Global Weekly Update November 8, 2010

Why Do U.S. Teachers Care About Global Education? Join Our Conference Call on Saturday to Find Out!

We are thrilled and honored to welcome the vice president of the National Education Association (NEA), Ms. Lily Eskelsen, who will discuss why the NEA supports Education for All and what their members are doing to work in coalition with U.S. and global partners. She’ll also share how our grassroots can work with and support your members. Ms. Eskelsen is a truly committed and passionate advocate for Education for All.

NEA, as well as the American Federation of Teachers (AFT), are leading members of the U.S. Chapter of the Global Campaign for Education (GCE-U.S.). RESULTS is a co-chair of GCE-U.S. and along with NEA, sits on the Leadership Council. NEA is one of our closest and most important allies in GCE-US.

Scroll down this page to watch a brief clip of Ms. Eskelsen speaking at the Hill launch of the House Eduation for All Act. The page also has links to some of the many actions NEA has taken for Education for All.

The call is at 2:00 pm ET on this Saturday, November 13. To join, call (888) 409-6709.

Got the Fundraising Follow-up Jitters?

Fundraising can be scary, but there is a real satisfaction in sharing deeply with others about this work and knowing that each dollar raised will help us lay one more brick in the foundation of the end of poverty.

Stay tuned to hear RESULTS volunteer and development consultant, Beth Wilson, talk about the joys of telephone fundraising on the November conference calls. Beth, like most of us, was nervous about making follow-up phone calls until she discovered that people are interested in hearing about RESULTS and the difference we’re making in the world.

Follow-up phone calls to letters and to special event invitations will make a huge difference to the success of your efforts. Most donors are delighted to chat, especially when they hear your enthusiasm and know that you care deeply about the mission and purpose of the organization. But, what do you say? Ask people if they received your letter and if they have any questions. Try to connect on a personal level and build rapport. Assure them they’re not obligated to support RESULTS. Read a sample call script and make it your own!

Donations are sure to arrive after you’ve made your follow-up phone call. Collect remittance envelopes and record donations on the donations tracking form until you think you have them all. Carefully review checks and remittance envelopes for accuracy and for omissions such as expiration dates on credit cards, non selection of the gift designation boxes, or unsigned checks, etc. Be sure “Friend and Family” or “Events” is circled and that the group name is written on each envelope. Send checks and remittance envelopes directly to the New York address on the remittance envelope.

Results Educational Fund, Inc. / P.O. Box 10413 / Uniondale, NY 11555-10413

Send the donation tracking form to the D.C. office. Send checks to the New York lock-box address above. The deadline for mailing checks to our bank in New York is December 1, so we still have two weeks to receive our donations and put them in the mail.

Thank you for spreading the word about RESULTS to your inner circle. It’s because of you that we’re able to engage and inspire members of Congress and other decision makers to ensure that all people have access to health care, education, and economic opportunity.

If you have questions or need more information, please contact Donna Howard at (202) 783-4800 x124 or [email protected].

Thank you so again for supporting RESULTS and RESULTS Educational Fund during our annual Fall Fundraising Campaign. It means so much to so many!

World AIDS Day is December 1 — Exciting Opportunties Await You!

World AIDS Day on December 1 is an excellent opportunity to follow up on Global Fund replenishment media efforts. If your paper wrote an editorial, you should thank them and share the media we generated with them. Let them know that they made a difference by building support for the first multi-year US pledge to the Global Fund. If your media didn’t write, let them know that they have another chance to write for World AIDS Day. Later this week we’ll release an editorial packet focusing on AIDS and the Global Fund as issues that Republicans and Democrats can work on together.

Why Isn’t Your Member of Congress on the Education for All Act?

Do you know why your senators and representative haven’t yet cosponsored the Education for All Act? Have you asked them? And then asked them again?

Congress is back in session for a while, so now is a great time to follow up and try to get them to cosponsor the bill. While the both bills will be reintroduced next year (every two years we have a new Congress and bills are wiped clean), if you talk to them today about the bill, it will:

• potentially get them to cosponsor, as they have more time to think about it now that elections are over;
• make it easier for you to ask them to cosponsor the reintroduced bill next year; and
• build congressional support for early reintroduction.

If your member won’t be returning next year, they can still sign the bill and help us to build congressional support. You can then use their cosponsorship to help convince your new member to continue your district’s support of Education for All.

Review our action sheet (Word document) and visit our Take Action Education for All resources page today!

October–December: Fall fundraising campaign

November 13: Monthly national conference call for global activists. 2:00 pm ET. The theme this month is Education for All. Call (888) 409-6709.

November 18: Researching Your Member of Congress Training Call. 9:00 pm ET. Call in to (712) 432-3100, passcode 761262. Have a new representative or senator? Don’t yet know enough about the positions of a continuing legislator? Join Allison Gallaher to learn how to effectively research your own members of Congress for more effective advocacy.

December 1: World AIDS Day.

Upcoming Fall Fundraisers

November 20: RESULTS San Jose, CA

November 21: RESULTS Ann Arbor, MI

November 30: RESULTS Twin Cities, MN

November 30: RESULTS Los Angeles, CA

December 5: RESULTS Chicago, IL

December 9: RESULTS in Washington, D.C.

Other Dates

June 19–21: RESULTS International Conference in Washington, D.C., Four Points Sheraton