUCH MORE that could be done to encourage wider involvement. If one communication from an Executive Director of a group could be considered somewhat powerful, imagine the impact an organization could have with a properly mobilized grassroots army!
The good news is that most of this mobilization can be done with a limited budget using new social media tools. At a minimum, organizations wanting to enhance their advocacy efforts should set up a Facebook group and gather more supporters there. Blogs, Twitter and podcasts are other useful ways to get the word out.
I'll be doing more webinars in the future on these topics -- so stay tuned!
Monday, August 11, 2008
Blogs, Advocacy and YOU!
Hmmm, what do advocacy and blogging have to do with one another? Well, the answer is communication! Blogging, if used properly, is an excellent way to get one's message out both to those that might be able to influence policy makers as well as to policy makers themselves. It's also a great way to build a business, which is the focus on the First Class session. So, whether you want to altruistically advocate or make some moolah (or both), you'll find something of value in these sessions.
Friday, August 01, 2008
MacGyver's Approach to Grassroots Advocacy
I generally think of him as the poor man's James Bond. He didn't have a fancy workshop dedicated to creating special spy devices. He just used whatever was laying around to achieve his goals.
At any rate, I think we have a lot to learn from Macgyver about advocacy, and I boiled down his approach to five basic principles, specifically:
- Leverage: Getting an elected official to move is sometimes as much about the force you apply indirectly as the direct pressure.
- Tools: I outlined some quick and easy advocacy tools that anyone can use -- for free!
- Knowledge: Macgyver always had obscure knowledge about chemistry and the like. The legislative process is almost as obscure and effective advocates (especially those leading campaigns) would do well to have as much background as possible in the process.
- Risks: Macgyver always took risks -- sometimes their necessary in advocacy as well.
- Luck (and persistence): Anyone can make their own advocacy luck through the mastery of leverage, tools, knowledge and risks. The persistent application of these approaches will ensure that any advocate can get out of a bind - just like Macgyver.
If you want to know more about the webinar, you can download the PPT on our social network page. And happy advocating!