Global Weekly Update November 11, 2013
Top Action: Commit to an Editorial or an Op-ed on the Global Fund
We've got three weeks. Media now from around the nation will send a strong message to the Administration that the U.S. must pledge $5 billion over the next three years. This is the leadership it takes to make the replenishment successful, control three killer diseases, and save millions of lives.
On our November national grassroots conference call, you made big commitments that will help make this happen! Thirty groups/individuals will be calling editors, 41 op-eds are being worked on, and you intend to publish 79 letters to the editor. Phenomenal! Are you part of that effort? Now is the time to get to work.
Check out this new blog post by our new Deputy Director of Communications Colin Smith and get inspired by the editorials, op-eds, and letters to the editor that your fellow advocates around the country have been writing and pitching. On our November national grassroots conference call, you committed to 30 calls to editorial writers, 41 op-ed submissions, and 70 published letters to the editor! Outstanding! So far, our grassroots have inspired or gotten published three editorials, three op-eds, 15 letters to the editor, one news article . . . and counting. Let's not lose momentum!
Most Powerful Action. Take the next step with your editorial page editor. If you’ve made contact with your editor in the past, build on that relationship by asking him/her to write an editorial on the Global Fund replenishment. If you are just starting the relationship, then get started. Use our online media tool to identify the editorial page editor by either calling the paper or searching their website. Ask them to write an editorial. In both cases, use our Global Fund editorial packet and sample pitch to guide you. Start with a phone call and follow up with an e-mail. Commit to initiating and building this relationship. If you aren’t successful in getting an editorial this time, starting the conversation now and building the relationship over time will eventually get you there.
Very Powerful Action. If your editor isn’t ready to write an editorial on the issue, ask him/her if they would publish an op-ed from you on the subject of the Global Fund. Use our laser talk on pitching an op-ed to make your request. RESULTS staff can support you in drafting and submitting your op-ed, and you can get some great tips from the November national grassroots conference call.
Powerful Action. Use our online tool to write a letter to the editor on the Global Fund replenishment. Personalize the letter and, if possible, reference a frontpage story or an editorial in the paper to make it relevant. You can gather inspiration for your letter from one of the Here I Am Campaign stories. To ensure one or more letters to the editor gets published, use our handy Education & Action Meeting Outline with a group of friends or community members to write a letters together.
Leverage Your Work Through Social Media. Retweet your published media on the #BeTheGeneration hashtag and post on Facebook!
Read a New Series on the U.S.'s Pledge to the Global Partnership for Education
With the Board of Directors of the Global Partnership for Education (GPE) scheduled to meet November 18-19, RESULTS has released a new discussion paper chronicling the U.S. financial commitment to the GPE Fund. The paper is the first in a series reviewing the 2011 U.S. pledge to GPE and looking ahead at the role of the United States in GPE’s upcoming replenishment campaign. Read more from Education for All Campaign Manager Tony Baker on our blog.
Grassroots News You Can Use
1. Reclaiming Our Democracy Tour Still Going! Sam Daley-Harris, founder of RESULTS, is a true road warrior, marking the 20th anniversary edition of his book Reclaiming Our Democracy. He is currently stopping around the country to talk about his book and the phenomenal work YOU do. Check out the most up-to-date listing of his tour stops online, and check out a Huffington Post piece referencing RESULTS and Citizens Climate Lobby by Harry Boyte, head of the Center for Democracy and Citizenship at Augsburg College. (P.S. Have you read the re-release of Sam's book? Post a review online!)
2. Grassroots Board Member Election Results. Three great candidates in a close election (Frank Gilbert, Roger Hudson, Lydia Pendley). Congratulations to Lydia Pendley for her election to a second term! As grassroots volunteers your leadership in the organization is so important—from the roles you play in your chapters, to fundraisers, to group leaders, to regional coordinators. The grassroots board members help us manage the organization at the highest level. Congratulations!
3. Introductory Calls = A Great Way to Meet RESULTS. Do you know someone who has heard of RESULTS and is curious to know more? Invite them to a 30-minute introductory call. Our quick, casual calls are great ways to hear from other interested folks, meet a RESULTS staffer, and get basic questions answered. Contact us with any questions and RSVP for an upcoming call. Dial (712) 432-3100, passcode 761262 to join.
4. Report Before 2013 Ends! We are barrelling toward 2014; have you reported all your advocacy actions and lobby meetings? Now's the time to use our handy online forms! Report 2013 advocacy actions and lobby meetings today!
Our Grassroots Do Amazing Fundraising
In this Thanksgiving season of plenty, how can we engage our friends and family to help others without a place at a table? You can join RESULTS groups and free agents in an online Virtual Thanksgiving Feast fundraising campaign! RESULTS partners from Inland Empire, Cleveland, North Carolina Triangle, St Louis, Sitka, and Madison are all participating. Register your own fundraising page to ask your friends to support our domestic and global nutrition campaigns this month to help children who don't know when their next meal will be. Contact Cindy Changyit Levin, Grassroots Fundraising Associate, if you need assistance.
Congrats to Albuquerque partners who held a fundraiser for us on Sunday, November 10! Good luck to Santa Fe with their fundraiser with our Executive Director, Dr. Joanne Carter, on November 15. Contact Jen DeFranco, Grassroots Fundraising Associate, for details on Santa Fe's event.
"I knew I hit a turning point when I could actually feel the pin pricks from the doctor in my legs. My legs had been numb for so long, the pain meant I could feel them again, which was a sign of hope for me after being on death row with HIV and TB."
— Luwiza Makukula, during an interview with the editorial page editor of the Greensboro News & Record
1. November 13, 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.
2. November 18, 8 pm ET. Next 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. November 22, 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. December 14, 2 pm ET. RESULTS National Grassroots Conference Call for Global Poverty Campaigns. This call will be a joint call with our fellow advocates working on domestic poverty advocacy! Dial (888) 409-6709 to join.
5. December Monthly Media Support Call, date TBD. Dial (218) 862-1300, passcode 682494 to join. Want to be part of the on-going support that’s available to help you reach your media goals? Then this is the call for you! Join monthly for inspiration and ideas to keep you going.