Global Weekly Update April 14, 2014
Top Action: Rep. Schakowsky's Letter on the Global Partnership for Education
The Administration will be making the final decision on the role the U.S. will play at this June’s Global Partership for Education pledging conference, but Congress is using its voice now to urge the Administration to step up and make an ambitious pledge. Congresswoman Jan Schakowsky (D-IL) has initiated a letter to President Obama, open for signatures until May 1, asking for a U.S. pledge of $250 million over two years to the Global Partnership for Education. Use this month's action sheet to request that your representative(s) sign this important letter. Can we get to 100 signers? Watch your progress on our website!
P.S. This is a GREAT topic for a face-to-face meeting with your representative!
Global Partnership for Education: Outreach Update, Media, and Resources
April 30 Outreach Opportunity. Unfortunately, Janet Muthoni-Ouko will not be able to join us live for our planned April 30 outreach. (This is what happens when one of your allies is such an effective force and so in demand for her work on education! Janet continues to serve as Executive Director of the Elimu Yetu coalition and has recently been appointed to the national Task Force on Affordable Secondary Education as well as a city-wide task force focused on improving transition from primary to secondary school for children in Nairobi, in which she was appointed Vice Chair by the governor of Nairobi.) However, you can still plan a knockout meeting using our updated outreach guide and powerful suggested videos. And use our new April action sheet as the central action of your meeting!
Your Media Successes. Have you seen our latest media toolkit that can help you with the great GPE media work you've already begun? Twenty-five editorials, 30 op-eds, and 150 letters to the editor. That's the amount of media we want to generate nationwide to make a real impact on the run-up to the Global Partnership for Education pledging conference in Brussels in June and to move the needle on what the U.S. will pledge. And we've already begun making progress. So far, you've been the catalyst behind at least one editorial, four op-eds, 15 letters to the editor, and 1 article. Our media tour with Janet Muthoni-Ouko won't be able to go as planned due to an unforeseen schedule conflict (see above). But possibilities are brewing for later in the spring, so stay tuned.
Even More For You. Find a comprehensive collection of these and more resources on our website, including the following:
- April national grassroots conference call on the topic of the Global Partnership for Education
- Second in a series of 8 blog posts from across the RESULTS network covering the 8 reasons to invest in GPE. This second installment comes to us from RESULTS UK and focuses on Reason 2, "The Global Partnership for Education Reaches Those in the Greatest Need."
- RESULTS Education for All Brief: Greater Impact Through Partnership: 8 Reasons to Invest in the Global Partnership for Education Now More Than Ever
- "250 Million Reasons to Invest in Education" (#250MillionReasons) and "How to Get Millions of Children in School and Learning," two helpful videos
- A tip sheet to help you make the case to your local community of "why education, why now?"
- Recorded webinar featuring the CEO of the Global Partnership for Education, Alice Albright
- Editorial packet with fresh hook related to Malala Yousafzai, great for pitching editorials or crafting your own op-ed or letter to the editor
- General help securing a meeting with your editorial board
- A sample meeting request you can customize
- Our March action sheet, empowering you to write a letter to the editor promoting global education
- Recorded webinar series unpacking the details of our Education for All/Global Partnership for Education campaign and strategies
Expanding, Getting Face-to-Face Meetings, Raising Funds
RESULTS Expansion. We are celebrating new RESULTS global poverty groups in our midst! Since the first of the year, we've added these groups to the network: Ames (IA), Boise, Burlington (VT), Jackson (MS), St. Louis, Philadelphia, Waynesburg University (PA), Westside NYC, Jackson (MS). Know anyone in these towns who might like to connect with these new groups? Know leads in Hawaii, North Dakota, or Wyoming? Contact Lisa Marchal, Senior Global Grassroots Associate!
"Winning 'Em Over: Gaining Buy-in From Your Member of Congress and Staff." Join us on Monday, May 12 at 8 pm ET for this great learning opportunity related to face-to-face meetings! This training call, led by RESULTS volunteer and coach Sunil Bhaskaran, will offer a fresh perspective on selling your advocacy message more effectively through the building of trust, social proof, and authority over time. You may attend via phone only (no PowerPoint) or via your computer (using a microphone headset and being able to view the PowerPoint). To attend, visit http://InstantTeleseminar.com/?eventID=54266718. The phone number is (425) 440-5100, pin code 539904#.
