Global Weekly Update June 9, 2014

Don't Forget: June 14 National Grassroots Conference Call to Feature Rep. Jan Schakowsky!

Join us on our national conference call on Saturday, June 14 at 2 pm ET to hear from Rep. Schakowsky and put into context the important work we've been doing on the Global Partnership for Education. Gather with others and dial in to (888) 409-6709 a few minutes before the call begins. 

After securing 69 signers in 2011 and 70 signers in 2012 on similar letters, our global groups worked diligently to secure 81(!) signatures on a letter led by Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-IL) calling on President Obama and USAID to pledge $250 million over two years at the June 26 Global Partnership for Education pledging conference in Brussels. (By the way, the final list of letter signatures is on our website. Marvelous work, as this letter will send our message loud and clear.) 

Top Actions: Global Partnership for Education Call-in Day (June 16) and Final Days of Media Push

1. June 16 Call-in Day to the White House. This Monday, join your voice with others around the country, calling on the Obama Administration to show up with a $250 million pledge (over two years) at the pivotal June 26 Global Partnership for Education (GPE) pledging conference. Pledges at the conference, including ours, could mean putting another 29 million school-age children into classrooms where they belong. Mark your calendars and make your call, using the support of our latest action alert. A sample script and the number to call . . . it's all there for you.

2. Media Push. Thanks to you, at least 14 editorials, 12 op-eds, 56 letters to the editor, and 5 radio spots on the Global Partnership for Education have appeared in the run-up to the pledging conference. Just one more week of work to go! It's crunch time! Haven't gotten a piece in your local media market yet? It's not too late! Many of you have laid great groundwork by reaching out to your editors and writers, but nothing has materialized yet. Now is the moment to seize on that relationship-building and make your clear request for media coverage one more time. Here are some options:

• Use the June Action Sheet to Write a Letter to the Editor and Engage Others to Write, Too. Use the June Action sheet to write a letter to the editor and use our new Education & Action guide to create an outreach meeting to help get others writing! There are almost unlimited writing hooks in papers on education: Malala Yousafzai, the Nigeria crisis, teacher salaries, Common Core, charter schools, education budgets, etc. 
• Create an Op-ed. Channel your passion on this issue into an op-ed that you write alone or with a community leader or educator. Use our editorial packet and June Action sheet as resources.
• Pitch an Editorial. Contact the editor of a newspaper and ask them to write an editorial on the current crisis in education and the opportunity we have to right things on June 26 at the pledging conference for the Global Partnership for Education. Use our media toolkit to prepare for and make your pitch. 

Check out our blog for inspiration, as it features your media. 

Resources!

Find a collection of other support resources on our website.

• Updated editorial packet, with new pitch angles and hooks to help you persuade your local writer or newspaper to cover GPE!
• Recording of the May Global National Conference Call on the Global Partnership for Education featuring Sarah Brown
• RESULTS Report: Greater Impact Through Partnership: 8 Reasons to Invest in the Global Partnership for Education
• A tip sheet to help you make the case to your local community of "why education, why now?"
• General help securing a meeting with your editorial board
• A sample meeting request you can customize

International Conference: Get Ready, Get Set . . .

1. Preparation Checklist. Want to get ready for the conference? Or can't attend this year but want to be part of the action from home? This checklist is what you need! 

2. Lobby Day Meetings on Tuesday, June 24. Now is the time to book your Lobby Day meetings on Capitol Hill! It's going to be a powerful day as we descend on the Hill to make our case for the end of extreme poverty. 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 best advice 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?

IMPORTANT: Then, don't forget to report your meeting bookings. Let us know the details in our online form. 

3. Legislative Handbook. Review, print, and bring to the conference the Legislative Handbook, a great primer on our issues.  

