Global Weekly Update June 24, 2013

Top Action: Prepare Yourself and Your Group for Effective Lobbying in July

On July 23, hundreds of us will be storming Capitol Hill to have influential meetings with our senators and representatives for the end of poverty as part of the 2013 RESULTS International Conference (July 20–23). Whether or not you will be with us in person, you can be part of the day! Here’s how to make the most of the opportunity we’ll be having in July:

1. Work with your group leader (or, if you’re a free agent/solo advocate, contact Lisa Marchal, Senior Global Grassroots Associate) to book a Lobby Day strategy meeting now with our policy team. Even if you can’t attend the conference, consider being part of this type of planning meeting; you’ll learn valuable information about your legislators, the work that will happen to move our legislation forward in DC, and what that could mean for your advocacy for the balance of the year.
2. Read up on our campaigns and congressional requests in the 2013 Legislative Handbook, the perfect primer for the conference!
3. This month’s action sheet is a great tool for mobilizing constituents to handwrite letters on the Global Fund. The letters can then be hand-carried to the RESULTS International Conference (July 20–23) and delivered in person to your members of Congress. Write a letter and give it to your group leader to take to DC or send it to Lisa Marchal. Later this year the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria will be hosting a replenishment conference with the aim of raising $15 billion for the next three years of work. We want to make sure the U.S. shows up with a pledge for at least one-third of that amount. According to research conducted by the Congressional Management Foundation, constituent letters to our members of Congress are very influential. Your letters will let Congress and the Administration know that we want the U.S. to continue to lead on the Global Fund.

Grading the U.S. on Nutrition

On June 8, global leaders gathered in London for the Nutrition for Growth Summit, an opportunity to pledge additional support to fight undernutrition. The event was the culmination of a global advocacy effort to increase the amount and quality of aid directed to nutrition programs. RESULTS joined other advocacy and humanitarian groups in calling on the U.S. to make specific commitments at the event, including a clear baseline of nutrition spending, additional funding going forward, and a comprehensive U.S. strategy on nutrition. Did the U.S. make the grade? Read all about it on our blog.

Your International Conference To-Do List

Joining us for the 2013 RESULTS International Conference in Washington, DC, this year? We’re excited about the conference, slated for July 20–23. Lots to do to get ready! Here’s what you ought to add to your to-do list.

1. Read the helpful Legislative Handbook which provides great background material on our issues and 2013 requests.
2. Use this helpful International Conference checklist to help you prepare and organize for your trip to DC!
3. Have you booked your Hill meetings with your members of Congress for Tuesday, July 23? Report them!
4. For the culmination of our big lobby day on July 23, we’ll once again be hosting a reception on Capitol Hill and Prof. Yunus will join as our special guest. We’d like to have many members of Congress also attend, so please start sending your invitations. Use this customizable invitation.
5. Work with your group leader (or, if you are a free agent/solo advocate, contact Lisa Marchal, Senior Global Grassroots Associate) to book a helpful Lobby Day prep meeting with our policy staff to help you make the most of your meetings on the Hill.

Bravo, Denver!

Congratulations and thanks to Bob Sample who has hosted another successful fundraising dinner for RESULTS! Bob has teamed up with a good friend and RESULTS donor in his area to treat his guests to a gourmet meal in a beautiful setting at her home. He has ushered in many major and recurring donors over the years using this model to foster a love of RESULTS with his personal friends. This year, Bob acted as the emcee between some amazing video clips we have available to us this year. He showed videos of poverty-fighting celebrities singing the praises of RESULTS and assuring their own commitment to ending poverty worldwide. Bob raised over $6,000 that evening and will certainly raise more as he makes follow up calls to ask donations from his friends who could not make it to the event that night.

If you would like to host your own house party using the great celebrity videos we have this year, we can help. Who wouldn’t want to have dinner with Dr. Jim Kim, former Senator Bob Bennett, and Professor Muhammad Yunus backing up our message of advocacy and the end of poverty? Contact Cindy Changyit Levin, Grassroots Development Associate.

Peace with justice means meeting our moral obligations. And we have a moral obligation and a profound interest in helping lift the impoverished corners of the world. By promoting growth so we spare a child born today a lifetime of extreme poverty. By investing in agriculture, so we aren’t just sending food, but also teaching farmers to grow food. By strengthening public health, so we’re not just sending medicine, but training doctors and nurses who will help end the outrage of children dying from preventable diseases. Making sure that we do everything we can to realize the promise — an achievable promise — of the first AIDS-free generation. That is something that is possible if we feel a sufficient sense of urgency.

— President Barack Obama, June 19, 2013

1. June 28, 1 pm ET. RESULTS Introductory Call. Heard of RESULTS and want to know more? Join us for this 30-minute introductory call. Contact us with any questions and RSVP for the call. Dial (712) 432-3100, passcode 761262 to join.

2. July 10, 9 pm ET. RESULTS Introductory Call. Heard of RESULTS and want to know more? Join us for this 30-minute introductory call. Contact us with any questions and RSVP for the call. Dial (712) 432-3100, passcode 761262 to join.

3. July 13, 2 pm ET. RESULTS National Grassroots Conference Call for Global Poverty Campaigns. Dial (888) 409-6709 to join!

4. July 15, 8 pm ET. Next RESULTS Free Agents call for global poverty advocates. Dial: (218) 486-1611, passcode 7378587 (RESULTS). Are you a RESULTS activist with our global poverty campaigns, living in a town with no RESULTS group? You are alone no more! Contact Lisa Marchal, Senior Global Grassroots Associate, for more information on this monthly group call.

5. July 16, 8 pm ET. Media Support Call. Want to be part of the on-going support that’s available to help you reach your media goals? Then this is the call for you! Join monthly for inspiration and ideas to keep you going. Dial (218) 862-1300, passcode 682494 to join this call.

6. July 20–23. RESULTS International Conference in Washington, DC. Register today!