All Hands on Deck: Creating Action Around Your Cause
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The document outlines a workshop on nonprofit advocacy, distinguishing advocacy from lobbying and emphasizing the importance of building relationships with lawmakers and the community. It provides a comprehensive set of dos and don'ts for effective advocacy, strategies for communicating with officials, and guidance on organizing coalitions. Additionally, it highlights the necessity of preparation, understanding the legislative landscape, and effectively articulating your needs to elected officials.
All Hands on Deck: Creating Action Around Your Cause
- 1. All Hands on Deck: Creating Action Around Your Cause A Nonprofit Workshop on Advocacy Tuesday, November 18, 2014 Presented by:
- 2. ADVOCACY: What is it? Advocacy vs. Lobbying: • Advocacy is the process of stakeholders making their voices heard on issues that affect their lives and the lives of others at the local, state and national level. • Lobbying involves activities that are in direct support of or opposition to specific legislation, executive orders, or an agency’s rules, regulations & rates.
- 3. ADVOCACY: What is it? Definition of Lobbying: • Any attempt to influence: – (i) the passage or defeat of any legislation by either house of the state legislature or approval or disapproval of any legislation by the governor; – (ii) the adoption, issuance, rescission, modification or terms of a gubernatorial executive order; – (iii) the adoption or rejection of any rule or regulation having the force and effect of law by a state agency; – (iv) the outcome of any rate making proceeding by a state agency; • Source: NYS Joint Commission on Public Ethics (JCOPE)
- 4. ADVOCACY: What is it? Lobbying, like a great steak, requires 3 things: • Money • Beef • Heat Advocacy is much more like a salad: • Relies on many varying ingredients • Can grow in your backyard • Little cost
- 5. DO’S AND DON’TS Please Do: • Advocate for your cause. • Lobby. • Build relationships with and engage lawmakers. • Engage the community and the public. • Encourage people to register to vote, get involved. • Organize communities. • Build coalitions and alliances.
- 6. DO’S AND DON’TS Please Don’t: • Use government funds to lobby. – Your organization can receive government funds for other purposes, just don’t use them for this. • Engage in any partisan activities or activities that simply appear to be partisan. • Lie and damage your credibility. • Be late for meetings. – Elected officials often have tight schedules that can change at a moments notice. • Offer gifts in exchange for favorable action.
- 7. DO’S AND DON’TS Resources: • NYS JCOPE Website: www.jcope.ny.gov • The Alliance for Justice: www.afj.org • The IRS: – http://www.irs.gov/Charities-&-Non-Profits/Lobbying – http://www.irs.gov/Charities-&-Non-Profits/Measuring- Lobbying:-Substantial-Part-Test – http://www.irs.gov/Charities-&-Non-Profits/Measuring- Lobbying-Activity:-Expenditure-Test
- 8. VISION: Know what you want Help elected officials help you: • Make it clear what your priorities are – Rank your legislative agenda in order of importance • Don’t make more work for them – Provide supportive facts – Elected officials and staff face information overload with numerous issues • Be personal, don’t make it personal – Show how their constituents are affected – Be prepared for disagreement
- 9. VISION: Know what you want Telling elected officials what you want is not enough, you need to ask them to do something: • Ask elected officials to take a specific action – Set reasonable expectations – Support/cosponsor a bill, secure funding, issue a public statement, write to an agency, etc. • Ask elected officials to respond to the request – Get a written response and follow up – Be patient but also persistent
- 10. OPPORTUNITY: Know the playing field Effective advocacy requires some research before you get started: • What level of government should I target? • What legislative/regulatory process is involved? • Who’s who among decision-makers? • When is the best time to advocate? • Who are your allies and opposition?
- 11. OPPORTUNITY: Know the playing field Get to know your elected officials: • Personal history – Hometown, family, education, career • Significant accomplishments – Laws passed, funding secured • Record (statements, votes, bill sponsorship) – Votes, statements, bills sponsored and authored • Supporters – Institutional support, campaign contributors • Political philosophy – Go beyond party enrollment
- 12. OPPORTUNITY: Know the playing field Elected officials are like the media: • Establish relationships early – The best time to start is when you don’t need anything. • Upgrade to the Platinum Rule – Treat people the way they want to be treated, not the way you think they should be treated. • You must be timely, interesting, and to the point – Be aware of schedules and deadlines, such as budget and legislative calendars. • Strong relationships yield more attention and greater accessibility – Get them to come to you as a resource too.
