RESULTS Weekly Update May 7, 2024
Quote of the Week
“I do not want to see a mom going through what I went through when there is something that you can do.”
– Dr. Theopista Jacob Masenge – advocate, pediatrician, and Vice President of the Pediatric Association of Tanzania – educating and inspiring RESULTS advocates on the May National Webinar.
Table of Contents
- Important Grassroots Board election upcoming
- Keep up the lobbying push this month
- Quick News on U.S. and Global Poverty
- Announcements
- Upcoming Events
- Grassroots Resources
Important Grassroots Board election upcoming
RESULTS/RESULTS Educational Fund will hold an election this summer to elect a new Grassroots Director to the Board of Directors. Grassroots Directors provide an important bridge between the grassroots network, Board, and organization. They connect the Board with our passionate and active grassroots members. We have two excellent candidates this year: Kasapo Chibwe and Elizabeth Brown. As with any election, it is important to get to know the candidates before voting begins.
TAKE ACTION: Please join our Grassroots Directors Candidates’ Forum this Thursday, May 9 at 9:00 pm ET to meet the candidates, learn more about their priorities, and get information on when and how to vote. One of these fine candidates will be your voice on the RESULTS Board for the next three years – please make time to see who best represents you. Join at https://results.zoom.us/j/9909684715 (no registration required).
Keep up the lobbying push this month
We are now past the end of month three of our Community of Change campaign. In that time, you’ve held 134 lobby meetings with 108 different congressional offices. Thank you! Your meetings are a show of resolve, courage, conviction, and passion. You are bringing key issues to the fore for your legislators’ offices in a pivotal election year. What change do we want to see in the world? Encountering the hearts and minds of legislators is the way to seek that change. You educate, inspire, and hold accountable the congressional leaders who work for you.
TAKE ACTION: To help us get meetings with all 350 congressional offices we cover, we are extending our Community of Change lobby campaign through May 31. Please contact schedulers now to schedule your next lobby meeting. Many RESULTS Fellows are on Capitol Hill today meeting with Congress; stand with them by booking your group’s next lobby meeting. Use our 2024 lobby meeting request letter to request meetings and find lobby materials on our Community of Change campaign page. Please contact RESULTS staff if you need any help.
ADDITIONAL ACTIONS THIS WEEK: Reach out to foreign policy aides and tax aides on these time-sensitive issues.
- Global Appropriations. The Senate State and Foreign Operations Subcommittee of Appropriations (SFOPS) has set a deadline of May 13 for fiscal year 2025 spending requests from senators. (The House process has closed.) Act today. Ask your senators to include our global poverty funding requests in their submissions to SFOPS. We have requests for maternal and child health, vaccines, nutrition, tuberculosis, the Global Fund, and education. Please fill out each appropriations form if asked; contact RESULTS staff for help. To see what your members of Congress have done on our issues in the past, see the congressional scoresheet.
- Global “Dear Colleague” letters. While the House “Dear Colleague” letters have closed, you can still ask your senators to sign “Dear Colleague” letters in support of our funding requests. More signatures mean more influence. Find the letters and other resources, including who has signed so far, on the RESULTS blog.
- Child Tax Credit. With less than three weeks before the Senate leaves again for the Memorial Day recess, we are pulling out all the stops to get them to pass H.R. 7024, the Tax Relief for American Families and Workers Act. After Memorial Day, the chances of passing the bill drop considerably. It’s time for the Senate to stop denying the families of 16 million children a modest increase in their Child Tax Credit. They must vote now! Reach out to Senate offices again this week with these messages:
- Call to Action for Democratic Senate offices: Please urge Sen. Schumer (D-NY) to schedule a vote for H.R. 7024.
- Call to Action for Republican Senate offices: Please support H.R. 7024 and share your support with Sen. Todd Young (R-IN).
Quick News on U.S. and Global Poverty
May 15 Global Poverty Forum on Gavi and immunization. Join us for a global policy forum on immunization on May 15 at 2:00 p.m. ET. Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance is an innovative global partnership that’s immunized more than 1 billion children – preventing more than 17 million future deaths. Now Gavi is developing a bold plan to recover lost progress and reach kids who were missed during COVID-19, as well as adding game-changing new vaccines—like those against malaria—into their coverage. Join Dorothy Monza, Manager of Global Child Health Policy, to dive deeper into the opportunities and challenges in childhood immunization and learn why your RESULTS advocacy can help deliver on the largest Gavi replenishment yet. Register today.
Read new blog post on housing. Where should federal policy go to remedy the growing housing problem in the U.S.? Read the excellent new RESULTS blog post from Associate Director Michael Santos explaining the three “buckets” of housing policy that are needed to reduce homelessness and poverty.
Announcements
Join partnership training on May 7. Want to learn how to start engaging your community in advocacy through partnership? On Tuesday, May 7 at 8:00 pm ET, join the “Building Community Partnerships to End Poverty” webinar. We will map out community connections, create an action plan, and practice how to initiate a one-on-one conversation with a potential partner. All are essential and valuable skills to growing the movement for the end of poverty. To join, please register.
