This is the final installment of our glossary of key terms used in the Advocacy world.
Phone-banking: Calling a list of people, generally in your local area, to speak with them regarding the issues. YTC advocates could also make calls to lapsed networkers encouraging them to reengage and asking for updated information. A volunteer who attends a phone bank and makes calls would receive credit for one offline action.
Phone calls to lawmakers: The purpose is to alert the lawmaker to the issues and inform them about why they should support the upcoming legislation. Be clear, brief, and educated. Mention upfront if you are a constituent.
Photo-Opportunities: Call attention to your issue with an activity that includes compelling visuals such as props, signs or physical activity. Create a photo-op for local media and provide background information for a caption with key messages and names of participants. As with any Media Advocacy action, remember the “Triple C”: Coordinate with your Colleagues in Communications!
Press Releases: A press release is used to announce new information, new facts or milestone accomplishments of your program/agenda. Whether proactive or reactive, press releases should be short and – of course – newsworthy. In addition to local media outlets, be sure to target legislators, legislative staff, state officials and their staffs, and allied groups with your releases. As with any Media Advocacy action, remember the “Triple C”: Coordinate with your Colleagues in Communications!
Public Hearings: When the public is invited to have a say in the issues in meetings that governing bodies will attend to discuss certain issues. Public hearings are often convened by public officials (elected and appointed) as well as by community groups and administrative agencies. Once a bill is filed, it is sent to a specific committee where it will receive a public hearing. Legislation that is being considered will be reviewed at a public hearing, or series of hearings, so that the public and interest groups might weigh in. Depending on the outcome of the hearing, that committee can vote to advance the bill to a higher committee; to oppose advancement of the bill; or to let it die in committee through inaction. The AHA participates in local, state and federal public hearings and can offer expert testimony as well as poignant personal accounts of why a policy change is needed. An YTC volunteer who gives testimony at a public hearing receives credit for one offline action. It is important to have relationships with committee staff in order to monitor the hearing schedule and understand the committee’s protocol.
Rallies: Hosting a group of people to spread information about your cause, as well as to gain interest. A well-designed rally will feature a sizeable number of people coming together for a call-to-action. They might be rallying in support of daily PE in the schools, rallying against budget cuts to health care for the uninsured, or rallying to make a local mall smoke-free. Whatever the cause, the „problem‟ that brought the group together is significant enough to get them to drop everything to make some noise in an effort to draw attention to the need for a change. Rallies, sometimes, can make people uncomfortable because they can seem very “in your face” and even confrontational. However, they can also be very positive and embracing, such as rallies to thank lawmakers for a particular action (while encouraging the next step in adoption or implementation.) They should be done strategically and should include persuasive speakers that can compel a crowd to action. Legislative allies and “real people” should be included as speakers. Rallies can be an effective and inexpensive media advocacy tool and the Triple C rule is in effect: Coordinate with Colleagues in Communications.
Rolling Drop-by: Having a group of advocates scheduled to stop by a lawmaker’s office separately with the same message. Having the same message heard from multiple sources can be more effective than a large group, because the lawmaker believes that there is a lot of interest. The advocates can be spaced throughout the day, every 15 to 30 minutes.
Site Visits: A site visit often serves to educate a member on the intricacies of a particular issue as well as putting a human face on the issue being discussed. For example, AHA may invite a lawmaker to visit and tour a research site or medical facility to learn more about Heart Disease and Stroke research or treatment or other related issues.
Social Media: Social Media (sometimes referred to as Web 2.0) refers to rapidly expanding group of online mediums where the audience not only receives information, but can interact with the moderator. Some of the tools included in this category are blogs and microblogs like Twitter, social networks like Facebook and MySpace, and social tagging applications like Digg and Delicious.
Visibility events (community events, drive-time, etc.): Being a presence in the community, including various local events not specific to your cause, to draw awareness and attention. In order to influence decision-makers, any visibility activities should be done at a time and in a location that will garner the most attention. If you have people holding signs, for example, it makes sense to schedule during rush hour drive time to impact the most motorists. And, sometimes, visibility actions are even softer such as having YTC volunteers participate in a Heart Walk or other event while promoting YTC on their clothing, by holding signs, staffing a YTC booth or distributing YTC materials. AHA staff/YTC volunteers could also participate in a Lobby Day or fundraising event for another organization while wearing an AHA pin or T-shirt. Or, AHA could be participating in a coalition event – a rally or a press conference – and you might consider having people “do visibility” by holding AHA signs, carrying AHA balloons, etc.
