Advocacy: Engaging Your Legislators in Mentoring Issues

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1 Advocacy: Engaging Your Legislators in Mentoring Issues

2 Advocacy Calendar for IMP Certified mentoring programs Program site: Key Legislators: January February March April National Mentoring Month Invite your legislators to Mentoring Day on the Hill Attend a legislative event where public can contribute. Be prepared to speak up and be an expert in your field! your legislator to follow up with them on the connection(s) between their policy concerns and mentoring! Ask them about the policies they support in relation to mentoring. Volunteer Recognition Invite your legislators out to see how your program recognizes and appreciates its volunteers. Get your legislator interested in being a mentor! May June July August Tweet your legislators or tag them in a Facebook post promoting your program and mentoring in general. Invite your legislators out for a tour of your program. Make sure media is there and make the ask for legislators to volunteer as mentors. OR invite them to an end of school event your legislators to thank them for coming to the event and tell them more about what you do. Invite your legislator out for the back to school kick off at your program! September October November December Send a letter to your legislator thanking them for coming to your event. Tell them how mentoring helps your community! Share an article on your facebook that connects relevant policies to mentoring and tag your legislator! Need materials? Check out National Mentoring Resource Center or see MENTOR s In Real Life Campaign for more. Write your legislators to thank them for any interactions you ve had this year and tell them you look forward to future correspondence/conversation about mentoring. Tweet or facebook your legislator when you share what your program is doing for the holidays!

3 *The following information is taken from MENTOR National s toolkit geared towards helping Mentoring Partnerships engage in effective advocacy with national representatives. It has been edited to translate into local action that can be taken by mentoring programs to engage with state legislators in Iowa. ABOUT THE TOOLKIT Who is this toolkit for? This toolkit is specifically designed to be a useful resource for Mentoring Programs. What can be learned from this toolkit? Tips on best practices. Ideas to consider implementing as you re identifying relationships with elected officials you wish to cultivate or strengthen. Background and key messaging points around MENTOR s legislative priorities. Review examples of your colleagues work. WAYS TO ENGAGE WITH ELECTED OFFICIALS Setting goals and prioritizing relationship targets Learn about your legislators: find out what committees they are on and what they care about. When you engage with them, tie in mentoring to their interests. How do their interests affect mentoring, and vice versa? Social media Follow your legislators on Twitter and like or befriend them on Facebook. Occasionally, but not too often, tag them in a post that relates to mentoring or tweet them with comments about mentoring. Get their support by connecting their interests with mentoring. If they attend an event of yours or you get a picture with them, make sure to post it on social media and tag them. Put it on your website. Legislators look for opportunities to show their community involvement to supporters, so get local media and news outlets to do a piece on the legislator and/or your program when they come to your event, tour, or otherwise interact with you and your program. Post the resulting news piece on your social media platform(s) and website. and letters your legislator(s) to offer your opinion on policy relevant to mentoring. If you reference a specific piece of legislation, make sure to include its number and whether it s a House Bill (HB) or Senate Bill (S) (ex. HB2). your legislators to inform them about the impact of mentoring on youth, communities, and the mentors themselves. Be brief, specific, and to the point. Use stories and evidence to back your data. Don t send the same to multiple legislators. Personalize your correspondence to make it clear you aren t following a fill-in-the-blank format. Tips for writing effective letters:

4 Use the right address and spell your legislator's name correctly. Type legibly. Sign your name neatly and give your address correctly so the legislator can respond to your letter. Keep letters, , and faxes as brief as possible. Concisely written correspondence is more likely to grab and keep the reader's attention. Identify your issue or opinion at the beginning of the letter; don't bury your main point. Cover only one issue per letter. If you have another issue to address, write another letter. Back up your opinions with supporting facts. Your letter should inform the reader, and facts make an argument more tangible and convincing. Avoid abbreviations or acronyms, and don't use technical jargon. Don't send the same letter to more than one legislator. Personalized letters have a greater impact. In-person meetings In-person advocacy is generally the most effective form of advocacy in terms of attention and understanding of the issues. However, it can also sometimes feel frustrating when your preparation and time amounts to a handshake and a promise to look into the issues you brought before the elected official. But know that your time was well-spent and one step in a series towards your goal. - In-person advocacy is more personal and conversational. Everyone involved can relax and take in what the other person is saying. - In-person advocacy elicits a physiological response that better informs the direction you lead your conversation. - In-person advocacy can elicit an immediate response to your request or provide an opportunity to secure a commitment for further conversation if the elected official is unable to offer a definitive response. Site visits and other events to invite elected officials to It should be no surprise that elected officials like a good photo opportunity. That s true. But visits to your headquarters ( site visits ) and attending other events you and/or your partners host also help legislators better understand why your work matters, what the issues you face mean for your ability to do your job successfully, and see firsthand how their community is served by your efforts and leadership. Do a mental inventory of all the events your program hosts in a year: trainings, recruitment fairs, advocacy events, conferences, volunteer recognition, fundraising, etc. Type up 2-3 sentence summaries of each event along with their dates and locations and share them with the elected officials offices you want to develop deeper working relationships with. Elected officials can play a variety of roles at your events: - Keynote speaker - Provide the introduction to an important person in the community - Present awards at volunteer appreciation events - Ribbon-cuttings - MCs at fundraising and community events (especially sporting events like fun runs and bike races) By and large, elected officials especially love being involved in events and activities with young people. So consider inviting them to events where mentors and mentees will gather so they can gain a more informed perspective about the compounding benefits of mentoring and, almost as important, the motivations of the volunteer mentors in their communities to guide and support future generations.