- 13. OPPORTUNITY: Know the playing field Meeting and building relationships with staff is well worth your time: • Staff are the gatekeepers to lawmakers and should be your primary target for building relationships. • They help lawmakers balance their responsibilities and provide counsel and advice that helps with important decisions. • Staff also do much of the important behind-the-scenes work on legislation and policy issues. • In many instances, people at the staff level are the policy experts, not the lawmakers.
- 14. OPPORTUNITY: Know the playing field Meetings are just one way to engage with elected officials and staff: • Invite them to visit/tour your office/operation. • Host a legislative breakfast or roundtable discussion. • Invite them to speak at or attend a conference or workshop • Ask them to contribute an article for your newsletter. • Look for volunteer opportunities they can participate in. • Ask for proclamations, resolutions, citations, certificates, etc.
- 15. COMMUNICATE EFFECTIVELY Prepare for the meeting: • Think of it as a presentation: – An opportunity to make a presentation about what you want to say. • Develop 3 key messages: – What are the three most important points you want to make? – Support them with facts, anecdotes, and examples. – Talk backwards. • Rehearse delivering the messages: – Practice delivering your messages out loud, to an audience if possible. – Use your own words. – Practice telling background stories, examples, etc. – Practice answering difficult questions so they don’t trip you up.
- 16. COMMUNICATE EFFECTIVELY Prepare for the meeting: • Have realistic expectations: – Don’t expect to get what you ask for on the spot. – Advocacy is a process that requires patience, flexibility and persistence. • Bring people with you: – If you have people whose stories speak to the importance of the effort and can effectively humanize it, bring them with you. – Putting faces to issues is a powerful way to tell your story and make the case for what you’re trying to achieve. – In the give-take world of advocacy, lawmakers want access to people (voters).
- 17. COMMUNICATE EFFECTIVELY During the meeting: • Get to the point (“the ask”) quickly: – Whatever you want from the lawmaker, be sure to clearly articulate it at the beginning of the meeting. • Provide a one pager on the issue: – Don’t count on the lawmaker or staffer to remember everything you say. – Provide a document that summarizes the issue, the role of your organization, what you’re trying to achieve, and what you are asking of the lawmaker. – Be concise.
- 18. COMMUNICATE EFFECTIVELY During the meeting: • Bring it back to your issue: – Let the lawmaker ask questions, but don’t let those questions derail your presentation. – When rehearsing, have someone ask tough questions designed to get you off topic or frustrate you. – Focus on acknowledging the question and then returning to your messages. • Expect the unexpected: – Your 15 minute meeting could change to a 3 minute meeting. – Your meeting with a lawmaker could change to a meeting with staff. – Your meeting in an office could happen while walking down a hall.
- 19. ASSETS Local government • www.monroecounty.gov • www.cityofrochester.com • www.lwv-rma.org New York State government • www.ny.gov • www.assembly.state.ny.us • www.nysenate.gov • http://public.leginfo.state.ny.us/
- 20. ASSETS Federal government • www.congress.gov • www.house.gov • www.senate.gov • www.whitehouse.gov
- 21. COLLABORATE Building coalitions can improve your chances for success by: • Building your membership and creating new partnership opportunities • Enhancing your branding and credibility • Raising awareness and improving visibility • Maximizing resources and dividing labor • Increasing political clout • Neutralizing the opposition
- 22. COLLABORATE Coalitions can be like “herding cats” and have challenges: • Coalitions require time and money – Be sure that it is adequately funded – Members need to be in it for the long haul • Specific interests can lead to conflict among groups – Members need to respect each other – Build consensus among members, even if it’s time consuming • Coalition management is cumbersome – Utilize an effective and deliberate leadership structure
- 24. YOUR MOMENT OF ZEN
- 25. Contact Us Mike Kennerknecht PR Supervisor Tipping Point Communications 585-340-1119 mike@tippingpointcomm.com www.tippingpointcomm.com @Kennerknecht Tom Brede Sr. Content Manager, Counselor Eric Mower + Associates 585-389-1870 tbrede@mower.com www.mowerpr.com @TomBrede