Click here to download the full You're the Cure Dictionary.
Phone-banking: Calling a list of people, generally in your local area, to speak with them regarding the issues. YTC advocates could also make calls to lapsed networkers encouraging them to reengage and asking for updated information. A volunteer who attends a phone bank and makes calls would receive credit for one offline action.
Phone calls to lawmakers: The purpose is to alert the lawmaker to the issues and inform them about why they should support the upcoming legislation. Be clear, brief, and educated. Mention upfront if you are a constituent.
Photo-Opportunities: Call attention to your issue with an activity that includes compelling visuals such as props, signs or physical activity. Create a photo-op for local media and provide background information for a caption with key messages and names of participants. As with any Media Advocacy action, remember the “Triple C”: Coordinate with your Colleagues in Communications!
Press Releases: A press release is used to announce new information, new facts or milestone accomplishments of your program/agenda. Whether proactive or reactive, press releases should be short and – of course – newsworthy. In addition to local media outlets, be sure to target legislators, legislative staff, state officials and their staffs, and allied groups with your releases. As with any Media Advocacy action, remember the “Triple C”: Coordinate with your Colleagues in Communications!
Public Hearings: When the public is invited to have a say in the issues in meetings that governing bodies will attend to discuss certain issues. Public hearings are often convened by public officials (elected and appointed) as well as by community groups and administrative agencies. Once a bill is filed, it is sent to a specific committee where it will receive a public hearing. Legislation that is being considered will be reviewed at a public hearing, or series of hearings, so that the public and interest groups might weigh in. Depending on the outcome of the hearing, that committee can vote to advance the bill to a higher committee; to oppose advancement of the bill; or to let it die in committee through inaction. The AHA participates in local, state and federal public hearings and can offer expert testimony as well as poignant personal accounts of why a policy change is needed. An YTC volunteer who gives testimony at a public hearing receives credit for one offline action. It is important to have relationships with committee staff in order to monitor the hearing schedule and understand the committee’s protocol.
Rallies: Hosting a group of people to spread information about your cause, as well as to gain interest. A well-designed rally will feature a sizeable number of people coming together for a call-to-action. They might be rallying in support of daily PE in the schools, rallying against budget cuts to health care for the uninsured, or rallying to make a local mall smoke-free. Whatever the cause, the „problem‟ that brought the group together is significant enough to get them to drop everything to make some noise in an effort to draw attention to the need for a change. Rallies, sometimes, can make people uncomfortable because they can seem very “in your face” and even confrontational. However, they can also be very positive and embracing, such as rallies to thank lawmakers for a particular action (while encouraging the next step in adoption or implementation.) They should be done strategically and should include persuasive speakers that can compel a crowd to action. Legislative allies and “real people” should be included as speakers. Rallies can be an effective and inexpensive media advocacy tool and the Triple C rule is in effect: Coordinate with Colleagues in Communications.
Rolling Drop-by: Having a group of advocates scheduled to stop by a lawmaker’s office separately with the same message. Having the same message heard from multiple sources can be more effective than a large group, because the lawmaker believes that there is a lot of interest. The advocates can be spaced throughout the day, every 15 to 30 minutes.
Site Visits: A site visit often serves to educate a member on the intricacies of a particular issue as well as putting a human face on the issue being discussed. For example, AHA may invite a lawmaker to visit and tour a research site or medical facility to learn more about Heart Disease and Stroke research or treatment or other related issues.
Social Media: Social Media (sometimes referred to as Web 2.0) refers to rapidly expanding group of online mediums where the audience not only receives information, but can interact with the moderator. Some of the tools included in this category are blogs and microblogs like Twitter, social networks like Facebook and MySpace, and social tagging applications like Digg and Delicious.
Visibility events (community events, drive-time, etc.): Being a presence in the community, including various local events not specific to your cause, to draw awareness and attention. In order to influence decision-makers, any visibility activities should be done at a time and in a location that will garner the most attention. If you have people holding signs, for example, it makes sense to schedule during rush hour drive time to impact the most motorists. And, sometimes, visibility actions are even softer such as having YTC volunteers participate in a Heart Walk or other event while promoting YTC on their clothing, by holding signs, staffing a YTC booth or distributing YTC materials. AHA staff/YTC volunteers could also participate in a Lobby Day or fundraising event for another organization while wearing an AHA pin or T-shirt. Or, AHA could be participating in a coalition event – a rally or a press conference – and you might consider having people “do visibility” by holding AHA signs, carrying AHA balloons, etc.
Click here to download the full You're the Cure Dictionary.
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