Use advocates to follow up on your ask

Depending on the nature of your ask and the relationship with the elected official, advocates or activists can close the loop on an effective ask.

After meeting with elected officials to make an ask, organizations can delpoy action alerts that ask activists and advocates to corroborate their case.

A good action alert might look like this:

Dear Friends,

As Board Chair of the Keep Kids First Coalition, I just asked Rep. Johnny Taylor to renew the $750,000 allocation to the Results-Based Education Fund in this year's budget.

We had a great meeting, but I need your help to ensure Rep. Taylor understands how important this issue is.

Will you please email Rep. Taylor or call his office to show the RBE program's broad support? His contact information is below.

When you call or email, please thank him for meeting with me and encourage him to renew RBE's budget allocation.

Sincerely,

Joseph Beech

Rep. Johnny Taylor
(435) 555-0987
j.taylor@legislature.gov

Activists can lend credibility to the ask and show strength in numbers for your cause. If an official is "on the fence" about your issue, these emails and calls may give them the backup they need to make a decision (or change their minds).

Present a clear, succinct ask for the elected official

Now that you've spent time cultivating relationships with elected officials, it's time to ask them to do what you need. Prepare a written, one-page ask in letter or memo form that outlines what you need from the elected official.

You should call a meeting with the official and your surrogates to explain your case and present an ask letter.

Remember those three-paragraph essays we learned about in high school? My English teacher, Dr. Bloom, taught me to "tell them what you're going to tell them, tell them, and finally tell them what you just said." That advice fits with government relations for non-profits.

Good business writing is vital to advocacy work, yet it is often lacking when people write elected officials. Harvard Business Review has a great blog post on better business writing and offers a comprehensive business writing guide for $20. Both are well worth the read.

Here are some tips for you to write an ask letter for elected officials:

Your ask should be succinct -- no more than one page. This is not the time to test your skills in writing complex prose. Too often, constituents and non-profits send 4-5 page letters to elected officials and expect them to be read and digested word-for-word. Elected officials and staff have limited time and need easily-read documents.

Note: If you absolutely need to present more than one page of information, consider attaching or enclosing an addendum with more information. Still keep the "ask letter" to one page.

Your ask should be in the first paragraph. In many letters to elected officials, the ask is buried after pages of introduction and buildup. You should get to the point early on and then follow with corroboration.

Your ask should be specific. If you want action on legislation, include the bill number. If you want money, provide the exact amount. What will the money be used for? Why is it important?

Your ask should give details about your organization. Provide clear metrics on what you do and why it matters. How many people do your serve? Are you effective? How many people are affected by your cause? How are you good stewards of public money?

Your ask should refute your opposition or acknowledge reality. If you know there are groups who oppose you or if you know the political climate is difficult, acknowledge the situation but provide information that might allay the elected official's concerns.

Your ask should explain what's in it for them. If your organization has a large following, mention that. If you organization works within the official's district, mention that. If you have a PAC or 501(c)(4), mention that.

Your ask should incorporate advice they have given you. If you got advice from them during the cultivation phase, mention it in your letter to let them know you were listening.

Your ask should give a timeline. If you need an answer by a certain time, let the official know.

Your ask should provide contact information if the elected official or staff members have questions or need to follow up.

Your ask should be signed by a good surrogate, preferably someone who has met with the official before.

Here is a sample letter:

Sample Ask Letter for Budget Consideration

Cultivating relationships with elected officials

A successful government relations program focuses on building relationships with elected officials before asking them for something.

Fundraisers have figured this out. Seldom do development officers meet random strangers and ask them for $10,000 gifts in the first conversation. They take careful steps to build regard and understanding.

How do you build a relationship with an elected official? Start first with an introductory meeting to introduce elected officials to your organization and its cause. Before you pick up the phone, though, there are a few things you need to consider:

Use your surrogates to build relationships. Remember, surrogates are respected members of the community who can carry your message. Based on your research, find the right surrogate to accompany you on your visit and be sure to reference the surrogates when you call to make your appointment.

Ask for advice. Heed an adage I lived by during my fundraising days: "Ask for money, and you'll get advice. Ask for advice, and you'll get money."

Use the introductory meeting to ask the elected official for advice on how you can be successful with your advocacy goals.  Some key questions to ask:

• How can we achieve our objective?
• What's the process for our objective?
• What are our chances for success?
• What can we do to bolster our case?
• Who else do we need to meet with?

Follow up.  Immediately send a follow-up note and have your surrogates do the same. After the meeting, take any steps the elected official recommended. For added follow-up, invite your elected official to tour your facility or attend an event you may be hosting.

Research elected officials to find the best route

After identifying the elected officials who can help you, carefully research them to find what "makes them tick."

Some questions to answer:

• Does the official have a record of supporting your cause?
• Does he/she have a family?
• What's his/her profession?
• What are key votes and stances he/she has taken?

A simple Google search can give you a lot of information, but don't forget to check local newspapers' online archives along with campaign and government websites.

Project VoteSmart is a is a non-partisan research organization that collects and distributes a plethora of information on candidates for federal and state offices. It is perhaps the most comprehensive source of information on elected officials, providing background information, issue positions, voting records, campaign finances, interest group ratings, and speeches and public statements.

Use that information to tailor a pitch to the official. Here's an example:

Together Home is a non-profit that depends on state funding to keep homeless families together. Through research, their executive director found out that Republican Rep. Johnny Taylor, their local legislator, is an attorney and has three kids.

