Public Policy Advocacy & YOU!

Editor's Notes

1. Hi! [Introduce selves]Today we’re going to share a one stop national collection of advocacy resources and what can be done in minimal amounts of time.The NCL Advocacy Clearinghouse and Toolkit is made possible with generous support from the Dollar General Literacy Foundation.
2. NCL and its members lead advocacy efforts and identify all key decision points in the authorization, budget and appropriations processes. They are mindful of your time and only mobilize the grassroots when they need help. In this section of the toolkit you’ll find resources on the legislative process and key points for advocacy. The Bottom Line is to advocate early in the legislative process. This impacts decisions when they are just beginning to take shape. The further along a bill progresses in the legislative process the more difficult it is to influence it. See the handout in your folder on Using Your Time Wisely. You can use this to plan when you are most likely to be asked to take grassroots action, what action is needed, and where you can find the resources to support you for these actions.
3. Advocacy Leadership contains information on how the Coalition makes policy decisions via consensus in order to send the same, consistent message to Congress. In it you’ll also find resources for strategically planning your own advocacy agenda and for evaluating outcomes of your advocacy efforts.
4. Contacting Legislators contains resources for communicating with legislators and their staffs, including tips for writing, calling, and meeting with legislators. Find out which legislators are also key to adult education and family literacy. Some legislators are more important to us than others because they sit on key committees that make decisions that impact adult education and family literacy. However, every legislator is important and can become a champion for our cause, like Congressman Jared Polis of Colorado. For three consecutive years he created legislation to dedicate National Adult Education and Family Literacy Week!
5. Contains tips and resources for creating responsive networks, including links to advocacy role descriptions for state, district, and local contacts; comparison charts of other state advocacy networks and resources from states.
6. Engage with policymakers and partner organizations where existing relationships exist, or where there is potential for relationship building.Go to “What to say and how” for sample hooks: http://www.ncladvocacy.org/tksay.html