Friends & Family Fundraising! Our Friends & Family fundraising website is up and ready for you to start your campaign and ask your loved ones to give to RESULTS! You can register your own personal fundraising site and leverage it to engage your donors and action networks with our International Conference in June, whether or not you are able to attend in person. Contributions to RESULTS and RESULTS Educational Fund help us to make our conference a success as hundreds of our volunteers travel to Washington D.C. to speak out for people in poverty. Did you know the money raised from this campaign is some of the most valuable donations we receive? These funds pay for the excellent support you get from RESULTS staff to coach your group with timely, accurate information for your work. These funds help us put on a stellar International Conference in Washington, D.C., mobilizing hundreds of activists to visit their congressional D.C. offices in person! And these funds help us take on cutting edge, powerful issues not covered by other activist groups or foundation money. The campaign lasts all throughout 2014, so you can participate when it works best for you! The online site makes it easy for you to ask your friends to give to RESULTS and track your donors. You can register yourself on this site in about 5 minutes, or contact Cindy Levin, Grassroots Development Associate.
The International Conference: Cameron Duncan Media Award, Getting Your Hill Meetings Booked
Honoring a Media Powerhouse. It's time to submit nominations for the Cameron Duncan Media Award. This award, which will be presented at the RESULTS/RESULTS Educational Fund International Conference in Washington, D.C., is given each year to a journalist who has demonstrated outstanding reporting of issues related to poverty. While there is no requirement for the journalist to accept the award in person, we will invite the winner to D.C. for the International Conference. Along with a one- to two-paragraph nomination letter/e-mail, please submit relevant clips from the past 12 months that demonstrate the journalist's dedication to our issues. Please send all nominations and direct any questions to Colin Smith, Deputy Director of Communications.
Booking Your Meetings. Lobby Day on the Hill, June 23, is the culmination of the International Conference. If more than one member of your group is coming to the International Conference, work together to secure face-to-face meetings for that day with your representative(s). Coming with others from your state? Get in touch with your fellow advocate attendees and work together to secure face-to-face meetings for that day with your senators. Coming solo or for the first time? Get in touch with Lisa Marchal, Senior Global Grassroots Associate, for assistance with your Lobby Day bookings. And check out our top tips on securing a meeting. (Can't attend the conference this year? Why not secure a face-to-face during August recess or make plans to dial via conference call into meetings being held by your fellow advocates on June 23?)
"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it's the only thing that ever has."
—Margaret Mead
(For a complete calendar, see our website.)
1. Next House and Senate Recesses of 2014: Now! (Passover/Easter). Schedule face-to-face meetings.
2. April 21, 8 pm ET. 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.
3. April 23, 8 pm ET. Writing Op-eds on Global Education Training Call. Dial (712) 432-3100, passcode 761262 for this inspiring and informative hour designed to help you reach the goal of landing that op-ed!
4. April 25, 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.
5. May 10, 2 pm ET. RESULTS National Grassroots Conference Call for Global Campaigns. Join the call at (888) 409-6709.
6. May 12, 8 pm ET. "Winning 'Em Over: Gaining Buy-in From Your Member of Congress and Staff." This training call, led by RESULTS volunteer and professional coach Sunil Bhaskaran, will offer a fresh perspective on selling your advocacy message more effectively through the building of trust, social proof, and authority over time. You may join via phone only (no PowerPoint) or via your computer (using a microphone headset and being able to view the PowerPoint). To join, visit http://InstantTeleseminar.com/?eventID=54266718. The phone number is (425) 440-5100, pin code 539904#.
7. May 14, 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.
8. May 20, 8 pm ET. Monthly Media Support Call. Dial (712) 775-7300, passcode 954747. Get great tips, encouragement, and support from fellow advocates so that you can achieve powerful, effective media work.
9. May 30, 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.
10. June 21-24. 2014 RESULTS International Conference in Washington, D.C.