U.S. Poverty Weekly Update December 18, 2018

Quote of the Week

“After working with RESULTS for the past year, I can truly say that being a part of democracy is both fun and rewarding!”

–  RESULTS Fargo volunteer Deanna Schwehr in a December 13 letter to the editor in Inforum

RESULTS hopes you have a safe and enjoyable holiday season and that the new year brings you happiness.

All RESULTS offices will be closed December 25 through January 1. The U.S. Poverty Weekly Update will resume after January 1.

Got Two Minutes? Celebrate and Thank Your Networks for Farm Bill Victory

Congratulations! Because of you and advocates around the country, the House and Senate have overwhelmingly passed the Agriculture and Nutrition Act of 2018  and President Trump is expected to sign the bill later this week. It is the culmination of what you have worked toward for the last year – a bipartisan bill that protects SNAP. That means that for the next five years, tens of millions of Americans can rest easier knowing that will still be able to put food on the table each month.

This is a tremendous victory for you. Despite leaders in Congress and the White House urging deep cuts to SNAP, you held the line and forced those leaders to back down. This was not only due to the advocacy you’ve done for SNAP in 2018, but also your work protecting SNAP for the last decade. All those meetings, calls, letters, and media over the years sent a clear message to Congress that cutting SNAP is unacceptable. This farm bill is your reward. Thank you!

Celebrate your victory this week by letting others know what happened and thanking them for the part they played.

TAKE ACTION: Take two minutes to send a message to your local action networks and other contacts thanking them for helping hungry families in the final farm bill. They played a role in protecting SNAP, so it is important they know that when they take action, good things can happen. For your social media networks, send them a link to our SNAP victory Facebook post. For e-mails, copy, paste, and personalize the paragraphs above thanking them for their contribution to this victory.

Got Ten Minutes? Make Another Push for Meetings with New Members of Congress

We are close to the time when people tune out of everyday life and focus on time with family and friends during the holidays. This includes members of Congress. This week is probably the last chance you’ll have to connect with them before January. Use this opportunity to set up meetings with them as soon as possible. It’s OK if they cannot meet with you until January but getting the request in now will help you move to the front of the line.

And what a great time to be having meetings. You’ve just come off some big victories. Congress just passed a farm bill that protects SNAP and you helped generate over 216,000 comments on the public charge proposal (including 53 public charge media pieces since October). You played a key role in both these successes and now you can tout them in your first meetings with new members. There’s no better way to engender admiration and respect than demonstrating what constituents can accomplish. These meetings are also great for new advocates – nothing motivates people for this work like meeting with their elected officials.

TAKE ACTION: Take ten minutes to reach out to new members of Congress to set up face-to-face meetings as soon as possible. Visit their campaign pages for contact information, leverage contacts from their campaign, talk to donors, and follow them on social media. Whatever way you can find to get a meeting request to them, use it. Our updated meeting request (online or Word doc) is available for you to personalize and use. Once you get a meeting, please contact Meredith Dodson for coaching on what to discuss. And don’t forget to invite your new advocates to go with you!

Quick News

SAVE for All Principles Extended to December 21. The deadline to sign your local RESULTS group onto the new SAVE for All principles has been extended another week. They are hoping for more signers from every state, in particular people in Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Delaware, Hawaii, Louisiana, Mississippi, Nebraska, New Hampshire, Oklahoma, and Wyoming. Sign your local RESULTS group (e.g. “RESULTS Bremerton”) onto the principles today and if you know groups in these states, urge them to sign on too.

January Webinar is January 8. Because the first Tuesday in January is New Year’s Day, the RESULTS U.S. Poverty National Webinar will be held on Tuesday, January 8 at 8:00 pm ET.

New Website This Week! Visit the RESULTS website this week (maybe even tomorrow) and check out our new look. Explore and then let us know what you think.

Double Your Gift to RESULTS. From now until the end of the year, any donation to RESULTS or RESULTS Educational Fund will be matched 1:1 up to $50,000. That means your donation will have double the impact. Make sure to include RESULTS in your year-end giving!

Upcoming Events

Go to the RESULTS Events Calendar to see a full list of RESULTS events. Also, find a list of the RESULTS U.S. Poverty staff with contact information on the RESULTS website.

U.S. Poverty Team members planned time off: Meredith Dodson: Friday, December 21 (afternoon)-Tuesday, January 1. Jos Linn: Thursday, December 20-Sunday, January 6.

Holiday Break, Tuesday, December 25-Tuesday, January 1. All RESULTS offices closed.

RESULTS U.S. Poverty National Webinar, Tuesday, January 8 at 8:00 pm ET. Join at: https://results.zoom.us/j/873308801 or dial (929) 436-2866 or (669) 900-6833, Meeting ID: 873 308 801. Find recordings and slides from previous webinars on the National Webinars page.

RESULTS Action Network Community of Practice webinar, Wednesday, January 9 at 8:00pm ET. To join, log in: https://results.zoom.us/j/427674133 or dial in: 669-900-6833, Meeting ID: 427 674 133. You can also join our Facebook and e-mail groups.

U.S. Poverty Free Agents Calls, Tuesday, January 15 at 1:00 pm and 8:00 pm ET. Join at: https://results.zoom.us/j/324294681 or dial by phone at (929) 436-2866 or (669) 900-6833, Meeting ID: 324 294 681.

Martin Luther King, Jr. Holiday, Monday, January 21. All RESULTS offices closed.

January Congressional Recess, Monday, January 21-Friday, January 25. Submit your meeting requests today.

February Congressional Recess, Monday, February 18-Friday, February 22.Submit your meeting requests today.

RESULTS International Conference, July 13-16, 2019. Learn more at www.resultsconference.org and share your ideas for speakers and sessions by completing our IC suggestion form.

Other Resources

Learn more about the RESULTS Experts on Poverty at: https://results.org/issues/experts_on_poverty.

If you need materials (banners, pens, stickers, or business cards) for your local RESULTS work, fill out our Materials Order Form and we’ll send them to you.

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

Please fill out the RESULTS Lobby Report Form after any lobby meeting to let us know what happened. In meetings that cover both U.S. and global poverty issues, please fill it out twice.