RESULTS Weekly Update May 2, 2023

Quote of the Week

“Children should not have to grow up in poverty so we can make the rich richer. We need a tax code that works for all Americans.”

– RESULTS Phoenix volunteer Katherine Yabut in an April 25 letter to the editor in Kingman Miner

Table of Contents

• Join National Webinar on Saturday with Alex Coccia and Carol Nawina Kachenga
• Media 150: Use media to keep up our campaign momentum
• Co-sponsors needed for the End Tuberculosis Now Act
• Quick News on U.S. and Global Poverty
• Announcements
• Upcoming Events
• Grassroots Resources

Join National Webinar on Saturday with Alex Coccia and Carol Nawina Kachenga

Join us for the RESULTS National Webinar this Saturday, May 6, 1:00-2:30 pm ET. This will be a webinar looking both and back. We’ll take time to look back to celebrate the success of our Set the Agenda campaign. We’ll look ahead at strategies to help us build on the momentum of Set the Agenda to advance our work on tax equity, global health, and global education. As for guest speakers, we are pleased to welcome Alex Coccia of the Center for the Study of Social Policy to discuss research on how the Child Tax Credit helps promote racial equity and why it is so important that we keep focused on the CTC in the media and with members of Congress. We also welcome Carol Nawina Kachenga of CITAM+ to share her expertise in global TB advocacy, offering inspiration and context for our work. Please join us!

TAKE ACTION: Join us for the National Webinar this Saturday, May 6. If you have not registered for a 2023 national webinar, register for the webinar today (you only need register once per year). You will receive your registration confirmation and Zoom login information later this week via e-mail (please check your junk or spam folders if you have not received anything by Friday afternoon). We will follow the 30-30-30 format this month, with the U.S. poverty focus (1:00-1:30), grassroots celebrations and actions (1:30-2:00), and global poverty focus (2:00-2:30). The webinar slides and recording will be available on our National Webinars page.

Media 150: Use media to keep up our campaign momentum

On this weekend’s National Webinar, we will celebrate your exciting accomplishments during the Set the Agenda campaign. Celebrating is an important part of any advocacy campaign, and so is planning for what’s next.

Set the Agenda was focused on getting our message directly to lawmakers and their staff through hundreds of lobby meetings. Media is also an excellent tool in influencing policy. Politicians are sensitive to media and pay attention to what local newspapers are saying about their job performance. That makes getting letters to the editor and op-eds published a perfect follow-up to our lobbying campaign.

The power your grassroots media can bring to our advocacy work is why we have set an exciting goal of 150 published media pieces between April 1 and June 30. That will help keep our U.S. and global poverty issues front and center with members of Congress. And you’ve gotten off to a great start. Even when your focus was primarily on lobby meetings, you still got 43 media pieces published in April! Let’s make May and June even bigger.

TAKE ACTION: Submit a letter to the editor today urging Congress to prioritize poverty in their 2023 agenda. In the coming days, we’ll have more resources to help you generate letters on our U.S. and global poverty campaigns. Start right now by submitting a letter to the editor in support of the Child Tax Credit. 2021 showed that we can cut child poverty dramatically with the CTC. Use our online CTC media action to tell members of Congress to expand it again this year!

Co-sponsors needed for the End Tuberculosis Now Act

Your powerful work on the Set the Agenda campaign has come to a close. Now we keep up the momentum. We can build on our success and make sure that our global poverty policy priorities stay high on the congressional agenda. We particularly need to urge members of Congress to co-sponsor the End Tuberculosis Now Act. Tuberculosis is a ravaging disease of poverty. This important legislation calls on the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) to be ambitious in reaching and treating the populations most vulnerable to tuberculosis. The legislation is open for co-sponsorship in both the House (H.R.1776) and the Senate (S.288). Make your requests today!

TAKE ACTION: Gather your group and take action with the May Global Poverty Action Sheet. The action sheet is designed to help you ask your members of Congress to co-sponsor the End Tuberculosis Now Act. Then share this quick online action with others so they can ask their members of Congress to co-sponsor as well.

Quick News on U.S. and Global Poverty

Ask your member of Congress to be a READ Act co-sponsor. We are also working on securing co-sponsors for the READ Act (H.R.681, S.41) related to global education. This legislation focuses on enhanced strategies for the improvement of foundational literacy and numeracy, essential elements of a quality basic education. Ask for co-sponsorship today!

Sign letter protecting SNAP, Medicaid; join coalition webinar Thursday . Last week, the House passed the Republican budget plan, 217-215. The plan would require, as a condition for raising the nation’s debt ceiling and avoid a U.S. default for the first time in history, devastating cuts to services that millions of people rely on, including SNAP and Medicaid. Show your support by signing your local RESULTS group onto this sign-on letter opposing the proposed cuts. Also, the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities and the Coalition on Human Needs are hosting a webinar this Thursday, May 4 at 3:00 pm ET to discuss how the House budget plan would impact anti-poverty programs. You can join directly at this Zoom link.

