Global Weekly Update March 12, 2012


March 13, 2012

Top Actions: Ask Your Reps. to Sign Appropriations Letters

We have three appropriations sign on letters with short deadlines. Two have deadlines this Friday, the other on March 20. If your member of Congress understands the value of foreign assistance, they may sign all three. If they are new to our work, just pick one. Republicans, in general, have been reluctant to sign letters with specific numbers on them, so #2 below might be the best one to start with for them. This is a critical time–please take action and get others to do the same.

1. Global Fund and PEPFAR sign-on letter. This letter is requesting that the US fulfill it’s pledge to the Global Fund, and that we continue to fund PEPFAR at current levels so we can keep up the momentum in saving lives and working toward an AIDS-Free Generation. Two types of action you can take:

  • Easy action, but less impact: Use our Action Alert to send a letter to your representative. Personalize the letter for more impact.
  • Little more challenging action, but more impact: Call your Representative’s office and ask to speak to the foreign policy aide. You can call the switchboard to contact your representative — (202) 224-3121, our use our on line tool to find them. Tell him/her you want to the Representative sign on to Representative Lee’s sign-on letter on the Global Fund and PEPFAR. You might say, “Our foreign aid investments must be spent well. The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria and PEPFAR are proven, effective programs. Will the representative please sign on to Rep. Lee’s letter to appropriators? I can send you a copy of the letter if you like. It closes this Friday, March 16.”

2. Maternal and Child Health sign-on letter. This bipartisan letter calls on Congress to not cut Maternal and Child Health (MCH) programs. Preventable deaths of children under age five have dropped from over 13 million per year in 1990 to less than 7.7 per year in 2010. But we can drive this down much further. The letter states that this is the right thing to do, but also the smart thing to do both economically and from a security point of view. This is very good for Republicans. Two types of actions:

  • Easy but less impact: Use our Action Alert to send a letter to your representative. Personalize the letter for more impact.
  • Little more challenging action, but more impact: Call your Representative’s office and ask to speak to the foreign policy aide. You can call the switchboard to contact your representative–(202) 224-3121, our use our on line tool to find them. Tell him/her you want to the Representative sign on to Representative Lee’s sign-on letter on the Global Fund and PEPFAR. You might say, “Our foreign aid investments must be spent well. US investments in child survival and maternal health programs have driven down child deaths and are proven, cost-effective programs. Will the representative please sign on to bipartisan letter by Reps Reichert, Schock, McCollum, and Capps to appropriators? I can send you a copy of the letter if you like. It closes this Friday, March 20. For information, or to sign onto the letter, please contact Ashley Johnson (Reichert) at 5-7761 or [email protected], or Andrew Bahrenburg (McCollum) at 5-6631 or [email protected].”

3. Bipartian TB Sign on Letter. Representatives Engel and Young have initiated a sign-on letter on bilateral TB funding. They are requesting $400 million in 2013. This would be an increase, but still well below what was authorized for TB in the Lantos-Hyde Act. So the increase is well-grounded in legislation.

  • Easy, but lest impact: Call your Representative’s office and tell the person who answer that you have a request. Tell him/her that you want the Representative to sign the Engel-Young bilateral TB sign on letter.
  • Little more work, but much more impact: Call your Representative’s office and ask to speak to the foreign policy aide. You can call the switchboard to contact your representative–(202) 224-3121, our use our on line tool to find them. Tell him/her you want to the Representative sign on to Representative Engel’s and Young’s bilateral TB sign on letter. You might say, “We’ve made good progress on global TB through US funding and through the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, TB, and Malaria, but the number of cases of difficult-and-expensive-to-treat drug-resistant TB is on the rise globally, which is a threat to the US. Just recently there was a case of drug-resistant TB at a high school in Indiana that potentially exposed 100 other students. Better to address TB globally in its more treatable form. Will the Representative sign on to the Engel-Young TB sign on letter to appropriators calling for $400 million in 2013? I can send you a copy of the letter? To sign on, contact Heidi Ross with Rep. Engel at [email protected] or 5-2464 or Jason Suslavich with Rep. Young at [email protected] or 5-5765.”

