Mission-based Advocacy Toolkit from Alliance for Children & Families

Part III: Helpful Advocacy Techniques and Framework
tally EVERY message, so every vote/voice counts. But when it comes to
setting meetings, getting calls returned, those happen MUCH faster if the EO
knows the person calling. Every time your Core group meets, try to identify at
least one “Grass top” and who should try to recruit them.
One time in California, the mother of two chronically ill children said she
couldn’t imagine herself as a Grass Top, she was too overwhelmed looking
after her children. All she could think of was Barbara Boxer, but thought that
didn’t count because she only knew Senator Boxer from their days carpooling
together years ago! She was DEFINITELY a “Grass Top.”
Step 3. With your CORE group, identify all the groups to which you have direct ties
(religious, work, sports, family...) and a way to communicate. Then - using the
peer-to-peer notion - approach them about joining your Campaign. Tell them
what you hope to accomplish, and ask whether their group might be interested.
Try to find out just how involved they are likely to be. (You can use a simple
survey with check-off boxes for activities requiring varying levels of
commitment: joining a telephone tree, circulating a support letter, setting up a
site visit for legislators, providing testimony.)
This will be an on-going process that lasts as long as you keep adding to your
network. You’ll find you have connections to more groups and people than you
think.
Step 4. Reach out to groups in the community you don’t already know or have ties to;
see if any of them can be persuaded to join you. At first they may hold back
and say they can’t agree on general terms, but they’ll be willing to consider a
specific request with specific wording, plus a clear beginning and end. E.g.,
this might be true of a Rotary, Kiwanis, Junior League or similar group. It
could include senior citizens, business groups, and other “odd couples.”
Through these four steps you can gradually build an effective Grassroots campaign.
Along the way you’ll also need: A GOOD MESSAGE (frequently updated), the help of
COMMITTED ALLIES, and TIME TO NURTURE RELATIONSHIPS with your
recruits.
With a few exceptions, most of those you recruit will need 3 things from you:
A. reason to know it’s worth their effort;
B. confidence that THEY can do this;
C. easy (and enjoyable) ways to fit it into busy lives - you’ll be constantly using
your CORE group to break things down into manageable tasks and decide who
will do what.
42
© January 2006 The Alliance for Children and Families