RESULTS Campaigns Weekly Update May 26, 2020

Quote of the Week

“Whether its COVID-19 or other ongoing emergencies, we need a strong response from Congress, both here and worldwide.”

– RESULTS Atlanta volunteer Misty Novitch in a May 20 letter to the editor in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution

RESULTS Coronavirus Resources

Our coronavirus pandemic page is a great resource for you with information on conducting virtual meetings, advocating online, generating media, what’s happening on coronavirus and poverty in Congress, and more. Visit the page regularly to get the latest news on our work during the outbreak.

Table of Contents

• Global Poverty Campaigns Update
• U.S. Poverty Campaigns Update
• RESULTS Announcements
• Upcoming Events
• Grassroots Resources

Global Poverty Campaigns Update

QUICK ACTION Write a letter to the editor on prioritizing global health and education during the COVID-19 crisis

Got Fifteen Minutes? Register for the RESULTS 2020 International Conference and begin booking your lobby meetings (deadline to lobby has been extended)

The RESULTS International Conference (June 20-21) is a special opportunity. Not only do you get to hear from poverty experts and receive training to be a more powerful advocate, but the conference is also your chance to put those skills directly into action through a huge lobby push on Capitol Hill. Even though this year’s conference will be online due to COVID-19, that’s not stopping us from planning a week of action.

Many of you have had recent virtual lobby meetings with congressional offices to talk about our priorities for the next COVID-19 response bill. Meeting with them during the Week of Action (June 22-25), with an emphasis on getting face-to-face virtual meetings with your representatives and senators, will be key. Marginalized communities can’t bear the brunt of the coronavirus pandemic – we must make this clear. Of course, RESULTS will give you plenty of preparation beforehand to make sure you have everything you need for successful meetings.

TAKE ACTION: Take fifteen minutes to get ready for the RESULTS International Conference (June 20-21) and advocacy Week of Action (June 22-25). First, please register for the virtual RESULTS International Conference today. IMPORTANT: Register by tomorrow, May 27, if you wish to lobby during the Week of Action June 22-25! (Deadline has been extended.) After you’ve registered, start working on scheduling face-to-face virtual lobby meetings for the Week of Action. Coordinate with your local RESULTS group members about which day(s) you want to have lobby meetings and who will request them. Reach out to schedulers now to set up your meetings. Use our new virtual lobby meeting request letter as a template for your requests. Please let us know each of the meetings you get scheduled in our conference meeting tracker. RESULTS staff will be in contact with you soon to set up a prep call with you and others from your state.

Got Another Fifteen Minutes? Use the new editorial packet to get published on protecting global education and health during the pandemic

The new bill in the House of Representatives fails to include any international funding to fight coronavirus and its fallout. It’s clear that a global pandemic requires a global response, so it now falls to the Senate to make sure that happens. The U.S. can and must play a role in slowing COVID-19’s spread globally and in protecting access to education and health services. Make sure your senators get this message clearly.

Getting powerful, personal pieces published in your local paper is the next step. Utilize our new editorial packet and this quick action alert to get published. Be aware that we are starting to see press on this issue which you can use as a hook. Also, you may see new hooks in your local paper due to recent coverage of the World Health Assembly. Finally, read our Tuesday, May 5 blogpost which contains an outline of and rationale for our global COVID-19 policy priorities.

TAKE ACTION: Use our editorial packet and our action alert to call on the Senate to protect and prioritize global health and education. Share with others, especially to encourage newer writers to try their hand at writing and submitting to their papers.

QUICK NEWS ON GLOBAL POVERTY

Finding My Voice with RESULTS in 1982. Enjoy the tale of Lenny Chorazy, veteran RESULTS advocate, as he reflects on his start with RESULTS 38 years ago.

Power and Passion. “Last July, I was making my way across Capitol Hill, attending meetings with Minnesota’s congressional offices. I was nervous. It was my first time in DC, and my first time on the Hill. But then I bumped into a member of Congress in a hallway – and she recognized me.” Read more in this grassroots spotlight on Farhia Ali, advocate with RESULTS.

Nutrition report is out. The 2020 Global Nutrition Report: Action on equity to end malnutrition is now available. Read the report online.

U.S. Poverty Campaigns Update

QUICK ACTION Tell Congress to provide emergency rental assistance

Got Five Minutes? Register for the RESULTS International Conference (lobbying deadline extended)!

In just over a month, hundreds of RESULTS advocates will gather for the RESULTS International Conference. This event (virtual this year) is the biggest event of the year for RESULTS. We welcome world-renowned speakers and provide interactive training sessions to help inspire and prepare you to take action. Then from June 22-25, volunteers will hold a Week of Action, focused around virtual lobby meetings with members of Congress to push policies that reduce poverty during the coronavirus crisis and beyond. Because we want all of you to participate in our Week of Action, we’ve extended the registration deadline for those who plan to lobby to tomorrow, May 27.

TAKE ACTION: Take five minutes to register for the RESULTS International Conference TODAY at: https://results.org/conference/about/. Register by May 27, to participate in lobby meetings during the RESULTS Week of Action, June 22-25 (if you don’t plan to lobby, you can register for the Conference up to June 19). Don’t miss this opportunity to make a difference on the issues you care about and make your voice heard with your members of Congress. Note: after you register, we will contact you about preparing for lobby meetings with others from your state.

Got Fifteen Minutes? Keep using media to push Congress to act on COVID-19

Congress is on recess this week, making it the perfect time to get letters to the editor published while they are home to read them. With nearly 40 million people unemployed in the U.S., Congress needs to be taking more action in response to COVID-19 and doing it now. Waiting will only exacerbate the pain for millions and make it harder for the economy to recover.

