Basic Advocacy skills

1. Advocacy 201 The Basics

2. Basic Advocacy Skills Documenting Planning Writing Complaints Letters to the Editor Getting help Testifying Press Releases

3. Keep Advocacy Records Keep Everything Letters Emails Phone records Phone call summaries Conversation summaries Send MOUs after promises in calls Use of Certified Mail, Return Receipt Requested

4. Plan Your Advocacy Who is your Target? What is important to your target? What tools do you have (list all) First Contact Planning How can your target respond? Make a tactical map Be ready for anything

5. Writing Complaints Make sure you know who actually receives complaints and send your complaint to that person or office Your first sentence needs to state what you see as unfair Your second sentence needs to say what rule you believe was violated Describe the situation, ask for remedies, add attachments Call to make sure they got it

6. Letters to the Editor The letter must be short (typically 140 words or less) Include your address and phone number, so the paper can contact you Don’t use a form letter No wasted words, and all message Refer to web site for more info

7. Testifying Keep your testimony to NO MORE than 5 minutes Expect questions Type out your testimony and rehearse it Make copies Get there early and sign in Put contact info on your testimony copies Officials have complete control over whether you testify

8. Press Releases Put your contact info at top Do on letterhead if possible Title should say it all Best if there is an event, a beginning, something genuinely new Include ALL the media in the target area 5-7 days before, unless it is really big, then 7-10 days

9. Getting Help Communities that focus on the same stuff you do are the best single source of answers Locals Web based communities Facebook People who do advocacy Locals Etc. Learn how to do legal research (take a class)

10. Soul Resources Setting up a social network: http://bit.ly/ozg5R Why Advocacy? http://bit.ly/WlQpu The Little Book of Advocacy: http://bit.ly/utTw6 Introducing Personal Advocacy: http://bit.ly/oj4as

11. Web Resources Personal Advocacy: http://bit.ly/3tPfo4 5 steps to successful advocacy:http://bit.ly/4FfEf Self-Advocacy: http://bit.ly/dMWzD What is Advocacy? http://bit.ly/45yD8S Electronic Advocacy: http://bit.ly/QnTn6 Epolitics: http://bit.ly/71kA

12. My Resources My Twitter Accounts: mdrcngd, commpower FrindFeed: http://friendfeed.com/normandelisle My Blogs: The Recovering Life LTC Reform Communities of Power Universal Education MDRC Website: http://www.copower.org/ Linkedin Profile: http://bit.ly/s1mS Email: ndelisle@prosynergy.org Download This Presentation: Comment on this Presentation

13. Final Thoughts "Am I not destroying my enemies when I make friends of them?”- Abraham Lincoln "Cautious, careful people, always casting about to preserve their reputations...can never effect a reform.“ –Susan B. Anthony "Those who profess to favor freedom, and yet deprecate agitation, are men who want crops without plowing the ground.“ –Frederick Douglass