5 Invite the legislator to serve as a mentor with your program. This would allow media to see them actively involved at the local level, while they get to see firsthand the importance of your work and subsequently be more supportive. This is an opportunity for your program to gain awareness and representation as well as a mentor! Town hall meetings Visit your legislator s individual website to find a calendar or announcements about public events. This may include anything from a town hall meeting, a local hearing, a campaign, or any event to which public are invited to attend and contribute. Go prepared to speak to your legislator about the value of mentoring and how their support affects your program, the people your program serves, and the community as a whole. Be concise and specific. Share a relevant story, because that is more memorable than facts, and puts faces to the issue. For some town hall meetings, citizens may have the opportunity to sign up beforehand to present their opinion and research in a more formal manner. Look into the event and find opportunities to speak publicly and make the case for mentoring. EFFECTIVE ADVOCACY Do research about your key legislators. Visit legis.iowa.gov to find your legislators and see the committees they serve on. Explore this website to see how your legislators vote or listen to their comments in session through live streaming of session meetings. Visit their websites to understand their policy concerns, and do research to connect mentoring with their interests and values. Connect their concerns with yours to get their support. 10 rules of effective advocacy 1. Politics is consumer-driven. It s critical to help the legislator understand why mentoring is important to their specific community or state. The adage all politics is local is true. 2. Do your homework. Know your issues and/or bills so you can answer questions to the best of your ability. But also learn more about the legislator and what motivates or interests them. 3. Information is power. Give the legislator information he or she can use, especially with a state or local community connection. Offer local statistics whenever possible. 4. Professionalism matters. Be credible, honest and trustworthy. Never threaten, lie or conceal facts. Stay calm if you lose your cool, you lose your case. 5. Be positive. Always make your case without being critical of others positions, personalities or motives. 6. There are no permanent friends and no permanent enemies. Don t take your traditional friends for granted, but don t miss opportunities to reach out to new allies. Never write off a legislator just because of party affiliation. Don t make enemies of legislators you never know when you may need them as a friend in the future! 7. Build a bond, not a gap. Research things you might have in common with the legislator. Use shared values to create easy, friendly, frequent communication with legislators and their staff.

6 8. Be a partner. Be accessible to legislators and their staff if they have questions, need follow-up information or require introductions to other partners in your community. Be a reliable resource and you ll become a valuable tool. 9. Be patient. Aim for consensus rather than for a victory. Progress towards a goal is progress. 10. Stay committed and patient. Remember you re the expert! ACRONYMS You may see these acronyms used to describe the board or committee on which a legislator serves or in a summary of their past policy work and concerns. CNCS CJS COS DOJ DOL EAS ED EDA EDAS HHS IWDB LHHSE LA LD OJJDP Corporation for National and Community Service (federal agency) Commerce, Justice, Science Appropriations Chief of Staff, typically staff lead of Congressional office U.S. Department of Justice U.S. Department of Labor Education Appropriations Subcommittee U.S. Department of Education Economic Development Appropriations Economic Development Appropriations Subcommittee U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Iowa Workforce Development Board Labor, Health and Human Services, Education and Related Agencies Appropriations Legislative Assistant, aide with responsibility for portfolio of legislative issues Legislative Director, aide who manages all legislative issues in Congressional office Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (housed within DOJ) KEY TERMS Appropriations: the committee and bills responsible for funding federal programs. There are 12 subcommittees that each focus on specific federal agencies and issues (example: Commerce, Justice, Science Subcommittee). Direct lobbying: refers to attempts to influence a legislative body through communication with a member or employee of a legislative body, or with a government official who participates in formulating legislation.

7 Grassroots lobbying: is an approach that separates itself from direct lobbying through the act of asking the general public to contact legislators and government officials concerning the issue at hand, as opposed to conveying the message to the legislators directly. (Sometimes called indirect lobbying ) EXAMPLE LETTER OF INVITATION [Your Address] [Date] [The Honorable FIRST AND LAST NAME State Capitol Des Moines, Iowa 50319] [Dear SENATOR OR REPRESENTATIVE LAST NAME:] [First paragraph(s) state the reason for the letter and who you are] I am writing to formally invite you to attend an upcoming event at the State Capitol. In honor of National Mentoring Month, the Iowa Mentoring Partnership and the Iowa Commission on Volunteer Service will be hosting at day at the Capitol on February 3, 2016, at 11:45 a.m. As the [your position] of [your mentoring program], I am committed to supporting the mentoring field at both the state and local level, and I am attending this event to advocate for mentoring in Iowa. As a certified program with the Iowa Mentoring Partnership, our program understands that quality mentoring services have the ability to create positive outcome for Iowa s children and youth. I would like to share a few of our experiences and examples with you on February 3. [Next paragraph gives reasons for your position and includes a personal story or personal needs account a potential example is given below but you may adapt freely] [Our Mentoring Program supports nearly XX youth in the facility/city/county area by matching at-risk children in grades X-X with caring, adult mentors. Mentors meet with their mentee one hour per week and often spend time completing school work, talking, or sharing hobbies. I am also happy to note that during the last program year, XX% of the youth that were involved in our mentoring program demonstrated a positive increase in school attendance, fewer office referrals, and increased graduation rates.]

8 [Third paragraph should summarize your message] The National Mentoring Partnership has indicated that students who have access to a quality mentoring relationship achieve higher test scores, are less likely to abuse substances, show fewer behavioral problems, and have better school attendance than students who do not have access to a quality relationship with a caring adult. Please join me at the IMP Day at the Capitol to learn more about the positive effects that mentoring reflects in our community. Your continued support of mentoring in Iowa is greatly appreciated. Thank you for your public service. Sincerely, [Your name and contact information]