With media, you can push your members of Congress to swiftly pass a final COVID-19 bill that includes emergency rental assistance, a moratorium on evictions, and an increase in SNAP benefits. A few minutes of your time this week could help accelerate relief for Americans struggling to make it through this crisis.

TAKE ACTION: Take fifteen minutes to submit letters to the editor urging Congress to pass a final COVID-19 bill ASAP that includes housing and nutrition assistance. Use sample letters from the May 2020 U.S. Poverty Action or our online LTE actions to submit your letter(s) today. Here are some links to local data to include in your LTE:

• Housing needs by state from NLIHC: https://nlihc.org/housing-needs-by-state
• Eviction date by state (through 2016) from Eviction Lab: https://evictionlab.org/map/#/2016?geography=states&type=er
• Impact of coronavirus on food insecurity from Feeding America: https://www.feedingamerica.org/research/coronavirus-hunger-research (see the report at the bottom of the page for local data)
• Early data shows SNAP is helping during pandemic (CBPP): https://www.cbpp.org/blog/snap-is-responding-to-increased-need-early-evidence-shows

If you need assistance, please contact Jos Linn. Once you get published, please let us know and remember to leverage your media by sending copies to your congressional offices and sharing it with others.

QUICK NEWS ON U.S. POVERTY

Sign your RESULTS group onto housing letters. Please take a few minutes to add your local RESULTS group onto two letters urging Congress to make critical housing investments in response to the coronavirus. You can read the letters and sign on here.

Track impact of COVID-19 on persons of color. The Atlantic magazine’s COVID Tracking Project now has a racial tracker. Developed in partnership with Dr. Ibram X. Kendi and others, this resource provides statistics on the disparate impact the virus is having on communities of color. Read more at: https://covidtracking.com/race.

RESULTS Announcements

Join tomorrow’s New Advocate Orientation. If you or someone you know are new to RESULTS, join us for our next New Advocate Orientation tomorrow, May 27 at 8:30 pm ET. Interact with RESULTS staff and other new volunteers, learn more about our advocacy model and issues, and get information on getting involved. Sign up here.

You can still join 40th Anniversary fundraising push. It’s not too late to help celebrate RESULTS’ anniversary and fund the next chapter of our work. Thanks to a group of generous donors, gifts from first-time donors and increased gifts from returning donors will be matched 1:1 up to $165,000! Just like advocating, donating is a powerful way to make a difference. Visit results.salsalabs.org/40years to learn how you can participate. If you have questions, please contact Mea Geizhals at [email protected].

Join the RESULTS reunion next week. Help us celebrate RESULTS anniversary by joining the official RESULTS 40th Anniversary Reunion Zoom call next Thursday, June 4 at 8:30 pm ET (informal introductions will start at 8:15 pm ET). Come (re)connect with pioneering RESULTS members to celebrate the difference we made in the world, acknowledge what has been accomplished on the shoulders of our work, and share how it has changed our lives. To participate, register at: https://results.salsalabs.org/reunion.

Receive action alerts via text. We are setting up a system to send some of our action alerts via text. If you’d like to receive text action alerts, please text RESULTS to 50457 to sign up for text action alerts.

Cameron Duncan Media Award Nominations. RESULTS is now accepting nominations for the 2020 Cameron Duncan Media Award, which recognizes a journalist or editor for outstanding work on issues related to poverty. To nominate someone, send a short e-mail to Jos Linn with your reasons for nominating that person and links to recent media pieces demonstrating the journalist’s dedication to poverty issues. The deadline to nominate is Friday, June 5.

Join discussion on being a better non-partisan advocate. If you’re a RESULTS activist who sometimes lobbies people with different political views, consider attending our “Bridging the Partisan Divide: How to Lobby Those Who Don’t Agree with You” webinar on Thursday, June 11 at 9:00 pm ET.  RESULTS activist Jim Driggers will present highlights from Jonathan Haidt’s book The Righteous Mind: Why Good People Are Divided by Politics and Religion. After attending this webinar, you’ll come away with a better understanding of a variety of value systems. More importantly, you’ll gain some tips to help you lobby others more effectively. Join here with meeting ID 821 9427 5109. Password: 690480.

Have you missed any trainings recently? We have some great webinar recordings on holding a virtual group meeting, holding a remote lobby meeting, writing/submitting letters to the editor, and engaging new advocates successfully. Check them out!

RESULTS Fellowship. The RESULTS Organizing and Advocacy Fellowship (formerly known as REAL Change) is a hands-on, year-long advocacy program for people 20–30 years old who learn how to create change through advocacy. Learn more and apply today. Applications are open until September 30. The new class will start in December.

Upcoming Events

Congressional schedule. The Senate is in Washington this week while House members are working remotely. Submit your remote meeting requests today.

Wednesday, May 27: New Advocate Orientation, 8:30 pm ET. Sign up online.

Thursday, June 4: RESULTS 40th Anniversary Reunion call, 8:30 pm ET. Register at: https://results.salsalabs.org/reunion

Saturday, June 6: RESULTS United Webinar, 1:00 pm ET. 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.

Thursday, June 11: Bridging the Partisan Divide: How to Lobby Those Who Don’t Agree with You, 9:00 pm ET. Join here with meeting ID 821 9427 5109. Password: 690480.

Monday, June 15: Global Poverty Free Agents Webinars, 1:00 pm and 8:00 pm ET. Join at https://results.zoom.us/j/464361707 or, by phone, (669) 900-6833 or (929) 436-2866, meeting ID 464361707.

Tuesday, June 16: 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.

June 20-21: RESULTS International Conference. Register here.

June 22-25: RESULTS Week of Action. Read more here.

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.

Remember to please report your recent grassroots successes in lobby meetings, media pieces, and outreach activities.

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.