The ED of Together Home can use this information to her advantage by:

• Asking any attorneys or Republicans connected to the organization to serve as surrogates with Rep. Taylor. Common ground can give surrogates a great leverage point.

• Analyzing Rep. Taylor's campaign finance reports to find intersection with Together Home's donor list. He is more likely to pay attention to an organization that's supported by his donors.

• Focusing on family for pitches. With three kids, family seems to be important to Rep. Taylor. Together House should focus on its work in keeping families together during tough times.

Identify the right elected officials for your advocacy needs

Identifying the right elected officials is the first step in moves management for government relations. You want to target elected officials who can get the best results for your organization. Once you identify the government entities you need to reach, there are two types of officials to identify: champions and decision-makers. 

First, determine the governing body you need to reach. Do you need funding from a county commission? An ordinance changed with the city council? Approval from a state licensing board? State statute changed by the legislature? Among the members of that body, list those who can become champions and list the decision-makers.

Champions are officials who have an already-existing affinity for your organization. Always start with elected officials who represent your organization’s district and your own district -- your councilman, commissioner, legislator, and Congressman.

Other champions can come from personal connections to your organization or cause. A little research through the Web and your internal files should yield a lot of information on elected officials. They may include:

• Donors to your organization or peer groups
• Alumni or former participants in your programs
• Outspoken advocates for your general cause
• Survivors of a disease that you research
• Officials who work in (or are retired from) your field

Decision-makers are self-explanatory; they’re the folks who decide if your proposals sink or swim. They include:

• Top leaders (mayors, commission chairmen, governors, lieutenant governors, Senate presidents pro tem, House speakers)
• Secondary leaders (mayors pro tem, majority and minority leaders, rules chairmen)
• Committee chairmen for your issue

Champions can be cultivated to introduce legislation or action on your behalf and can be cultivated as a surrogate to the decision-makers. Sometimes, your champions are also-decision makers, and that makes this process much easier.

One note: Take a multi-partisan approach to identifying elected officials to target. With few exceptions, most organizations can find support from legislators of all parties, which can come in handy in case of a sudden change of majority. Remember the adage: “There are no permanent friends, no permanent enemies, only permanent interests.” 

The next post will give share how you can cultivate relationships with both champions and decision-makers once you’ve identified them.

Use Moves Management to build relationships with elected officials

Building close relationships with elected officials is the only way organizations can get government support. Although relationship building is tough, non-profits can use “moves management,” a proven relationship-building methodology, to get results.

The philanthropy world has figured out relationship management.  Good fundraisers don’t usually cold call complete strangers to ask for $10,000.  They expend time and energy to get to know donors before asking for money.

Most successful fundraisers use "moves management," a methodology developed by David Dunlop, retired senior development officer at Cornell University.  Dunlop designed his fundraising program to change “people's attitudes so they want to give.” 

Dunlop explains, "We take a series of initiatives or moves to develop each prospect's awareness of, knowledge of, interest in, involvement with, and commitment to the institution and its mission."

Non-profits can use the same methodology to build relationships with elected officials for both funding and policy. With a few modifications, this can become the model for a good government relations program.

The steps in Moves Management for Government Relations are:

•  Identification: Choosing which elected officials can get the best results

• Discovery: Researching each elected official to better understand "what makes them tick"

• Cultivation: Taking steps to build a relationship before asking them to do something on your behalf

• Solicitation: Formally asking the elected official to take action

• Stewardship: Showing your appreciation and maintaining support for your organization

Over the next few posts, we’ll cover each step in the moves management process and explain how you can use them to build your advocacy program.

Build an army of advocates

Advocates (or activists, depending on your organization) form a powerful army to show support for your organization en masse.  Here are three ways to cultivate advocates:

In person: Gather emails and phone numbers from every person who shows an interest in your organization (clients, volunteers, donors, service providers, etc.). Your organization should have a routine sign-in form or business card exchange before meetings or other work, and each person should be added to your advocate list. 

Via the web:  Every organization’s website should include a way for people to sign up for more information. A simple web form that asks for emails, addresses, and telephone numbers will suffice.  Also, every organization should have a Facebook page and push those you come in contact with to “Like” it. 

The Nature Conservancy has a great link to sign up for email updates right on its homepage. 

Once you have advocates, what do you do with them? You should regularly send electronic newsletters that update them on the organization’s overall progress.  Monthly or weekly emails provide a good frequency. Any more and you border on spam; any less and people forget you exist. 

Paying for email marketing services is worth the investment.  Companies like RTP-based iContact can help you easily design and send attractive messages to your advocates and track how effective they are. I have also used MailChimp, Constant Contact, and Convio. 

Action alerts are special emails or social media posts that ask your advocates to influence public policy by doing something.  You explain the situation and can ask people to show up to a meeting or event, but most likely, you ask them to email and call elected officials.  

The Latin American Coalition has a good example via Facebook, and PETA provides another example on the local level. 

Some organizations invest in software like Roll Call's CapWiz or Convio’s Advocacy Tool to manage action alerts. These allow your advocates to read your action alert, write an email, and send it to elected officials all on one web page.  

The North Carolina Conservation Network has a good example using Convio.

We will spend more time on action alerts during a more detailed discussion on communications for advocacy.