Make plans to join our summer of community action. Were you excited by what you heard during the May National Webinar regarding the summertime chance to help your community come together, take action, and get Congress “On the Record”? Join the Outreach & Partnership Coordinators on Wednesday, May 8 at 7:00 p.m. ET for a brainstorming workshop on how to execute a successful “On the Record” community action. All are welcome! Sign up today. And check out all our resources to organize a community action meeting this summer!
Will your group get Congress “On the Record”? Join RESULTS staff and advocates to get inspiration, coaching, and support to plan your “On the Record” community action activities! Register for a June Community Action coaching call online. Calls are happening on May 21, May 22, May 23, June 4, June 5, and June 6. Choose what works for you!
Triple your giving impact. This spring, RESULTS is urgently working to raise $350,000 to amplify our work on behalf of the estimated 350 million children worldwide who face undernutrition. Thanks to a generous challenge match from longtime RESULTS volunteers from Washington State, your donation to RESULTS will be TRIPLED until we reach our goal! These 350 million children deserve not just to survive, but to be healthy and thriving, reaching for their dreams, and contributing to our aspirations for a better world. Will you step up in support of children — and triple your impact — by making a special tax-deductible gift to RESULTS today?
Use letters to the editor to magnify your voice. We know RESULTS volunteers are fantastic at doing lobby meetings. But did you know that they are also amazing at media? Since 2017, our volunteers have gotten over 4,600 media pieces published! That media has persuaded representatives to co-sponsor bills that reduce poverty. That media has convinced senators to vote yes on legislation we support. And that media has inspired new people to become advocates for the first time. In 2024, RESULTS volunteers have over 140 media pieces. It’s a great start, but we need more people speaking out this year if we want this Congress (and the next one) to make poverty a priority. Submit your next letter to the editor to show the power your voice has. Use our sample Child Tax Credit, child health, and vaccines letters to get started today!
Upcoming Events
Congressional schedule: This week, the House and the Senate are in session.
Find these and other events on our website Events Calendar.
Tuesday, May 7: Building Community Partnerships to End Poverty, 8:00-9:15 p.m. ET. Register and join us!
Wednesday, May 8: Special Global Allies Program (Returned Peace Corps Volunteers) with Sam Daley-Harris, 8:00 pm ET. Learn more.
Thursday, May 9: Grassroots Director Candidates’ Forum, 9:00 p.m. ET. Join on Zoom; no registration required.
Monday, May 13 (special date): Global Poverty Free Agents, 7:00 p.m. ET. Contact Lisa Marchal for more information.
Wednesday, May 15: Action Network Manager Call, 8:00 p.m. ET (no afternoon option this month). Join at https://results.zoom.us/j/95416781155 or dial (301) 715-8592, meeting ID: 954 1678 1155. No registration required.
Thursday, May 16 (adjusted date): Outreach and Event Office Hour, 2:00 p.m. ET. Drop in via https://results.zoom.us/j/94004748060 or dial (312) 626-6799, meeting ID 940 0474 8060. No registration required.
Tuesday, May 21: U.S. Poverty Free Agents, 1:00 p.m. ET and 8:00 p.m. ET. Contact Jos Linn for more information.
Tuesday, May 21: New Advocate Orientation, 1:00 p.m. ET. Register today!
Tuesday, May 21: June Community Action Coaching, 1:00 p.m. ET. Register here. (You can also use the registration page to choose a coaching time later in May or in early June.)
Tuesday, May 21: Together Women Rise advocacy chapter webinar, 8:30 p.m. ET. Learn more about this opportunity.
Wednesday, May 22: Media Office Hour, 2:00 p.m. ET. Join via Zoom at https://results.zoom.us/j/93668005494 or call 312-626-6799 (Meeting ID: 936 6800 5494). No registration required.
Monday, May 27: RESULTS Office closed in observance of Memorial Day.
Saturday, June 1: National Webinar, 1:00 p.m. ET. Register for the webinar.
Typically, registration ends one hour prior to the start of all webinars and trainings.
Grassroots Resources
- EOPs: Learn about the RESULTS Experts on Poverty.
- Actions and volunteer resources: Visit our Volunteers Hub, including our anti-oppression resources. To join the RESULTS listserv for more RESULTS conversation, send an email to [email protected].
- Please report your actions. Remember to please report your recent advocacy successes in lobby meetings, media, and outreach activities. Also, use our form to add to/edit your info and to sign up for updates and alerts.
- Share your story. If you have an inspiring story about advocacy, please tell us about it. Also, if you want to celebrate the actions of a new volunteer, sharing about the experience.
- Questions for the Board? If you have a question, comment, or suggestion for the RESULTS/REF Board, please e-mail [email protected]. View Board minutes and Annual Reports.
- Staff and jobs: RESULTS Staff directory and job postings.