RESULTS Campaigns Weekly Update March 10, 2020


March 10, 2020

Quote of the Week

“By providing renters relief from growing rental costs and, paired with measures to increase the supply of affordable housing, more families could find safe, affordable places to live.”

– RESULTS Raleigh, NV volunteer Lindsay Saunders in a February 24 op-ed in the Raleigh News & Observer

Table of Contents

Global Poverty Campaigns Update

QUICK ACTION Ask Congress to invest in global health and education

Got Five Minutes? Make sure your group has submitted requests for a recess meeting.

Both the House and Senate are on recess March 16-20 and April 6-17. Submit your face-to-face meeting requests today. Our February laser talk will be helpful to the process, as will our new meeting request letter. Once you secure a meeting, use our appropriations memos/backgrounders and the January action sheet to help you prepare. Meeting with your members of Congress is an incredibly powerful way to use your advocacy voice. Passion about the issues shines through during in-person meetings. Legislators will take note, and new advocates you bring along will experience how effective advocacy can be.

TAKE ACTION: Submit your face-to-face meeting requests today. Recesses will be here before we know it.

Got Fifteen Minutes? Make your FY21 appropriations requests

Time is running out. While House appropriations sign-on/”Dear Colleague” letters are currently closing, there may still be a chance to scoop up any signatures not yet on the letters. Check to see who has signed onto our set of letters related to global health and education. Then make your follow-up calls. (There is a Senate letter on maternal and child health/Gavi/nutrition open for signatures, and you can stay tuned for more letters on the Senate side.) Additionally, House members must have their appropriations requests to the State and Foreign Operations Subcommittee by March 13 (this week!) and all Senate members must have their requests in by April 24. This means Congress needs to hear from you now. Use our January action sheet to ask your members of Congress to protect and expand global health and education programs through the appropriations process. If you need additional details, here are the relevant memos/backgrounders.

TAKE ACTION: Reacquaint yourself with our FY21 appropriations and sign-on requests. Then make your requests and follow-up calls. Check out our comprehensive info page (which includes appropriations deadlines, sign-on letter details, and more).

QUICK NEWS ON GLOBAL POVERTY

Help others engage using the March action sheet. As Congress looks at its spending plan for 2021, we must tell them to prioritize smart investments in global health and education programs in the world’s poorest places. These investments can dramatically change the futures of women, children, and other vulnerable populations, particularly in challenging times like these. Our March action sheet will help you write your senators about this and will help you support others to write as well.

Special RESULTS United Webinar in April. On April 4, New York Times columnist Nicholas Kristof will speak on our RESULTS United Webinar at 1 pm ET. His appearance is a great opportunity to invite new advocates to join your local RESULTS group. We want to help you maximize this opportunity. First, book a face-to-face meeting with a member of Congress, then invite a new person not only to attend the RESULTS United Webinar (by using our new laser talk), but to be part of the face-to-face meeting as well. What better way to inspire and empower a new fellow advocate . . . or two?

U.S. Poverty Campaigns Update

QUICK ACTION Tell Congress to help low-income renters

Got Five Minutes?  Schedule meetings now to talk about the renters’ credit

Thank you to Sarah Saadian of the National Low-Income Housing Coalition for speaking on the March National Webinar this past weekend. Sarah talked to us about how the renters’ tax credit is an important part of our effort to address America’s affordable housing crisis (see NLIHC’s new housing gap report out today). She overviewed several proposals currently in Congress, as well as opportunities to move a renters’ tax credit (large or small) forward this year and beyond. Most notably, she reminded us that we must keep talking about this idea with lawmakers. In fact, your advocacy on the renters’ credit is already working. Allies have told us that congressional offices are now asking questions about the renters’ credit, wanting to learn more; that was not the case four months ago. Let’s keep this momentum going during the March and April recesses.

