RESULTS Campaigns Weekly Update June 15, 2021

Quote of the Week

“We know how influential your advocacy is with decision-makers.”

– Julia Gillard, Former Prime Minister of Australia and Chair of the Board of Directors of the Global Partnership for Education, speaking at the RESULTS International Conference

Table of Contents

• RESULTS International Conference
• Global Poverty Campaigns Update
• U.S. Poverty Campaigns Update
• Upcoming Events
• Grassroots Resources

RESULTS International Conference

Thank you for making this year’s Conference one to remember!

Thank you to everyone who attended the 2021 RESULTS International Conference this weekend. Even in a virtual format, you helped make it a spectacular event. Seeing hundreds of people from around the world (over 600 people registered) take time from weekend activities, particularly as things are opening up after 15 months of indoor living, was truly inspiring. While we relish the insight and knowledge that our speakers bring to the Conference – and again this year, they did not disappoint – it is you, our volunteers, who bring the heart and soul to this event each year. Thank you for making this year’s event something special.

However, we all know that the end of the formal programming at the RESULTS International Conference is not the end of the Conference. Advocates are doing hundreds of lobby meetings this week and in the weeks to follow. Here are a few things to prepare you for those meetings and close out this year’s Conference experience.

1. Schedule and prepare for lobby meetings. Use the content from speakers and sessions at the Conference to lobby your members of Congress on our issues. If you have not set up lobby meetings with your representatives and senators for this month, please schedule them ASAP. You can find sample meeting requests, laser talks, and congressional scorecards on the Conference resources page. If you need help scheduling meetings or wish for staff to attend an upcoming meeting, please contact RESULTS staff.
2. Review and use lobby materials. We also have everything you need to prepare for and use in your lobby meetings. Laser talks on all our issues, leave behind sheets on all our requests, along policy briefs and supplemental information are on the Conference resources page for your use.
3. Review sessions from the Conference. We had fantastic speakers this weekend who spoke on nutrition, education, housing, child poverty, and a host of other topics. Their knowledge informs our advocacy. Go to the Conference Agenda online and click on each session to find the recording link and any materials used (note that not all sessions were recorded). Watch sessions you missed, review ones you attended, and use the information to make your lobby meetings more powerful. You can also find session materials on the Conference resources page.
4. Share your experience. The best way to expand the movement to end poverty is to inspire others into action. Who better to share inspiration than the people who inspire RESULTS staff every day – you! If you have local action networks, e-mail them about your experience at the Conference and invite them to take action on the issues while you lobby (or, better yet, invite them to join a lobby meeting). Also, submit letters to the editor talking about the power of citizen advocacy to make a difference on the issues you care about. You can even tweet about RESULTS, tagging @RESULTS_Tweets and using the hashtag #Voices4RESULTS.

If you have additional questions about the Conference, resources, or preparing for lobby meetings, please contact RESULTS staff for assistance.

Finally, thank you so much to everyone who donated to unlock the $25,000 match! Thanks to your generosity and that of a long-time donor who put up the match, we’ve raised over $50,000 for RESULTS and our important work to end poverty. There’s still time to make your gift if you haven’t yet at https://results.salsalabs.org/ic2021/index.html. Thank you again!

Global Poverty Campaigns Update

QUICK ACTION Write a letter to the editor on the Global Partnership for Education

Got Fifteen Minutes? Get signatures on the House GPE letter to the Administration

Taking a cue from the excitement of the International Conference and the critical emphasis on global education, we report that we still have an important letter to the Administration on the Global Partnership for Education (GPE) circulating in the House on which you can take action. Ask your representative to sign the letter this week as you engage in your Advocacy Week lobby meetings. The bipartisan letter is being led by Reps. Kilmer (D-WA) and Fitzpatrick (R-PA) and is calling on the Administration to commit $1 billion over five years in support of GPE’s 2021-2025 strategy for basic education. It will close on June 18. We’ll be tracking signatures on our letter scorecard. If your representative has previously taken an action in support of the Global Partnership for Education, this will be an inspiring additional action they can take to further their commitment to GPE.

TAKE ACTION: Ask your representative to sign onto the House letter to the Administration asking for a commitment of $1 billion over five years for the Global Partnership for Education. You can track our progress of getting signatures online. We can do it!

Got Another Fifteen Minutes? Make Senate appropriations requests.

Don’t let up on Senate appropriations requests for our global health and education priorities during this Advocacy Week. The Senate State and Foreign Operations Subcommittee of Appropriations (SFOPS) leadership needs to hear from other senators about their development assistance spending priorities for fiscal year (FY22) by June 29. Have you reached out yet?

TAKE ACTION: Check out our appropriations memos on our website. We have requests on global education, global tuberculosis, and global nutrition. Make your appropriations requests of your senators right away so we can meet the deadline. For assistance, contact the Grassroots Impact staff. And after you make your requests, follow up!

QUICK NEWS ON GLOBAL POVERTY

Congressional resolutions on GPE. Has your representative cosponsored H.Res. 225, and have your senators cosponsored S.Res. 240 in support of the Global Partnership for Education? So far, we have 27 cosponsors in the House and need to build co-sponsorship in the Senate. Can we make the numbers skyrocket? Remember that this is a great request for a member of Congress who signed onto a global education letter. Check out the resolution cosponsor lists for H.Res.225 and S.Res.240 and consider contacting your members of Congress if they are not yet on the resolutions. (Consider thanking them if they are!)

