Global Weekly Update April 21, 2014
Top Action: Get Your Rep. to Sign Global Partnership for Education Letter to President
1. 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. The Obama Administration will decide on the role the U.S. at this June’s Global Partership for Education (GPE) pledging conference, but Congress is using its voice now to urge the Administration to make an ambitious pledge. Use this month's action sheet to write your representative(s) about signing this important letter. In 2012, we secured 59 signers on a similar letter, but the U.S. contribution to GPE has remained weak. We need 100 signers on the 2014 letter to send a clear message to the President. Watch your progress on our website!
2. April 28 Call-in Day. Be part of a nationwide GPE call-in day on April 28, spear-headed by the Global Campaign for Education! Let's engage the masses. You can use this brand new alert to make your voice heard. Make a call on April 28, send the action on to others, and post on social media.
Global Partnership for Education: Outreach Update, Media, and Resources
April 30 Outreach Opportunity. Unfortunately, Janet Muthoni-Ouko cannot travel to the U.S. to join us for our planned April 30 outreach. 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! We need more voices making this request.
Your Media Successes. Have you seen our latest GPE media toolkit? Use it to help us reach our goals of generating: 25 editorials, 30 op-eds, and 150 letters to the editor. Our media goals are ambitious because we want the President to get an unequivocal message that the U.S. must invest more in GPE. And we've already begun making progress. So far, you've generated at least 1 editorial, 5 op-eds, 17 letters to the editor, and 1 article. For inspiration, check out some of this recent media, like this letter to the editor in the Dallas Morning News by Margaret Smith or this op-ed by Lin Carlson in Crosscut.
Even More For You. Find a comprehensive collection of these and more resources on our website, including the following:
- *New* Recording of the April Global National Conference Call on the Global Partnership for Education
- *New* Third in a series of 8 blog posts covering the 8 reasons to invest in GPE. Reason 3: "The Global Partnership for Education Complements Bilateral Efforts in Global Education."
- 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
International Conference: To Whom Can You Offer the Opportunity of a Lifetime?
Someone introduced us to RESULTS, and for many of us it has made all the difference in the world. Listen to what it has meant to Baltimore group leader, Jami-Lin Williams. To whom do you want to offer the same opportunity? Friends? Family? People in your local action network? Here is one way to make an invitation:
"My involvement with RESULTS has been a total gift to me. I’ve tapped into power I never knew I had, and instead of complaining about problems, I’m actually doing something about them. I know that what I'm doing is really saving and improving lives. I feel I owe it to people like you to offer you the same gift that someone gave me by telling you about RESULTS. And one of the best ways to fully experience what RESULTS has to offer is to come to the International Conference in Washington this summer. Can I give you some more details on my experience and from our website?"
NEW GUEST SPEAKER! Former Prime Minister of Australia and current chair of the Global Partnership for Education board, Julia Gillard, will be speaking on our global education panel at the IC. This is an acknowledgement of the key role you are playing in the GPE pledging conference.
Lobby Day on the Hill is Tuesday, June 24. Lobby Day at the International Conference is Tuesday, June 24 (correction from last week's update – apologies!), and it 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) and senators. 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 Tuesday, June 24?
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.
Good News: Appropriations Round-up, Run for Fun(ds), and Ms. Sarah Brown!
1. Appropriations. Asking a member of Congress to support appropriations for poverty-focused foreign aid is one of the most powerful requests you can make on the issues of global health, basic education, and economic opportunity this year. That's what the annual appropriations process is all about. Through direct requests and through sign-on letters (a letter circulated by members of Congress to get other members of Congress to sign on to show their support for an issue), you helped create a surge of support for strong funding for our issues. Check out the recap on our blog, and then be sure to thank those legislators who took action! (That's a great way to lead into a request to meet with your member of Congress during the International Conference or back in the state/district in August.)
2. Fundraising. Grab some friends and run/walk any distance to earn an Everyday Hero Medal with RESULTS. We'll be doing an actual run/walk in D.C. at our International Conference in our superhero capes, but you can participate in our virtual event anywhere, any time you want! Register for $25 to benefit RESULTS Educational Fund. Not going to the IC? This can be a fun event to do at home! Gather your allies and take a walk/run/bike ride around your favorite route! Medals will be mailed out the first week of July. Register officially online!
3. Sarah Brown to Join Us for May Conference Call. We are excited to announce that the guest speaker on our May 10 global grassroots national conference call will be Sarah Brown, co-founder of A World At School and wife of former British Prime Minister Gordon Brown. We are thrilled to have Ms. Brown join us to share the critical work that she is doing to galvanize the international community toward achieving education for all. Through her role at A World At School, she is spearheading the 500-Day Countdown for Global Education Campaign, bringing together partners from around the world and across sectors to ensure that we reach the second Millennium Development Goal on universal access to primary education and that every child is in school and learning. With the Global Partnership for Education's pledging conference quickly approaching in June, this will be a key moment as the international community gears up for a final push to the end of 2015, and also the best opportunity to create momentum for post-2015 and the work yet to come. The call will be at the usual time of 2 pm ET on Saturday, May 10.
"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: Senate is on recess Memorial Day week. Schedule face-to-face meetings.
2. 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!
3. 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.
4. May 10, 2 pm ET. RESULTS National Grassroots Conference Call for Global Campaigns. Join the call at (888) 409-6709.
5. 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#.
6. 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.
7. May 19, 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.
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.