Report highlights impact of cash assistance. A new report by Chapin Hall and summarized by the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities shows that providing cash payments, such as the expanded  Child Tax Credit (CTC) or Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), to families experiencing poverty decreases the amount of substantiated reports of abuse and neglect.

Media hooks for the week. Use the hook ideas below to submit a letter to the editor this week. If you need a template, use our online media actions to edit and submit your letter today.

• U.S. Poverty: The U.S. could hit the debt ceiling in a matter of weeks. A default would cause a financial catastrophe. Sadly, the House budget plan demands cuts to SNAP and Medicaid (among other deep cuts) as a condition to raising the debt ceiling. Submit a letter to the editor urging your members of Congress to reject this reckless plan.
• Global Poverty: It is a season when many students are marking the close of another successful school year, perhaps even participating in a life-changing graduation. Education is a game-changer. Highlight local graduations – or even a graduation in your own circle – as a hook for a letter to the editor. This hook can be used to illustrate the importance of Congress co-sponsoring and ultimately passing the READ Act on global education.

Announcements

Meet the Grassroots Board candidates on May 11. Thanks to those of you who submitted nominations to fill two upcoming Grassroots Board member positions. We will announce the candidates soon. In the meantime, please mark your calendars for Thursday, May 11 at 8:30 pm ET when the current Grassroots Board members will host a town hall meeting to introduce you to the candidates, as well as information on when voting will begin. Register to attend the town hall today.

Join Disrupting Biases on Poverty & Classism webinar on May 9. Ending poverty is not possible without addressing oppression and centering the voices of those with lived experience of poverty. In this workshop, RESULTS Experts on Poverty will unpack and facilitate discussions around stereotypes and biases surrounding those who live in poverty. The knowledge and tools provided in this session will help you build more transformational relationships and create inclusive, welcoming environments in your groups with trauma-informed advocacy in mind. Learn more and register today.

The RESULTS Champion Scale with RESULTS Founder Sam Daley-Harris. Have you ever thought, “My member of Congress is opposed to our bills, what’s the point of meeting with them?” or “My member of Congress is good on our issues, there’s no reason to meet with them?” RESULTS founder Sam Daley-Harris will lead a workshop on “Moving Your Member of Congress Up the Champion Scale” from opposed, to neutral, to supporter, to advocate, to leader and eventually to champion. Join Sam for the fun on Wednesday, May 31, 8:00 pm ET. Register today.

Upcoming Events

Congressional schedule: May 1-7. The House is on recess and the Senate is in session.

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

Saturday, May 6: Monthly National Webinar, 1:00 pm ET. Register today.

Monday, May 8: Global Poverty Free Agents, 7:00 pm ET (special date). Contact Lisa Marchal for joining details.

Tuesday, May 9: Disrupting Biases on Poverty and Classism, 8:00 pm ET. This webinar will be facilitated by RESULTS’ Experts on Poverty. Learn more and register today.

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

Thursday, May 11: Grassroots Board Town Hall meeting, 8:30 pm ET. Meet the candidates for the upcoming Board election. Register to attend!

Tuesday, May 16: U.S. Poverty Free Agents, 1:00 pm and 9:00 pm ET. Contact Jos Linn for information on how to join.

Tuesday, May 16: Together Women Rise partnership webinar with RESULTS, 8:30 pm ET. Learn more.

Wednesday, May 17: Action Network Managers webinar, 12:30 pm and 8:00 pm ET. (Choose your time.) Join the 12:30 pm ET session at https://results.zoom.us/j/93288388695. Join the 8:00 pm ET session at https://results.zoom.us/j/91531456676. No registration required.

Wednesday, May 17: Media Office Hour – Writing an Op-ed, 2:00 pm ET. Join via Zoom at https://results.zoom.us/j/93668005494 or (312) 626-6799, meeting ID 936 6800 5494. No registration required.

Thursday, May 18: U.S. Poverty Policy Forum, 8:00 pm ET. Register today. 

Thursday, May 18: Global Poverty Policy Forum, 9:00 pm ET. Register today.

Tuesday, May 23: Diversity & Inclusion 101, 8:00-9:30 pm ET. Read more about this learning opportunity and register today.

Thursday, May 25: Group Leader Office Hour, 7:30 pm ET. No registration needed; join any time during the hour at https://results.zoom.us/j/6602641580.

Wednesday, May 31: The RESULTS Champion Scale with RESULTS Founder Sam Daley-Harris, 8:00 pm ET. Register today.

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 that you feel might inspire others, use our online form to tell us your story.

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

RESULTS Staff directory and job postings.