Using Grassroots, Coalitions, and the Media to Get Your
Message Heard
Washington Advocacy and Education Campaigns
How to use the power of individuals
to influence legislation.
(See our Advocacy and Communication
public courses and
audio courses)
Do you need help building membership? Do your staff and members
want to learn about cutting costs while growing your network? Are
you using effective website tools and links as part of your grassroots
program?
Today on Capitol Hill there are more advocates-professional and
grassroots-than at any other time in the nation's history. Their
increasing numbers, and the many new ways technology allows messages to
be delivered to Members of Congress, are contributing to an information
overload on the Hill. The recipients of these messages are staff members
whose average age and experience continues to decline.
Our Washington insiders will teach your staff how to
conduct successful grassroots campaigns. This program
will help your staff and members
Develop
and train a national network of grassroots advocates
Utilize
technology to reach your grassroots advocates
Develop
your message and frame your issues in eth current
political environment
Why
grassroots advocacy is crucial in today's political environment
Determining whether you should build a "quality" or "quantity"
network
How
to organize an effective grassroots network
Based on
the organization's culture
Identifying and recruiting members
Keeping
staff and volunteer leadership committed and supportive
How to
organize, assess resources, and allocate responsibilities
Meetings
and "legislative days"
Communicating with your network
Using
Washington-based media to direct member energy and keep network
members informed
Using
technology to create electronic networks
Using
newsletters, position papers, and toll-free numbers
Using
email for immediate action
Delivering the message to Congress
Action
alerts and calls to action
Town hall
meetings with legislators
Site
visits and other special events
Campaign
work
Advisory
groups
Fund-raisers and PACs
Personal
visits
Send
issue updates and regular news
Editorials in local papers
Letter
campaigns
Campaigns
via phone, fax and email
Using the
media
Coalition building as part of a government relations strategy
Determining if coalitions are an option
Joining
an existing coalition
Forming a
new coalition around a specific issue
Coordinating goals, issues, membership and communications
Maintaining credibility
Developing and implementing a legislative campaign
Using the
power of a grassroots network to support or oppose pending
legislation
Developing your message and framing the issue in the current
political environment
Finding a
champion for your issue
Creating
a role for the champion's staff
Enhancing
the champion's image
Determining pressure points for different elected officials
Advocacy/Lobbying
rules, gift ban, and the Hatch Act
Avoiding
bad publicity and legal problems
Educating
network members on current rules
Informing
federal members of contacts for legal questions
Lunch and breaks scheduled as appropriate
All custom training is tailored for each organization and
audience. Topics from this program can be combined with
topics from our other programs and with topics from your
existing training programs.
Sample Agendas
Sample agendas of different versions of this program
tailored for
previous custom clients are available in
Adobe
PDF.
This program will benefit all with an interest in
becoming more effective grassroots advocates.
Audience Size
This program is most effective for between 15 and 75
attendees.
Previous Clients
Variations of this program have been presented for
associations and businesses.
Our
selected client list includes clients who have
purchased custom training, sent staff to our public
programs and who have purchased our publications.
The fee for this program depends on the location,
number of attendees, length, and training materials.
Call us for details, or complete our
custom program information request for more
information.
The
program
fee includes pre-program development and design,
materials for your internal marketing and promotion,
all course materials, and
faculty chosen for your topic and your audience
at the time and location you choose.
Our custom program clients provide the
classroom/meeting space, all audio visual equipment,
any food and beverages, all registration functions,
and travel arrangements for attendees. When the
program is held outside the Washington, DC metro
area, travel arrangements for faculty can be made by
the client or by us.
We can also provide meeting space, audio visual
equipment, food and beverage, registration, and
travel arrangements, though this affects program
cost.
TheCapitol.Net, Inc., is a non-partisan small
business, and a Virginia corporation. We are
registered with CCR. See our
Capability Statement and our
About Us page for more details.
TheCapitol.Net is a non-partisan firm, and the
opinions of its faculty, authors, clients and the
owners and operators of its vendors are their own
and do not represent those of TheCapitol.Net.
All custom training from TheCapitol.Net is tailored for each organization and
audience. Topics from this program can be combined with
topics from our other programs and with topics from your
existing training programs.
Public Course
If you don't have enough staff for a custom, on-site
training program, see our
Advocacy and Communication
public courses and
audio courses.
Rave Reviews
"A
wealth of information.....as president of state
association, will be able to encourage increased activity
with government affairs."
"Materials great to take home and work with."
-- Assistant
Director, Grassroots Programs, national association
"I've been involved in grassroots legislative work and
grassroots coalition building for ten years -- this was a
dynamite program."
-- Assistant Legislative Director, American Legion
"I will immediately implement the tips that I received
today!"
-- staff member, American Urological
Association
"I've been involved in grassroots legislative work and
grassroots coalition building for ten years -- this was a
dynamite program."
-- Assistant Legislative Director, American Legion
"The sample handbook will be very helpful in developing
one for our grassroots network."
"Gave me concrete ideas of things to do & ways to approach
our grassroots. I would strongly encourage our
field dept. to participate
b/c we work together w/grassroots."
-- Public Policy
Associate, national association
Our team of experts have at least 10 years' current
experience with various aspects of grassroots
activity, including the use of current technologies.
Internal Marketing
To help you publicize and market a custom program to
your organization's audience, we can provide printed
materials and language for your own internal
promotion and publicity.