Action #2: Ask Your Reps, Senators, and Their Staff to be Briefed on TB for World TB Day

There are two briefings on TB happening next week for World TB Day — one in the House, one in the Senate. This is a great opportunity to encourage the people who represent you, the people who work for you, to learn more about an issue you care about. Call your Representative’s and Senators’ offices and ask them where you can e-mail the invitation. You can also ask for the foreign policy aides in their offices and invite them personally.

March 20, 2012 House TB Briefing Invitation: Co-sponsored by RESULTS. Four great speakers, lunch will be served.

March 21, 2012 Senate TB Briefing Invitation: Sponsored by RESULTS. Four great speakers, lunch will be served.

Friends and Family Fundraising Campaign Needs Your Momentum

This week is the midpoint of the Friends& Family Fundraising campaign. We’ve made a great start by raising $13,218. That’s 44% of our $30,000 goal. Thanks to each and every one of you for reaching out to the people in your circle to share your passion and an opportunity to give. Special recognition goes to our top individual fundraisers Margaret Smith, Phyllis Behlen, Sandra Eagle, Betsy Gast, and Laura Ochoa. Partners from Connecticut, Dallas, Kitsap, and Omaha are keeping their groups in the race to win a free International Conference registration by raising the most funds.

To keep up this great momentum, the key is in the follow up. Phone calls are the most personal way to follow up. We have call scripts on line to help you in the Guide for Mailed Letters and the Guide for Online Fundraising. To help promote your online fundraising webpage, visit our blog for tips on promoting your webpage with social media. Repetition will be the key to get your webpage noticed on facebook or Twitter. You should post about it at least once or twice a week. So that your repeated status updates or tweets don’t get stale, get creative in your messages about why folks should donate and always include the webpage address, to that people can get to it with just one click. Throughout this week, group leaders will be hearing from me via email with lists of donors to date who have given online or mailed in donations. This should help you know where to focus your follow up strategy.

Please contact Cindy Levin at [email protected] if you have questions.

International Conference, July 21–25: Marianne Williamson!

That’s right folks, spiritual author and lecturer, Marianne Williamson, will be leading a one-day seminar as part of the RESULTS International Conference. The seminar is titled: Creating a Politics of Compassion: A Day-long Seminar on Turning Love into a Political Force. This will be great training and preparation for other conference highlights. Learn more and register here.

Saturday July 21:

  • Marianne Williamson’s seminar: Creating a Politics of Compassion: A Day-long Seminar on Turning Love into a Political force
  • A track on creating a more powerful movement for the end of poverty
  • Conference Opening Celebration

Sunday July 22:

  • Advocacy Bootcamp for beginner and advanced advocates to build our advocacy skills
  • International AIDS Conference Global Village experience in the evening.

Monday July 23:

  • Issue training from the experts
  • Preparation to take our message to Capitol Hill

Tuesday July 24:

  • Lobby Day on Capitol Hill
  • Possible AIDS March
  • Reception for RESULTS US, RESULTS International, conference participants, Members of Congress

Wednesday July 25

  • Continued lobbying on Capitol Hill
  • Visits to AIDS Conference Global Village

As two of the world’s wealthiest nations, we embrace our responsibility as leaders in the development that enables people to live in dignity, health and prosperity. Even as we redouble our efforts to save lives in Somalia, we’re investing in agriculture to promote food security across the developing world. We’re working to improve maternal health and end preventable deaths of children. With a renewed commitment to the lifesaving work of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, we see the beginning of the end of the AIDS pandemic.

—Barack Obama and David Cameron in The Washington Post op-ed on 3/13/12

March–May: Global Poverty Project 1.4 Billion Reasons presentations

March 16: RESULTS Introductory Call. 9:00 pm ET. Contact us with any questions and RSVP for the call.

March 20 & 21: Congressional briefings on TB. See details above.

March 24: World TB Day

March 31: RESULTS Texas Regional Conference. Contact Anne Child for more information.

March 31: Friends & Family Fundraising Campaign officially ends (but keep fundraising if you aren’t done).

April 14: Joint national conference call with domestic grassroots highlighting education! 2:00 pm ET. Dial (888) 409-6709 a few minutes before the call.

April 22: RESULTS National Outreach Event on Education for All

April 22–28: Global Action Week for Education for All

July 21–24: RESULTS International Conference in Washington, DC

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