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Game Plan:Preparing for Effective Advocacy

Prepared byEric Gorovitz, Director

The Alliance for Justice

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Agenda

• What is “advocacy?”• How do you prepare for

advocacy?• Advocacy exercises

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What Is “Advocacy”?A broad range of activities designed to influence policy:

ADVOCACY:

Organizing Public Education

Educate Legislators Nonpartisan Voter Ed.

Partisan Political Activity Lobbying

Regulatory Efforts Litigation

Get to Know Legislators Educational Conferences

Research Lobbying Exceptions

Organize a Rally Training

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Planning for Advocacy

Get Ready! Identify meaningful yet realistic goals

Get Set! Choose specific advocacy actions to accomplish goals

ADVOCATE!

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Get Ready!

Identify meaningful yet realistic goals

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Identifying Goals

The Four Questions*:• What do you want?

• Who can provide it?

• To whom will they listen?

• What do they need to hear?* Adapted from Shultz, The Democracy Owners’ Manual (Rutgers 2003)

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What Do You Want?

• What problem do you want to solve?

• Is a complete solution feasible in a reasonable amount of time?

• If not, are there smaller steps that move in the right direction?

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Who Can Provide It?Avenues of Change:

LegalLegislative

AdministrativeNonpartisanelectoral

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To Whom Will They Listen?

Opinion leaders?General public?

Special constituency?

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What Do They Need to Hear?

• Accurate data

• Compelling message

• Relevance to them or their constituency

• Substance

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Get Set!

Identify specific advocacy actions to accomplish goals

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Identifying Advocacy Actions

• Assess advocacy capacity

• Increase advocacy capacity

• Plan strategically

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Assessing Capacity

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Increase Capacity

• Collaborate with others– Community groups– Business leaders– Friends of the Library

• Expand board leadership• Raise money

– Add staff– Hire consultants

• Etc.

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Plan Strategically

• Timing

• Relationships

• Opposition

• Negotiate

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Timing

• Policy change takes time

• Budget hearings are the end of the process

• Stay ahead of the calendar

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Relationships

• Legislative staff have power

• Make your skills available

• Coalitions confer breadth

• Strong relationships last

• People move up

• Focus energy where it counts

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Opposition

• Who are your natural or potential enemies?

• What will they say?• Why are they wrong?• How can you neutralize them?

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Negotiation• Build in giveaways

• Accept minor changes

• Know your bottom line

• Balance ambition with progress

• Be prepared to walk away or switch strategies

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ADVOCATE!

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Community Outreach

• Launch a public education campaign promoting the library

• Convene a public meeting to discuss library funding

• Organize a rally supporting new programs

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Media Outreach

• Submit a letter to the editor of the local newspaper

• Meet with the newspaper editorial board• Write an op-ed • Pitch news stories highlighting the library’s

important contributions to the community• Conduct press briefings at the library

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Decision Maker Outreach

• Invite elected representatives on a tour of the library and its programs

• Conduct a “lobby day” to visit legislators at their offices

• Add legislators to your mailing list and keep them informed about the library’s successes and needs

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Now What?

• Celebrate

• Appreciate

• Evaluate

• Plan next steps

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Alliance for Justice Resources & Assistance

www.afj.org | 510-444-6070

Resources:• Materials and trainings• Lobbying rules for nonprofits• Election year activity information

Questions?• Lawyers on call:

– advocacy@afj.org– 1-866-NPLOBBY (675-6229)