community champions learning break series · fahe, berea, ky metropolitan family service, portland,...
TRANSCRIPT
Community Champions Learning Break Series
January 23, 2019 | 12 – 1 pm PT | 3 – 4 pm ET
Community Champion Orientation
Today’s Hosts
Dara DuratinskyProgram Manager,
Field Engagement
Prosperity Now
Vanna CureSenior Advocacy
Manager
Prosperity Now
Housekeeping
▪ This is a group discussion! Share comments or ask questions at any time by clicking the raised hand button or typing into the question box.
Tip: Select “Phone” in the Audio tab to dial in. And please enter your audio PIN!
▪ This session is being recorded and will be shared by email within one week.
▪ If you experience any technical issues, email [email protected].
▪Welcome & Housekeeping
▪Meet Your Fellow Community Champions!
▪Community Champion Advocacy Commitments
▪Other Leadership Opportunities
▪Prosperity Now’s Commitments to you
▪Upcoming Engagement Opportunities
▪Questions!
Today’s Agenda
Meet Your Fellow Community
Champions
▪ We were an A&O Network Leader
▪ 2017
▪ 2018
▪ Not sure ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Poll: When did your organization first become a Community
Champion?
▪ Affordable Homeownership/Housing
▪ Savings and/or Financial Capability
▪ VITA/EITC or Tax Equity
▪ Jobs & Income
▪ Consumer Protections
What are we missing? Let us know in the Question Box!
Poll: What policy area/topic does your organization focus on the
most?
Visit https://prosperitynow.org/community-champions
Where can you find fellow Community Champions?
Welcome to our Newest Community Champions
▪ Belmont Housing Resources for WNY, Inc. Buffalo, NY
▪ Build Wealth Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN
▪ Community Empowerment Fund, Durham, NC
▪ Corporation for Economic Opportunity, Columbia, SC
▪ Fahe, Berea, KY
▪ Metropolitan Family Service, Portland, OR
▪ Neighborhood Improvement Association INC, Savannah, GA
▪ Omaha EITC Coalition, Omaha, NE
▪ Sound Outreach, Tacoma, WA
▪ The Houston Area Urban League, Houston, TX
▪ United Way of Greater Mercer County, Lawrenceville, NJ
▪ United Way of Northern New Jersey, Bridgewater, NJ
▪ United Way of the Greater Capital Region, Albany, NY
▪ United Way of the River Cities, Huntington, WV
▪ First Peoples Fund, Rapid City, SD
Use the Community Champion Listserv!
▪ Email [email protected] with
questions for or news to share with your peers!
▪ Examples of recent conversation topics/questions:
▪ Professional Development “Exchange” Program
▪ Conference invites and information
▪ How to engage with newly elected officials
▪ How to develop a coalition policy agenda
▪ Conversations around inclusive programs and advocacy, specifically
financial capability for immigrant populations
Community Champion
Commitments: Federal Advocacy
Federal AdvocacyCommunity Champions commit to doing 2 or more of the following, 3x per year:
▪ Participating in federal advocacy opportunities related to consumer protections, housing, safety net, or tax code equity. Opportunities for engagement can include:▪ Calling or visiting your Member of Congress (in-district and on Capitol Hill)
▪ Participating in sign-on letters, offering public comments, providing testimony, etc.
▪ Using social media and other forms of communication (letters to the editor, op-ed, blog posts) to build awareness on an issue
▪ Sharing advocacy opportunities with your coalition partners and encouraging them to take action via (and sign up for) our Prosperity Now Advocacy Center.
▪ Leading a delegation of peers from your region on Capitol Hill and federal agency visits. This will happen at least every other year at the Prosperity Summit.
▪ Signing up for Prosperity Now’s Federal Policy Campaign(s) and/or sending campaign information and advocacy opportunities to your networks and/or partners.
▪ Reporting annually on activities related to: your coalitions/partnerships, information sharing, advocacy, service delivery and fundraising activities. Annual reporting is required.
Federal Policy Campaigns
Prosperity Now Advocacy Center
Prosperity Now Advocacy Center
Today we’ll demonstrate:
• Emailing a Legislator
• Calling a Legislator
• Tweeting at a Legislator
• Scheduling a Meeting
• Signing a Petition
Two Ways to Access
• Direct Email Action Alerts
• Prosperity Now Website- www.prosperitynow.org/take-action
Why do I need to list my organization?
• Prosperity Now partners with service providers and coalitions. Your organization will not appear on emails sent to legislators; it’s for internal purposes.
Will the MOC respond directly to my email address?
• Yes. Your email address will show up in the MOC’s inbox just like any other email. Prosperity Now won’t appear in the domain or subject line.
Should I use my home address or work address?
• Home is suggested.
If I share an action alert with a friend, will my information auto-populate?
• No. They’ll need to register for themselves before taking action.
Frequently Asked Questions
I’m afraid to call my Member’s office. Is it ok to call after hours?
• Yes! The message will still get to the Member. Be sure to leave your contact information so that the office can follow up.
Will I be asked a lot of questions if I call during the day?
• No! You will not be pressed with questions. The staffer’s job is to take down your concerns and give their boss your message. Simply read the script that we provide.
Should I send more than one email campaign? More than one call?
• 1. No. 2. Absolutely!
Is it OK to add text to the pre-drafted email before sending?
• Absolutely! We encourage advocates to include personal stories.
Frequently Asked Questions
I’d like to email MOCs outside of my district. How do I do that?
• The advocacy center only connects you with your Representatives. Share our alerts with your network and encourage them to call their MOCs.
I moved. How do I update my contact information?
• Log out and re-register.
Can I share action alerts on my website?