TAKE ACTION: Take five minutes to build more support for a renters’ credit by setting up lobby meetings during the next congressional recesses. Congress will be on recess next week and then again April 6-17. Contact schedulers today about setting up meetings or attending town halls during these recesses. The February Action has tips for planning your meetings. We also have housing laser talks and an affordable housing policy request sheet to take to your meetings. Once you get a meeting or town hall scheduled, please contact Meredith Dodson for coaching.

Got Fifteen Minutes? Use lobby meetings and the April webinar to grow our movement

This is a great time of year to think about growing the movement to end poverty. How can you attract someone new to this work and then keep them coming back? In April, there are two opportunities for you to do just that. First is the two-week congressional recess, April 6-17. RESULTS is replete with stories of people attending being transformed by a lobby meeting. How participating in a lobby meeting helped expand their view of what was possible. Who do you know would want that experience? The second opportunity is the April National Webinar with New York Times columnist Nicholas Kristof. Using these two events together – hear from a Pulitzer Prize winning journalist about poverty and then lobby on the issue with members of Congress – is how you create political will.

TAKE ACTION: Take fifteen minutes to identify people you want to invite to the Nicholas Kristof webinar on April 4 and lobby meeting during the April recess (April 6-17). Focus on inviting those 3 or 4 people you already know who may be ready to take the next step in their advocacy (that includes people who said no to your invitations before). The March Action has tips to help with what to say to them, as does the grassroots section from last Saturday’s national webinar (starting at the 30:27 mark of the recording). Also, join our training webinar tonight at 8:30 pm ET on maximizing these April events to engage new people in our work. Find more info here.

QUICK NEWS ON U.S. POVERTY

Getting candidates on the record. Want to learn how to get candidates on the record on housing issues? Join Our Homes, Our Votes for their webinar on Thursday, March 19 at 3:00 pm ET on how to make housing a priority in this year’s election.

Join fair housing week of action. The Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing (AFFH) rule gives local jurisdictions guidance on how to reduce segregation and discrimination in housing. The Trump Administration has proposed a new rule that would essentially abandon this practice. Advocates are mobilizing opposition to the new rule and have designated March 9-13 as the “Keep Housing Fair” Week of Action. Participate in their events and submit your comment opposing the new rule (and encourage others to as well). Comments are due by March 16.

RESULTS welcomes new hunger fellow. RESULTS is once again thrilled to have an Emerson Hunger Fellow join our staff this year. Alexa Angelo is a graduate of Miami University of Ohio with a degree in dietetics. After college, she was an AmeriCorps FoodCorps service member in Washington, D.C., helping to educate elementary school students on nutrition and gardening. She started her Emerson Hunger Fellowship last fall at the Greater Cincinnati Regional Food Policy Council. She will be at RESULTS through the summer where she will work on our U.S. poverty campaigns. Welcome, Alexa!

RESULTS Announcements

Join training call tonight on engaging new advocates. Our April 4 webinar will feature New York Times columnist Nicholas Kristof. That webinar and the two-week congressional recess that follows are great opportunities to attract new advocates to RESULTS. We want to help. Join RESULTS tonight, March 10 at 8:30 pm ET for training on how to use the April webinar and recess to move people you know into deeper advocacy. This will be an interactive discussion with tips and resources to help you grow our movement. To join the webinar, login at https://results.zoom.us/j/201739470 or dial (929) 436-2866 or (669) 900-6833, meeting ID 201 739 470.

Be mindful when discussing coronavirus. The news around the coronavirus outbreak can be unsettling. The last thing we want to do is contribute to people feeling more afraid and further marginalized. Nor do we want to use the crisis simply as a hook to talk about our own issues. If you are communicating with a friend, to a member of Congress, in a letter to the editor, or on social media, these principles articulated by Dr. Joanne Carter, RESULTS Executive Director, are an excellent guide for talking about coronavirus. Also helpful are tips from RESULTS Director of Expansion and Communications Colin Smith on last Saturday’s RESULTS National Webinar (starting at the 52:40 mark of the recording). If you have questions, please contact us.