4. Lobby Day Preparation. Once you have your Lobby Day meetings booked, schedule a group lobby prep session! First, check with your group to see how you best want to gather for a meeting. (Also, consider if you will be holding some meetings with U.S. poverty advocates or, in the case of the Senate, with other groups in your state). Check out your legislators' recent voting history by taking a look at the 113th Congressional Scorecard. Once your group is ready to request a time slot, e-mail Crickett Nicovich, Global Policy Associate, with the following information:

• Two preferred time slots for the meeting
• Who will be joining the call
• Preferred method of connecting for the call (Skype, direct line, etc.)
• Members of Congress with whom you'll be meeting and some relevant background on those members

And if you're coming to the conference on your own for the first time, please contact Lisa Marchal, Senior Global Grassroot Associate, if you could use a hand! 

5. Lobby Day Reception. Here is a sample invitation template for the June 24 evening reception. Invite your members of Congress!

6. Look at You! Send us your pictures; whether you're attending the IC or not, we want to see you! With the International Conference quickly approaching, we ask that RESULTS advocates send us photos that we can showcase in a slideshow to start the conference. We want others to know that what we do is important and we take great pride in doing it. We want to showcase how our RESULTS Activists build the power to end poverty. Submit your pictures to U.S. Poverty Campaigns Intern Jay Carroll.

7. Ask Questions! Do you have a question you'd like to submit to one of our main conference speakers? Submit your question online!

8. Agenda. Check out agenda updates online. 

Grassroots Info and Opportunities

1. Final Week for Grassroots Board Nominations. We are seeking nominations of RESULTS activists who would be strong candidates for two RESULTS/RESULTS Educational Fund (REF) Grassroots Board Member positions available starting in September 2014. Nominations are due by Sunday, June 15. Our current Grassroots Board Members (Heide Craig, Ginnie Vogts, Beth Wilson and Lydia Pendley) provide an important bridge between the grassroots network, board, and organization. They help connect us with what makes RESULTS/REF so unique and successful: our passionate and active grassroots members. Candidates for the Grassroots Board Members must be engaged actively in RESULTS and can be nominated by others or can be self-nominated. Please e-mail your questions or your nomination to Jack McLaughlin or call 202-783-4800 x152. 

2. Summer Fundraising. Have YOU set up your Friends and Family page to help raise funds around the various spring and summer activities that are coming up this season?  Here are some suggestions that you could incorporate into things you are already planning for the coming months:

• The "Lobby Day" campaign will invite donors to vicariously join in our International Conference and Lobby Day by donating to support our lobbying and training activities.
• The "RESULTS Celebration​" website is for volunteers who wish to fundraise for a birthday, wedding, graduation or other life events. 
• The "RESULTS Race to End Poverty​" site is for volunteers who are doing physical challenges like running, swimming, or biking. (Or you could do it in conjunction with the International Conference Everyday Hero Dash taking place on June 21 in DC!)

If you need help setting up your pages for any of these events, contact Jen DeFranco​, Grassroots Fundraising Coach, to get started today! ​

3. Executive Director of RESULTS Speaks on Global TB. Check out an archived set of talks hosted by the Center for Strategic and International Studies titled "A Strategic Approach to Global Tuberculosis" which features, among its set of distinguished panelists, RESULTS Executive Director Joanne Carter. This event took place in Washington, DC, on June 9.

4. CEO of GPE on The Diane Rehm Show. Next week, Julia Gillard, former prime minister of Australia and current CEO of the Global Partnership for Education will appear as a guest on this public radio issue and conversation program. Ms. Gillard's appearance is slated for June 19; check local listings.

"57 million primary-school age children don’t attend school. Is it hopeless? No. Because the Global Partnership for Education is ready to educate 29 million children."

– Rochelle Goldberg, Everett Herald; March 14, 2014

1. June 14, 2 pm ET. RESULTS National Grassroots Conference Call for Global Campaigns. Join the call at (888) 409-6709. Guest speaker: Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-IL). Topic: The Global Partnership for Education.

2. June 16, 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. June 17, 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.

4. June 21-24. 2014 RESULTS International Conference in Washington, D.C.

5. June 27, 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.

6. July 9, 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.