RESULTS Weekly Update April 2, 2024

Quote of the Week

“I don’t think there’s anything I do that would have a bigger impact on more people than what I do with RESULTS.”

– RESULTS Austin volunteer Eloise Sutherland in a new RESULTS Blog piece

Table of Contents

• Got Two Minutes? Register for Saturday’s National Webinar with Sam Daley-Harris
• Got Ten Minutes? Submit your next lobby meeting request
• Got Twenty Minutes? Contact aides about key U.S. and global poverty priorities
• Quick News on U.S. and Global Poverty
• Announcements
• Upcoming Events
• Grassroots Resources

Got Two Minutes? Register for Saturday’s National Webinar with Sam Daley-Harris

Join us this Saturday, April 6 for a special National Webinar. Our guest will be none other than RESULTS founder Sam Daley-Harris. If you joined RESULTS in the last few years, you may not know Sam or have heard his speak. You are in for a real treat! Sam will speak about the new edition of his book Reclaiming Our Democracy and its blueprint for creating transformational advocacy. Sam’s book is a proven way to make a difference and heal our democracy in the process by helping citizens awaken to their power. This webinar is a terrific opportunity to hear from our founder and how the work he began in 1980 is relevant today more than ever. In addition, you’ll hear from current volunteers on the ways they are putting Sam’s vision and tactics into practice.

TAKE ACTION: Register for the April National Webinar at www.tinyurl.com/RESULTS2024. The webinar is this Saturday, April 6 at 1:00 p.m. ET. This is a great webinar for new people to meet our founder and learn more about the work of RESULTS. Be sure to invite them to join you on Saturday. Once registered, registrants will receive their confirmation and Zoom link a day or two before the webinar (be sure to check your junk mail if you don’t see it). If you have questions, please contact RESULTS staff.

Got Ten Minutes? Submit your next lobby meeting request

Congress is on recess again this week. Have you requested to meet with them while they’re home? If they cannot meet this week, how about a virtual meeting when they are back in Washington? For RESULTS, there is much to be done and helping you get lobby meetings is our top priority.

RESULTS was founded on the belief that change comes through relationship. It’s common sense. When you are making a decision, who do you turn to for advice – someone you know or someone you don’t? And the best way to build a relationship is through communication and conversation. That’s what lobby meetings do. They build relationships with congressional offices that are necessary to create the political will for change.

In 2024, RESULTS volunteers have reported 69 lobby meetings with 60 different offices during our Community of Change campaign. That’s fantastic! Those meetings are why an expansion of the Child Tax Credit is still alive in the Senate. Those meetings are why some global poverty priorities got increases in the 2024 spending bills while others saw cuts. And those meetings are how we will make gains in 2025. Thank you!

Let’s continue to do what we do best. Use lobby meetings to build the political will to end poverty.

TAKE ACTION: Take ten minutes to submit your remaining lobby meetings requests. If we want to meet with all 350 offices we cover in the next month, we have to shift into high gear. Use our 2024 lobby meeting request letter to contact your House and Senate offices to request your meetings. Find the latest lobby materials on our issues on the Community of Change campaign page. If you are not getting responses from offices, please reach out to RESULTS staff for coaching and support. Also, when you do book a lobby meeting, please contact RESULTS staff member Katie Fleischer to set up a lobby prep call to get your ready.

Got Twenty Minutes? Contact aides about key U.S. and global poverty priorities

In addition to getting lobby meetings, we also have time-sensitive actions that need attention this week.

TAKE ACTION: If you have not talked with your congressional offices in the last week (and don’t have a lobby meeting scheduled soon), please contact the appropriate aides in your House and Senate offices about the issues below:

World Bank letter (Senate only): Last week, Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ) released a letter urging the new World Bank president to prioritize low-income countries when allocating resources. We are looking to get as many senators as possible to sign this letter by the deadline on Tuesday, April 9. Please urge senators to sign the letter. For more information on our World Bank campaign (including the letter), please check out our new RESULTS blog post.

Appropriations requests (House and Senate): Ask your representative(s) and senators to include our global poverty funding requests in their submissions to the State and Foreign Operations Subcommittee of Appropriations (and please fill out each congressional member’s appropriations form, if asked). Additionally, there are several “Dear Colleague” letters available (with more coming) for representatives and senators to sign in support of our funding requests. To track available letters and find resources to get your legislators to sign, please check out our blog. Signatures build political will, so let’s get as many signatures as we can!

