What is your ASK?

National Alliance for CaregivingASA/NCoA Conference

March 18, 2009

Brian M. Duke MHA MBEDirector

Bucks County Area Agency on Aging

Advocacy cycle

• Identify issue or problem

• Research cause and effect

• Plan goals, objectives, indicators, methods, activities, and timeline

• Act

• Monitor and evaluate actions and results

Need to Keep Acting

The bottom line for sustaining a coalition, however, would be the same for any community venture, that is, the capacity to act and have an impact on the community. Our experience is that long lasting coalitions keep on acting – visibly, energetically and effectively.

Tom Wolff,AHEC Community Partners, Sustainability of Coalitions http://www.tomwolff.com/resources/cb_sustainability.pdf

Times of Change

• Resources have diminished or disappeared

• Needs continue

• Other priorities overshadow

Essential Right Now

• Community Development

• Getting the Message Right

Community

Enlist others

Engage them to deliver or echo your message

Modify the ask - not always $

Catalyze new solutions

Create new connections

Get to the hallmark of success – the changing of community norm

Getting the Message Right

• Brevity

• What’s the ASK?

• Is there a call to action?

• Is the message effective?

Three questions

• Who to approach?

• What is the message?

• Who will deliver the message?

In these tough times…

• A coalition’s voice most needed – collaborative lobbying

• Do not dilute the need but connect it to other areas of policy concern

• Speak on the short term crisis and long term relationships*

• Communication is focused, personalized and relevant

* Kristin Murphy, Stephanie Vance, Advocacy for Libraries in Tough Times presentation for the American Association of School Librarians 2009

What’s your ask?

• You know your coalition’s history mission

• You know well the definition of need

• What is the one thing you want?

Social Innovation• The ASK should reveal your coalition’s passion

• It is a part of the ongoing work of the coalition, ideas and organizations to meet social needs

• Inspiration of new strategies, concepts, ideas, organizations that meet social needs of all kinds. This can take place within government, within companies or within the non profit sector, but is increasingly seen to happen most effectively in the space between the three sectors.*

*Wikepedia

Community Activism

• Where we find ourselves now

• Is there an impact on confidence?

• Is change happening fast enough?

To Hope

• Audacity to be bold• Audacity to be passionate• Audacity to persist• Audacity to tell your story• Audacity to be courageous• Audacity to be spiritual• Audacity to see abundance not scarcity• Audacity to stand up for the power of relationships

Al Etmanski,PLAN Institute,Audacity,presentation to the Canadian Caregivers Coalition June 2008

Resources

Caregiver Coalition Advocacy Guide

National Alliance for Caregiving January 2006

Webcasts for Caregiver Coalitions

http://www.caregiving.org/coalition/#webcast

Contact Information

Brian M. Duke

Director

Bucks County Area Agency on Aging

30 East Oakland Avenue

Doylestown, PA 18901

Telephone: 215-348-0510 x 1202

Email: bmduke@co.bucks.pa.us