Take Action: Advocacy Days is only the beginning!

Making a Difference Back Home

In order to strengthen our Christian voice, we all must take what we learn from Advocacy Days back home and use it in our own congregations and communities. Our weekend together every March is only one step in our work to create change. The United States functions as a representative democracy, meaning our elected officials work for us. However, they must hear from us and our congregations in order to know how to represent us. Becoming a grassroots activist now can set the stage for new policies that promote peace and justice in 2008 and beyond.

Educate Yourself and Your Community

It is important to continuously educate yourself and your congregation on how the issues discussed at Advocacy Days develop. This way, when it is time to contact your elected officials, they will see that you are familiar with the issue and passionate about the cause. The following websites will help keep you up-to-date on legislation before Congress and inform you of the legalities when faith groups lobby elected officials:

advocacydays.org/take-action/ – visit the websites of the different denominations and non-profit groups represented at Advocacy Days to see how you can connect with justice campaigns, action alerts, and legislative updates.
www.congress.org/ – find out information about your members of Congress.
www.faithfuldemocracy.org – provides legal guidelines and guidance for faith communities interested in engaging the democratic process.
www.networklobby.org and www.results.org – for additional resources and materials.

Build an Advocacy Network

Bring the Message home to your Congregation

Let your Pastor and/or home congregation know about Advocacy Days and the important role people of faith have in advocating for justice. Here are a few ways to educate and prepare your home congregation:

Pray with your church members for the strength to continue advocating for justice and for God to lift the veil of false security from the eyes of our elected government.
Host a community forum addressing the wide variety of international and domestic issues discussed in the various Advocacy Days tracks. Be sure to invite other groups in your community to join in the discussion and to bring along their own membership.
Designate someone in your church to lead the way on advocating for each particular initiative.
Encourage all members of your church to register to vote.
Work with the Pastor to promote justice campaigns in weekly bulletins, newsletters, and sermons.

Bring Together a Coalition in your Community

Building an Advocacy Network in your community will demonstrate to elected officials a lasting unity among their constituency committed to a vision of true security in our neighborhoods and the world.

Continue to work with those you meet during Advocacy Days from your home state. Develop a strategic plan to promote justice in your community.
Engage local clergy and justice organizations from your area which you already have an established relationship and begin to build relationships with new groups.

Take Action!

Organize your Advocacy Network to contact your elected officials through office visits, phone calls, letters and e-mails. In thinking about which form of communication to engage, the rule of thumb is that the more effort you have to exert, the longer you sustain your efforts and the broader your coalition, the more attention your communication garners and the more effective you will be.

Schedule a Visit with your Elected Officials

The most effective way to lobby your legislators is to schedule a face-to-face visit with them or their staff members in their home district offices. These visits go a long way to establish the relationships needed to ensure your voice is heard and action is taken. Be sure to remember the following when planning your visit:

When making an appointment specify the issue you would like to discuss. Prepare your group by researching the lawmaker’s voting record and organizing an effective presentation with resources to backup your argument.
During the visit, deliver a clear and concise message. Include stories that personalize the problem and offer solutions that will be attractive to a whole range of viewpoints. Be patient and passionate; don’t react angrily even if you don’t get the response you want to hear. Remain polite.
Following your visit, continue to build a relationship by sending a thank-you letter to the legislator and/or staffer for the time spent listening to your concerns. Also, remember to provide additional information and to call periodically requesting updates.

Call your Elected Officials

Your elected officials can always be reached through the Capitol Switchboard at (202) 224-3121. In addition, many justice campaigns will provide toll-free numbers. Here are some tips when making calls or writing emails:

Introduce yourself and mention that you are a constituent and a person of faith.
State your request and supporting reasons. (If applicable, cite the specific bill number.)
Ask specifically, “Can I count on Senator/Representative _______ to support this bill?”
Remember to express your thanks and follow up with phone calls for an updates.

Write to your Elected Officials

Although it takes longer to reach your elected officials, a written letter will demonstrate devotion to an issue. Organize your Advocacy Network in a letter writing campaign. Although it is a good idea to develop a sample letter for the group, each letter should be personalized. Form letters do not receive the same amount of attention as individualized letters. You can also e-mail your elected officials; you can find the email address to Congressional offices at www.congress.org.

Engage the Candidates

Because this is an election year there will be many opportunities to ask national, state, and local candidates directly about their stances on the issues and actions discussed at the conference. The issues and concerns voiced on the campaign trail will shape the promises and legislative priorities of the candidates. You can approach candidates by scheduling delegation visits or by appearing at public events where candidates are speaking.