Global Partnership for Education media. We have just two weeks to go for the Global Partnership for Education (GPE) media campaign. Help us get to our goal of 100 global education media hits from May 1 to July 1. Write your local paper about the need to support GPE’s remarkable work in the lives of young people. What hooks for education media have you found? How has education impacted your life and the life of your community? Use our action sheet and companion action alert on this topic to help you along. Don’t forget to report your media when it gets published and then leverage your published media by sending it to your legislators. Need help? Contact Jos Linn.

U.S. Poverty Campaigns Update

QUICK ACTION Submit letters to the editor today on housing and tax credits

Got Fifteen to Thirty Minutes? Schedule lobby meetings to talk housing and child poverty

On our housing and tax work, we’ve had some encouraging news in the last week.

First, the House Financial Services Committee held a hearing on June 9 on expanding rental assistance, including a discussion of the new Ending Homelessness Act of 2021. As RESULTS has pushed for many months, this bill would expand and improve Housing Choice Vouchers to all eligible renters over the next four years. In 2026, the voucher program would then become mandatory with guaranteed annual funding. No more waiting lists, no more denials – all eligible renters would get coverage.

Next, the Biden Administration is gearing up for the new Child Tax Credit monthly allowance, which starts going out to families on July 15. The IRS is setting up a portal to help make sure all families who are eligible to get the monthly payment. In addition, on June 21, the Biden Administration is hosting Child Tax Credit Awareness Day to actively get the word out. While 39 million households will get the payments automatically, the goal is to get eligible families who have not filed taxes recently to sign up.

These are encouraging developments on our top two U.S. poverty priorities this year. Momentum is building but we need your voice to get it over the finish line.

TAKE ACTION: Take the time you need this month to meet with congressional offices to pass policies that help people find and stay in homes and lift workers and children out of poverty. Set up lobby meetings with members of Congress and/or their housing and tax aides to urge them to:

1. Housing request: expand rental assistance to all eligible renters via guaranteed multi-year funding for Housing Choice Vouchers in economic recovery legislation this year.
2. Tax credit request: make the 2021 Earned Income Tax Credit and Child Tax Credit provisions permanent in economic recovery legislation this year.

You can find current request sheets, background info, and other resources on our Conference resources and Lobbying pages. Please contact RESULTS staff if you need help.

QUICK NEWS ON U.S. POVERTY

Keep up media work. In addition to lobby meetings, you can pressure lawmakers into action by submitting letters to the editor on housing or the tax credits. The more members of Congress see their names in print urging them to support these policies, the harder it is for them to do nothing. Also, remember to use our new Media Packets in your lobby meetings, showing broad support across the country for action on housing and child poverty (find them on our Conference resources page). Once published, please leverage your media and let us know you got published. If you need help with your letters, please contact Jos Linn for assistance.

Upcoming Events

Congressional schedule. The House and Senate are in session this week. Submit your remote meeting requests today.

Wednesday, June 16: Advocacy Week Office Hour, 12:00 pm ET. Join at https://results.zoom.us/j/92567693267, passcode 1101.

Thursday, June 17: BIPOC Caucus, 8:00 pm ET. The Black, Indigenous, People of Color Caucus is officially one year old. We’ll gather for a guest speaker and for a conversation about a topic that matters to our community. Contact Yolanda Gordon for joining details.  

Tuesday, June 22: Anti-Oppression Working Group Open Discussion on Next Steps, 9:00 pm ET. Volunteers and staff are working together to advance RESULTS’ anti-oppression values and create opportunities for on-going learning. Join in! Register today.

Monday, June 28: RESULTS Global Poverty Free Agent Webinar, 7:00 pm ET. Contact Lisa Marchal at [email protected] for information on how to join.

Wednesday, June 30: Action Network Monthly Webinar, 8:30 pm ET. Register today. Registration ends one hour prior to the webinar.

Monday, July 5: Independence Day holiday. All RESULTS offices closed.

Saturday, July 10: RESULTS National Webinar, 1:00 pm ET. Register today.  Registration ends one hour prior to the webinar.

Saturday, July 17: Last day to vote in RESULTS Grassroots Board Election. Read about the candidates and how to vote on the RESULTS Blog.

Tuesday, July 20: Op-ed Writing Workshop, 9:00 pm ET. Register today. Registration ends one hour prior to the webinar.

Grassroots Resources

Learn about the RESULTS Experts on Poverty.

To update volunteer info (e.g., subscribe to the Weekly Update or action alerts, add new advocate information, update an existing advocate’s information or preferences), use our Volunteer Information Form.

Find actions and volunteer resources on our Current Volunteers page, including our anti-oppression resources.

Remember to please report your recent advocacy successes in lobby meetings, media, and outreach activities.

To join the RESULTS listserv for more RESULTS conversation, send an email to [email protected]

If you have a question, comment, or suggestion for the RESULTS/REF Board, please e-mail Lindsay Saunders at [email protected]. View Board minutes and Annual Reports.

RESULTS Staff directory and job postings.