• Yes, actions alerts can be embedded to a website.
If I select one issue as my issue area, can I still act on others?
• Absolutely!
Frequently Asked Questions
Prosperity Now Advocacy Center- Sign Up Now!Take these 4 simple steps to sign up today!
Visithttps://prosperitynow.org/take-action
Scroll over “Take Action” and select
“Advocacy Center”
Scroll down and enter your email
address and click “Sign Up”
Enter the remaining contact
information fields to make it easy
to contact your legislator when you
return!
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2
3
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It’s Advocating Made Easy!
When you return to the
Advocacy Center, it’s easy to
contact your Member of
Congress. We’ve pre-drafted
emails about the issues you
care about, so all you have to do
is press “Send”!
Our automated dialer connects
you directly to your Member’s
office!
Prosperity Now’s Federal Policy Team Can Help With:
• Hill intel on specific issue area of concern • Blog posts and reports on key issues• Social media content- infographics, hashtags, links to online content
and alerts• Access to Prosperity Now's Advocacy Center• Email and phone scripts through Prosperity Now's Advocacy Center• Draft language and best practices for op-eds and other editorials• Advocacy training PowerPoints (101 and 201 level)• Access to policy experts for your webinars and virtual events (as
schedule permits)
Join us as we work to
ensure prosperity is in
reach for all
Questions?
Other Leadership Opportunities
Community Champions to engage as leaders in the Community (including Networks) 1-2 times per year:
▪Suggest topics for, participate in and consider facilitating learning groups, webinars and in-person capacity-building workshops.
▪Offer perspectives and mentorship to other partners via listservs, learning groups, in-person events and other opportunities.
▪Share advocacy efforts, best practices and successes with Prosperity Now staff to be featured in newsletters, online learning opportunities, and through events.
▪Serve in leadership roles, which might include learning group or working groups facilitator or on the Community Steering Committee.
▪Engage in state and local policy and advocacy.
Other ways to engage and build your leadership in the Community
Prosperity Now’s Commitments
to You
▪ Raising your organizational profile via the Prosperity Now’s website, Community Bulletin and more.
▪ Providing early access to annual Scorecard data and other Prosperity Now publications.
▪ Facilitating direct connections for you to other state, local and native leaders doing similar work.
▪ Inviting you to participate in exclusive events, including speaking roles at convenings and advocacy training opportunities.
▪ Offering technical assistance for your state and local advocacy work, especially Prosperity Now priority policy issues.
▪ Providing access to state and national experts on policy issues
▪ Providing access to coalition building learning opportunities, coaching and peer working groups.
▪ Seeking out resources to support your work and professional development, such as scholarships to attend events or pass-through dollars, as we’re able to do so.
Let us know how we can help you!
Prosperity Now commits to doing 1-2 of the following for each of our Community
Champions:
Upcoming Engagement
Opportunities
❑ Affordable Homeownership or I’M HOME
❑Savings or Campaign for Every Kids Future
❑Financial Coaching
❑Taxpayer Opportunity Network
❑Racial Wealth Equity
Poll: Which Prosperity Now Network(s) do you commit to join (or have joined) and actively participate
in?
▪ Post on the listserv
▪ Join a webinar and/or help facilitate it
▪ Join a working group
▪ Serve as a thought partner on how to engage the Network
▪ Not sure yet!
Poll: How will you participate in that Network in the next 2 months?
▪ What is a “Learning Break?” – Learning Breaks are informal, hour long conversations every other month with the goal of providing Community Champions a space to chat with peers and provide tools to help strengthen your leadership role in the Community.
▪ When are future Learning Breaks? – [Future topics TBD]▪ Thursday, March 21, 2019 – 3 p.m. EDT
▪ Tuesday, May 21, 2019 – 3 p.m. EDT
▪ Tuesday, July 23, 2019 – 3 p.m. EDT
▪ Thursday, September 19, 2019 – 3 p.m. EDT
▪ Thursday, November 21, 2019 – 3 p.m. EDT
▪ How can I participate in future Learning Breaks?1. Take our survey, which we’ll send to the Community Champion listserv in intervening months
(February) to help us narrow down topics, choose something to workshop
2. Volunteer to cofacilitate a Learning Break
3. Come to the Learning Break and actively participate – share your thoughts, ideas and ask questions!
Participate in Future Community
Champion Learning Breaks
▪Get a preview of your state’s data and rank, make plans to share this with local media, policymakers and coalition partners.▪ Let us know if you haven’t received a copy
▪ This data is embargoed until 12:01 a.m. on January 29th, 2019.
▪Register for the Scorecard release webinar, invite your network as well
▪Look out for a marketing toolkit closer to the launch. Toolkits will include shareable images of the data and personalized posts
Let us know how we can support you!
Participate in the Prosperity Now Scorecard Release
▪ Download and share Custom Data Reports for your state
▪ Host a press conference
▪ Conduct an advocacy training followed by an advocacy day
▪ Facilitate a webinar, conference call or meeting
▪ Write a press release, op-ed, or letter to the editor
▪Post on social media
▪Highlight the data at your annual conference
▪Use data to support other campaigns
▪Highlight racial wealth disparities
▪Bring potential partners together to form a coalition
Using and Sharing Data:Prosperity Now Scorecard
Questions?
✓ Complete the post-webinar survey!
✓ Look out for the follow-up email/survey on the Community
Champions listserv with more information about the next call
✓ Engage with us and one another on the Community
Champions listserv—let’s build a learning community together!
✓ Sign up for the Advocacy Center and take action
✓ Join a Network participate in webinars and post on the listserv
✓ Share the Prosperity Now Scorecard with your Community and
legislators
Wrap Up/Next Steps
