EFFECTIVE CAPITOL HILL ADVOCACY Webinar October 14, 2009

EFFECTIVE CAPITOL HILL ADVOCACY

Webinar October 14, 2009

America’s Youth Council Network Goes to Washington…

October 25-26, 2009

© 2009 The Forum for Youth Investment. Ready by 21 and the Ready by 21 Logo are registered trademarks of the Forum for Youth Investment. 2

Asked on a Survey of Congressional Staffers

"If your Member/Senator has not already arrived at a firm decision on an issue, how much influence might the following advocacy

strategies directed to the Washington office have on his/her decision?"

The Most Influential Communications Are Personal

3%

3%

3%

34%

44%

47%

60%

30%

20%

15%

0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100

Form Faxes

Form E-mail

Form Letters

Lobbyist Visit

Phone Calls

Individualized Faxes

Individualized E-mail

Individualized Letters

Constituent Representative

Constituent Visits

A lot of InflunceSome Influence

57%

96%

96%

94%

99%

93%

88%

91%

65%

63%

The Top Ten List: What NOT to Say When You’re Advocating

10.But I want to talk to the Congressman, not just youTry: Thanks for making the time to meet with me!

11.Here’s some reading material for you. It’s our 300 page annual report

Try: Here’s our one-pager

12.How much money did you get to do the opposite of what I want?

Try: Leaving this thought inside your head


7. I assume you know all about this issueTry: I’m glad to have an opportunity to be a resource

8. No, I don’t have an appointment but I promise I’ll only take ½ hour of your timeTry: Making an appointment or limiting your pitch

9. No, I don’t really need anything specificTry: Making the ask


4. “Numerous people say” or “Statistics show”Try: Specific, personal anecdotes and testimonials

Logic doesn’t always work so well on Capitol Hill

5. What do you mean we have to stand in the hall?Try: What a lovely place to have a meeting

6. But I heard Jon Stewart on The Daily Show say something different about this issueTry: Not believing everything you hear on Comedy

Central


1. No, I’m not from your district or state. I just thought you’d be interested in what I have to say.

Try: Bringing someone with you who is from their district and have them be the spokesperson for the group.

For more information about CMF, our Communicating with Congress Project, or our other products and services, please visit www.cmfweb.org.

Resource: Congressional Management Foundation

Homework• Research your elected official (their Web site &

Wikipedia page) What child/youth things do they have in their background? Were they a teacher?

Social Worker? Etc? If so, mention that in your meeting as a reason you are approaching them

• Note which committees they are on and shape your message to address their interests. Key Senate committees:

o Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee o Committee on Homeland Security & Governmental Affairso Appropriations

Key House committees:o Education and Labor Committeeo Appropriations


What to Bring

• Business cards if you have them• 3 copies of the following handouts:

about your youth council Building Effective Youth Councils: A Practical Guide to

Engaging Youth in Policy Making America’s Youth Council Network “leave behind” on

youth voice in federal policymaking• Your talking points (try to remember them, not read from

them)


What to Wear

• Professional dress is required on Capitol Hill. • For men, slacks, dress shirts, and ties are

appropriate dress. (no caps)

• For women, dress shirts, dresses, skirts, or slacks are appropriate. (nothing too revealing)

• If you have a suit and would like to wear it, please do.

• The key thing to remember is to dress neatly and professionally.


Sample Opening Sentence

• “Thank you for taking the time to meet with us today. I’d like to take a few minutes to let you know about the youth council in your state/district, and then discuss a few federal opportunities to support this work.”


Sample Agenda

• 10 minutes about your youth council• 10 minutes about ways the federal government

could help (the three “asks”)• 10 minutes of next steps, follow up


10 Minutes about your Youth Council

• Who you are everyone in room introduces themselves. Give your business card (if you have one) and ask for theirs.

• What the youth council is Who is on it? Number and ages and diversity of members. What do you do? How do you advise policy makers?

• Why your work is so important How has it led to improved policies? How has it enhanced your own lives?

• Any questions?


Sample Transition Sentence

• “Now that you have heard a little bit about us, we’d love to begin a dialog with you about potential ways the Federal government could support our efforts and similar efforts across the country. There are a couple ideas we have come up with which we would love your input on.”


Youth Councils Network Ask #1

Create a Federal Youth Council which builds on state and local youth councils.

• Explain why you would like to have a Federal Youth Council to advise the President and/or Congress.

• Sample questions: What do you think of the idea of creating a Federal Youth

Council? Do you think the Senator/Congressperson might be interested

in working with us to develop a piece of legislation to create a Federal Youth Council? (Sample response from a staffer: “I will discuss this with my boss and let you know.”)

© 2The Forum for Youth Investment. Ready by 21 and the Ready by 21 Logo are registered trademarks of the Forum for Youth Investment. 17

Youth Councils Network Ask #2

Provide Federal grants for state and local youth councils• Explain where your funding currently comes from, and

why it is essential that you get more funding.• Sample questions

Do you think there are opportunities for us and other youth councils across the country to receive federal funding?

What avenues should we explore to potentially get federal funding in the future?

Might the Senator/Representative support such a funding request? (Sample response from a staffer: “I will discuss this with my boss and let you know.”)


Youth Councils Network Asks #3

Use our state/local youth council as a sounding board• As you and the Senator/Representative work on youth

policy issues, we would love the opportunity to present our views and perspectives.

• We encourage the Senator/Representative to reach out to us when he/she would like feedback from young people in his/her district.

• How could we facilitate the process of connecting with the Senator/Representative about youth policies as they are being created?


Follow Up, Next Steps

• “Are there other ideas you have for how young people could have a voice in national policies that we should consider?”

• “We will be very interested to hear if the Senator/Representative would be interested in working with us on any of the three ideas we discussed. When would you like us to follow up with you?”

• “Here are some publications about our youth council and youth councils across the country, to provide additional information”

• “Thank you so much for your time today!”© 2009 The Forum for Youth Investment. Ready by 21 and the Ready by 21 Logo are registered trademarks of the Forum for Youth Investment. 20

Report back to us (Hart Cafeteria)• Who did you meet with? (hand in a business card)• What was their reaction to each of the three asks?

Note any points they had either in favor or against each of the ideas.

• Did they think this was an issue that their Senator/Representative might be interested in working on?

• What did they request/suggest as next steps? When do they want to hear from you again?


See you soon!

Please email [email protected] with details regarding your appointments with your

Senators/Representatives/Legislative Staff.• Who is your meeting with?• What time?• What building/room number?


Documents

EFFECTIVE CAPITOL HILL ADVOCACY Webinar October 14, 2009