Bob Dickerson Award nominations open. For more than 15 years, RESULTS Seattle volunteer Bob Dickerson epitomized the best of what it means to be a grassroots advocate. After his passing in 2015, we created an annual award in his honor. Use our form to nominate a fellow advocate for this year’s Bob Dickerson Award. Deadline for nominations is April 15. Two people will be awarded at the 2020 International Conference.

Register for the RESULTS Conference today. This year’s RESULTS International Conference (June 20-23 in Washington, DC) will be like no other. A 40th year celebration of RESULTS with great speakers, helpful workshops, and powerful lobby day on Capitol Hill. Secure your spot by registering today. Need help getting there? Apply for assistance from our Gap Fund.

Missed the RESULTS United National Webinar on March 7? Have no fear – we have the playback recording and slides available on the RESULTS website.

Join follow-up discussion on White Fragility. Join next week’s continued discussion of the book White Fragility. Attendees will discuss how their views of racism have changed since reading the book and explore next steps in their effort to recognize and dismantle systemic oppression. Join Wednesday, March 18 at 9:00 pm ET at: https://results.zoom.us/j/807783478 or dial (669) 900-6833 or (929) 436-2866, meeting ID 807 783 478.

Apply for the RESULTS Fellowship. If you or someone you know is 20-30 years old and is looking for marketable advocacy skills, a top-notch policy education, and the opportunity to lead, apply for the RESULTS Fellowship (formerly named the REAL Change Fellowship). We are taking applications for the 2020-21 class through April 30. Find more info on the RESULTS website and apply today.

Upcoming Events

Congressional recesses. Both the House and Senate are on recess March 16-20 and April 6-17. Submit your meeting requests today.

Tuesday, March 10: Help Advocates Move to the Next Level training webinar, 8:30 pm ET. To join the training, login at: https://results.zoom.us/j/201739470 or dial (929) 436-2866 or (669) 900-6833, meeting ID: 201 739 470.

Tuesday, March 10: Book Discussion: The Righteous Mind, 9:00 pm ET. Join via Zoom online or dial (669) 900-6833 US or (646) 876-9923, Meeting ID: 655 036 085, Password: 641539.

Monday, March 16: Global Free Agents Webinars, 1:00 pm ET and 8:00 pm ET. Join a great conversation via https://results.zoom.us/j/285681999 or, by phone, dial (669) 900-6833 or (929) 436-2866, meeting ID: 285 681 999.

Tuesday, March 17: U.S. Poverty Free Agents Webinars, 1:00 pm and 8:00 pm ET. Join at: https://results.zoom.us/j/324294681 or dial by phone at (929) 436-2866 or (669) 900-6833, meeting ID: 324 294 681.

Wednesday, March 18: Continued book discussion on White Fragility, 9:00 pm ET. To join, log in at: https://results.zoom.us/j/807783478 or dial (669) 900-6833 or (929) 436-2866, meeting ID 807 783 478.

Wednesday, March 25: New Advocate Orientation, 8:30 pm ET. Sign up online.

Wednesday, April 1: RESULTS Action Network Community of Practice webinar, 8:30pm ET. To join, log in to https://results.zoom.us/j/427674133 or dial in to 669-900-6833, meeting ID: 427 674 133. You can also join our Facebook and e-mail groups.

Saturday, April 4: RESULTS United Webinar, 1:00 pm ET. Guest speaker: Nicholas Kristof. Join at https://results.zoom.us/j/994444828. You can also join by phone at (669) 900-6833 or (929) 436-2866, meeting ID: 994 444 828.

June 20-23, 2020: RESULTS International Conference. Capital Hilton, Washington, DC. Register today! The Early Bird registration deadline is April 20.

Grassroots Resources

Learn about the RESULTS Experts on Poverty.

Do you have a new person in your RESULTS group or info to update? Use our Volunteer Information Form to add them.

Find actions and volunteer resources on our Current Volunteers page.

Please let us know about your recent grassroots successes for lobby meetings, media, and outreach.

If you have a question, comment, or suggestion for the RESULTS/REF Board, please e-mail Steven McGee at [email protected]. View Board minutes and Annual Reports.

RESULTS Staff directory.

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