advocacy 101 cresha auck foley osophe meeting march 14, 2014

Advocacy 101Cresha Auck FoleyCresha Auck FoleyOSOPHE MeetingOSOPHE Meeting

March 14, 2014March 14, 2014

Advocacy 101Cresha Auck FoleyCresha Auck FoleyOSOPHE MeetingOSOPHE Meeting

March 14, 2014March 14, 2014

1

What is health advocacy?

Why advocate?

What are strategies for success?

Overview

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What is advocacy?

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What is advocacy?

• Advocacy: the act of pleading or arguing in favor of something, such as a cause, idea, or policy; active support.

• Health advocacy: the act of pleading or arguing in favor of policies or programs that support health.

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• You are an expert.

• You are a constituent.

• Policymakers value your opinions.

• You can shape the process.

Why advocate?

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• Three levels of government

• Federal

• State

• Local

• Legislative and regulatory policy.

Where

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Congress 101• House of Representatives

• 435 members• You have one representative, determined

by your congressional district.• Representatives serve two year terms.

• Senate• 100 members, two per state• You have two senators.• Senators serve six year terms.

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Ohio Legislature 101• House of Representatives

• 99 members• You have one representative.• Representatives serve two year terms.

• Senate• 33 members• You have two senators.• Senators serve four year terms.

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What do you need?

• A story

• Passion for an issue

• An “elevator speech”

• Facts to support your points

• Persistence

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Practice

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Campaign Planning

• What do you want?

• Who can give it to you?

• What is the most persuasive messages?

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Elements of a Plan

• Research & Data

• Coalition Building

• Fundraising

• Grassroots and Key Contacts

• Media Advocacy

• Decision Maker Advocacy

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Research and Data Collection

• Environmental Scan

• Public Polling

• Data

• Past Efforts

• Model Language

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Coalition Building

• Strength of bringing various groups together with a single message

• Strange bedfellows

• Increases capacity, especially of small groups

• Magnify grassroots voice

• Sign On Letters

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Fundraising

• Critical Element

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Grassroots/Grasstops – What?

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Media advocacy

• Advertisements

• Press releases

• Letters-to-the-editor

• Op-eds

• Press events

• Social media

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Social Media

• Planning and Focus

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You are advocacy!

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Questions?

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• Cresha Auck Foley

Cresha.auck@heart.org