Look over the tips below and visit advocacydays.org/take-action for track-specific questions to ask candidates links and additional information.

Schedule Delegation Visits with Candidates

Similar to scheduling visits with your legislator’s district offices, you can organize a

delegation to meet with members of Congress running for reelection and their challengers, as well as candidates running for open seats. Preparing a delegation and setting up a visit will allow you to go into more depth on the tracks discussed during Advocacy Days than simply asking questions at campaign stops.

Attend Public Events and Ask Questions

Another effective way to advocate is to attend public and campaign events with congressional and presidential candidates. Asking them questions at these events reveals their positions on the issues and creates an informal public record of what they say.

Before the Event

Find out where the candidate will be - Identify which candidates will be key on what issue. Call the candidate’s offices, join their email list, or check their website to find out their schedule. Stay up-to-date with local newspapers and political websites, because they often publish calendars of candidate events. Find out as much about each event as you can, so you know what to expect ahead of time.
Get to know the candidates - The more you know about the candidates’ views on the issues, the better prepared you will be for their appearance in your area. Check out voting records, ask for position papers from the campaign office, question their staff, write letters to the candidates, visit their websites, and follow the campaign in the local papers to glean candidate positions. Integrate these positions into your questions!
Prepare your questions ahead of time – Make a list of questions and prioritize them before the event. Practice asking your questions! While everyone else is thinking of what they want to ask, you will already be prepared with your hand up – the trick for getting your question heard The better the questions are, the better the answer will be.
Work with your Advocacy Network - It is often easier to work in teams. Because engaging candidates can sometimes make people nervous, going in teams of two or more will create a support base. It will also allow you to share responsibilities, resources and most importantly keep you focused. Recruit friends and family to join you in your campaign. The more advocates you recruit, the more likely you are to get an answer to one your question. Also, plan to network with others at the event to build your advocacy base.

At the Event

Raising the issues - Get to the event early. Make sure you have the best spot for getting your message heard. If you are with a group, sit separately and spread out so more questions have a chance to be asked. Find potential exit points so you can also reach the candidates in the handshake line to reiterate your points and build on your question. Maximize your question’s impact – Get your hand up FIRST, FAST, and HIGH! Candidates respond to your excitement. Anticipate possible counter-arguments to your question before you ask it and let the candidate know that a lot of people are interested in knowing where he or she stands on your issue.
Always keep it cordial -You are likely to get more of a response from candidates, and make a positive impression on the media, if you are calm and respectful in your demeanor. Remember, a question may be forceful - even pointed - and still be asked in a polite, courteous manner.
Talking to the Media - The press is there to get the story, so give them one. Making yourself known to the press by being prepared, informative, and passionate will greatly increase the likelihood that your issue will be highlighted.

Work with Your Local Media

Be sure to communicate with your local media about the issues and actions discussed during Advocacy Days.

Download our sample local press release.

Mobilize your Advocacy Network to contact local newspapers about editorials, Opinion-Editorials (Op-Eds) and letters to the editor. Media work can be very powerful in creating the political will for change and bring our vision of true security to a mass audience. Ways to influence public opinion via the media can include calling an editorial writer from your local newspaper to inspire an editorial, writing an Opinion-Editorial yourself, or writing a letter to the editor.

Editorials, Op-Eds and Letters to the Editor are powerful advocacy tools. Why?

The Opinion Page is one of the most widely read sections of newspapers and magazines. Therefore, having an editorial, Op-Ed or letter to the editor published will be seen by a large audience. Also, opinion pieces are closely monitored by legislators and candidates for public office to find out what local media and voters care about. Letters and Op-Eds can also create the impression of widespread support of or opposition to an issue and influence other members of the media to probe an issue more deeply.

Tips on Writing Op-Eds and Letters to the Editor

Check out preferred length, style and format by reading letters currently in the publication. Look for submission requirements, including word limits, in the paper or on its website. Note: For Op-Eds, many times you will need to submit a picture.
Be succinct.
Timeliness is key. Many major newspapers can publish letters responding to articles, editorials or other letters as soon as the day after they appear. The easiest way to respond quickly is via email (directly through their websites) or fax.
A letter or Op-Ed is more likely to be published when written in response to something that has appeared in the publication. When you respond, include a reference to the article, letter or editorial. Also, try to show the impact of the issue on your community.
Make sure your lead sentence is compelling. You want to draw the reader’s attention.
Limit your letter to one topic.
Make your letter lively but reasonable. Verify facts, and make sure quotes are accurate. Depending on the issue, consider using humor or a personal story. Refrain from personal attacks.

Also consider expanding your media activism to include contact with radio and TV shows, and writing articles for publication.