Child Tax Credit (Senate only): Contact Senate tax aides urging their bosses to push for a vote next week on H.R. 7024. For Democratic senators, tell them to urge Sen. Schumer to schedule a vote on the bill for the week of April 8 and to vote YES on the bill when it comes to a vote. For Republican senators, urge them to speak out publicly in favor of the bill and privately push Sen. Mike Crapo (R-ID) to stop blocking efforts to pass the bill. Share new data on the impact of the proposed CTC expansion on young children and use our CTC congressional request for messaging.

You can also submit letters to the editor to improve child well-being by urging senators to pass the Child Tax Credit and Congress to invest in global child health. Use the media templates in our Action Center to send your letters to the editor today.

Quick News on U.S. and Global Poverty

Read our summary of FY2024 global appropriations. After a near six-month delay, Congress finalized the FY2024 spending bills in late March, narrowly avoiding a major government shutdown. While many programs saw cuts, some of our global priorities saw small increases in funding from the previous year. Read the global poverty details about the final FY2024 spending bills in our new RESULTS blog post.

Announcements

Please report your recent advocacy actions. With the start of a new month, it is a good time to make sure you have reported your recent lobby meetings, media, and outreach activities. These reports are invaluable. Not only do they help us celebrate your amazing advocacy, they also help us attract allies and donors who want to support organizations that have real-world impact. If you want to check to see if something has been reported, look at a lobby meeting and media report lists.

Read great lobbying story from RESULTS Austin. Check out the new Grassroots Spotlight piece on the RESULTS Blog about Austin volunteer Eloise Sutherland. It details her recent encounter with Rep. Tony Gonzalez (R-TX) at a recent town hall. Eloise will also tell her story on this weekend’s National Webinar.

Interested in being a Regional Coordinator? The Regional Coordinator (RC) is a key player in the RESULTS community. RCs are the brilliant network of people who provide training, cheerleading, and support for our network of groups. RCs work directly with RESULTS staff members, receive leadership coaching, coaching on powerful speaking, legislative updates and attend a yearly retreat for skills development. Ideal candidates for this volunteer role have experience in a RESULTS Group Leader role, but we welcome all inquiries. Want to learn more about this unique volunteer opportunity? Contact Lisa Marchal. Let’s chat!

Upcoming Events

Congressional schedule: This week, the House and the Senate are on recess.

Typically, registration ends one hour prior to the start of all webinars and trainings.

Tuesday, April 2: New Advocate Orientation, 8:30 p.m. ET. Register today!

Saturday, April 6: National Webinar, 1:00 p.m. ET. Guest speaker: RESULTS founder Sam Daley-Harris. Register for the webinar today!

Thursday, April 11: Outreach and Event Office Hour, 2:00 p.m. ET. Drop in via https://results.zoom.us/j/94004748060 or dial (312) 626-6799, meeting ID 940 0474 8060.

Thursday, April 11: Global Allies Program (Returned Peace Corps Volunteers), 8:30 pm ET. Learn more.

Tuesday, April 16: U.S. Poverty Free Agents, 1:00 p.m. ET and 8:00 p.m. ET. Contact Jos Linn for more information.

Tuesday, April 16: Together Women Rise advocacy chapter webinar, 8:30 p.m. ET. Learn more about this opportunity.

Wednesday, April 17: Action Network Manager Calls, 12:30 p.m. ET and 8:00 p.m. ET. Join at https://results.zoom.us/j/95416781155 or dial (301) 715-8592, meeting ID: 954 1678 1155. No registration required.

Wednesday, April 17: Media Office Hour, 2:00 p.m. ET. Join via Zoom at https://results.zoom.us/j/93668005494 or call 312-626-6799 (Meeting ID: 936 6800 5494). No registration required.

Friday, April 19: Anti-Oppression 301 – Oppression: The Missing Perspectives, 12:00 p.m. ET. Register for this special 90-minute workshop.

Grassroots Resources

Learn about the RESULTS Experts on Poverty.

Find actions and volunteer resources on our Volunteers Hub, including our anti-oppression resources. To join the RESULTS listserv for more RESULTS conversation, send an email to [email protected].

Remember to please report your recent advocacy successes in lobby meetings, media, and outreach activities. Also, use our Volunteer Information Form to add or edit volunteer info and to sign up for updates and alerts.

If you have a story about advocacy you feel could inspire others, use our new online form to tell us your story. Also, if you want to celebrate the actions of a new volunteer, sharing about the experience today.

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

RESULTS Staff directory and job postings.