Advocacy Toolkit

The advocacy toolbox is designed to be a guide for communicating with your representatives.

What can you do?
By speaking out for sound decisions with policy makers, you can influence the direction of policy.  Voices for Georgia's Children strives to keep the public aware of the issues related to children.  By speaking to your representative you help the voice of children to be heard.

There are many ways you can help speak out for children.

1. Vote;
2. Make a phone call;
3. Write a letter; and
4. Send a fax.

When talking with legislators and policy makers, keep in mind that they are bombarded with requests and information on a daily basis.  As such, please have the details of your message prepared in advance of any direct discussion with legislators.  It may be helpful to have a brief, concise fact sheet available to leave behind for legislators or their staff.

Writing a letter to your legislator…
In writing a letter to your legislator, be brief, direct, and respectful.  Letters to legislators can be powerful and influential.  It can be just as or more effective to submit a letter via fax as it is to mail them. 

Below is a template for writing letters to legislators.  Please remember the most effective letters are personalized ones.  Personal stories told concisely can be very powerful.

Month day, 2004

The Honorable [official's first and last name]
State Representative
[office address]
Atlanta, GA 30334
or

State Senator
[office address]
Atlanta, GA 30334
 

Dear [official's title and name]:

[First paragraph should include who you are and the purpose of the letter]

[The following text should supply the background and/or detail information in support of the purpose.]

Sincerely,

How do I prepare a fact sheet for my legislator?
The following are helpful hints for preparing fact sheets:

• Remember to keep it brief and concise.
• As a rule of thumb keep the information limited to one page at a maximum.
• Make sure you are able to back up the information with references and/or data.
• Don’t be too wordy.
• Look to other organizations who are experts in the field. Many times there is already a fact sheet out there on your issue area of interest that you may find useful.

How do I testify before a Committee?

   1. Identify yourself to the committee by stating your name and the name of the organization you are representing.

   2. Thank the committee for allowing you to testify; it is always best to be as nice as possible. 

   3. Provide a very brief background as to why you are testifying (i.e., what makes you important to the issue). 

   4. Get right to the point. Be as brief and succinct as possible. Do not repeat what others have already said before you.

Committee members are more likely to listen to your points when they are short.

If you have detailed analysis, provide handouts for committee members. Handouts should be bulleted or short points that are direct to your point and based in research.

When lots of people are testifying, you are likely to only have 3-5 minutes. Try to keep as much time as possible for questions from the committee members.

When you are finished, thank the committee for their time and BRIEFLY reiterate your main point as to why you wish passage or failure of the bill.

Useful IRS tax guidelines on lobbying by non-profits (IRS website)