Global Poverty Weekly Update February 22, 2016


February 22, 2016

Global Poverty Campaigns

Weekly Update | Week of February 22, 2016

Quote of the Week

"Certainly, our leaders can work together to save the lives of the most vulnerable children and their mothers." 

– Bob McMullen, RESULTS St. Louis Advocate and Co-leader

World TB Day is On Its Way

1. Webinar . Find a time with your group to do outreach sometime in in the first half of the year. We’ll have a special World TB Day webinars on March 23 (at 8 and 9 pm ET, to offer options for different time zones) with guests including TB survivors who have powerful stories to tell that will inspire you and our work. Organize around this inspiring, interactive occasion! Watch this space, or speak to your group leader or regional coordinator, for more information very soon.

2. Mini-grants. Fuel a great World TB Day outreach event with a RESULTS mini-grant! Get all the details from your group leader, or contact Ken Patterson, Director of Global Grassroots Advocacy, for an application with all the details. 

International Conference and REAL Change: Registration and Applications Open!

1. What Are You Doing the Last Week of June? Learning, connecting, making change, having fun, making memories. That's what's in store for all of us in DC during 2016 International Conference! Registration is open! 

2. Are You an Aspiring Young Advocate-Leader? Then we are looking for you! We are recruiting the next generation of young activists and leaders in fighting poverty at home and abroad. RESULTS will train and guide you to create personal relationships with policymakers in Congress and other branches of government. We’ll train and support you to speak powerfully and engage with the media and your community. RESULTS has proven over the past 35 years that when people like you use their voices effectively, we can make progress towards ending poverty. For more information, see our website. 

Appropriations: Now, Four Sign-on Letters Need Signatures

Since late January, and since the President released his annual budget, we’ve been particularly focused on making appropriations requests for fiscal year 2017 (FY17). You have been hard at work on those requests because you know the importance of those requests. The annual appropriations process is a time to influence how we prioritize our funding for issues that provide care and access to services to the most vulnerable.

However, there is now a new layer of opportunity through newly released sign-on letters. A sign-on letter is circulated by members of Congress (like a petition) to get other members of Congress to sign on to show their support for an issue (also called a “Dear Colleague”). These letters can have a lot of sway with appropriators when a strong number of their colleagues are asking them to support a cause, especially if there is bipartisan support!

We have letters to appropriators circulating in the House supporting 1) robust funding for Maternal and Child Health, including Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, and Nutrition, 2) increased funding for PEPFAR and $1.35 billion for the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria, 3) the Global Partnership for Education, and 4) bilateral TB. (We are expecting additional Senate letters as well.)

Deadlines to keep in mind:

  • House deadline for signing onto MCH, Gavi, and Nutrition letter is March 16
  • House deadline for signing onto Global Fund and PEPFAR letter is March 16
  • House deadline for signing onto Global Partnership for Education letter is March 16
  • House deadline for signing onto the bilateral TB letter is March 17

For complete information on appropriations sign-on letters and how to take action on them, check out our updated blog post by Senior Policy Associate Crickett Nicovich.

Steps to Take for Appropriations Requests: Some congressional offices want appropriations requests now! That's because the deadline for Senators to submit requests to the State and Foreign Operations Subcommittee of Appropriations is March 18, and the House deadline is March 22. So now is the time to use our appropriations action sheet, one-pagers for each of our issues, and laser talk to make our annual appropriations requests of our members of Congress so they can meet these deadlines. We can make these crucial funding requests each year, and engaging in this deep level of advocacy is a true specialty of you, our advocates. If you have any questions on the appropriations request submission process, don't hesitate to contact RESULTS staffers Crickett Nicovich, Ken Patterson, or Lisa Marchal.  

Background. Did you miss the recent webinar on appropriations messaging? View the playback on our website! How can we make a great case for U.S. funding for global development? What messages work best in our conversations with Congress? This webinar playback will help get those questions answered for you. Or want to know more about how appropriations even works? Check out this informative infographic on our website. 

Don't Forget: The National Grassroots Webinar/Conference Call is Approaching!

March 12, 2 pm ET. Join the February national webinar for grassroots, global campaigns. Focus: World TB Day, with special guests TB survivor and advocate Nora Rodriguez and Stop TB Partnership Liaison (and RESULTS Staffer) David Bryden. Login information: https://www.fuzemeeting.com/fuze/f2988286/30204806. To join by phone only, dial (201) 479-4595, meeting ID 30204806.

Upcoming Learning Opportunities

February 26, 1 pm ET. RESULTS Introductory Call. The perfect RESULTS primer. Contact us with any questions and RSVP for the call.

March 12, 2 pm ET. Join the February national webinar for grassroots, global campaigns. Focus: World TB Day. Login information: https://www.fuzemeeting.com/fuze/f2988286/30204806. To join by phone only, dial (201) 479-4595, meeting ID 30204806.

March 23. World TB Day Outreach Webinar. Stay tuned for more details. 

June 25-28. RESULTS 2016 International Conference. 

Resources at Your Fingertips

Subscribe to the Weekly Update

Advocacy Resources (Weekly updates, action sheets, online action alerts, and more)

Global Poverty Campaigns Background

Global Grassroots Calendar

Skills Center 

Fundraising Tools

Report Your 2016 Actions

2015 & 2016 Global Congressional Scorecards (See global poverty actions your members of Congress have taken over the past few years.)

Who Are the New(est) Members of Congress? (scroll down page)

Contact the RESULTS Board

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