RESULTS Weekly Update October 12, 2022

Quote of the Week

“We all want our children to be safe, happy, and healthy. We want to provide the foundation from which they can pursue their dreams. That’s the real American Dream, right? But life presents us all with obstacles, from the unpredictable winds of fate to lawmakers who all too predictably vote to destroy the programs that helped families like mine succeed.”

– RESULTS Expert on Poverty Maureen Bowling in a October 5 op-ed in Other Words

Table of Contents

• Find events to ask candidates about child poverty, rental assistance, and tuberculosis
• Quick News on U.S. and Global Poverty
• Announcements
• Upcoming Events
• Grassroots Resources

Find events to ask candidates about child poverty, rental assistance, and tuberculosis

Campaign season is in full swing. Candidates are out talking to voters, trying to garner their support on November 8. That gives you tremendous power. If a candidate wants your support, you have the power to shape their positions on the issues you care about.

This is why RESULTS is focused on getting in front of candidates this month. We want them to commit to support policies that will alleviate poverty in the U.S. and around the world. On our October National Webinar, we reviewed how best to engage with candidates during election season. And last week, our Candidate Engagement: Birddogging Election Events training went into detail about how best to prepare for candidate town halls and public events. We want you to have all the tools you need so you can ask candidates to support policies that will make a difference on poverty.

To get started, you first must find where candidates are. Here are tips to help you:

1. Sign up for campaigns newsletters. Most candidates have e-mail newsletters (sign up for on their website). These newsletters sometimes post public events in your community.
2. Follow candidates on social media. Check them out on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook. Events can get announced there as well.
3. Visit townhallproject.com. This site tracks town halls across the country (but is not exhaustive).
4. Check the newspaper or local news. This is not as common as in the past. However, big events, usually with a big-named speaker, are sometimes covered in the local paper or on your local news.
5. Call the local campaign office. Call campaign offices and ask the receptionist if the candidate is doing any public events in the next few weeks.

For additional tips for finding candidates, view the recording and slides of the October National Webinar.

TAKE ACTION: Find opportunities to talk to current members of Congress and candidates at events this month. Urge them to take action the Child Tax Credit (CTC), a renter’s tax credit (RTC), and global tuberculosis prevention. Here are sample questions you can ask at election events this month:

• Child Tax Credit: Expanding the Child Tax Credit (CTC) is pro-family policy that reduces poverty. [Share your own experience and/or state data]. Monthly payments put money back into the hands of families who know best how to use it, such as for housing, food, education, or monthly bills. Will you work to expand the CTC — prioritizing families with the lowest incomes — in any tax legislation this year?
• Renter’s Tax Credit: Renters contribute to our economy. Yet our tax code leaves renters behind, while providing subsidies to wealthier special interest groups. A renters’ tax credit would help low-income families afford a safe place to live without sacrificing other basic needs. [Share your own experience about how a renter’s tax credit can help you]. Will you commit to prioritizing renters by including a renter’s tax credit in any reform of the tax code?
• End TB Now Act: Tuberculosis (TB) is the second leading infectious disease killer in the world after COVID-19. It also disproportionately affects impoverished and marginalized communities. In 2020 alone, over 10 million people contracted TB and 1.5 million people lost their lives. Can I count on you to look at the End TB Now Act (S.3386/H.R.8654), cosponsor it, and help get it passed?
• End TB Now Act: The Stop TB Partnership estimates that failing to implement bold goals to prevent TB will lead to an additional 6.6 million TB deaths by 2030. This will cost countries, communities, and families upwards of $1 trillion in economic loss by 2030. Will you take action by cosponsoring the End TB Now Act (S.3386/H.R.8654)?

See additional resources on our Fall 2022 Campaign Resources page.

Also, help new volunteers get into action! Use the October 2022 U.S. and Global Action Sheets to help them write letters on these critical issues.

Quick News on U.S. and Global Poverty

Media hooks of the week. To help you in your media advocacy, here are suggested media “hooks” this week to use in letters to the editor:

• U.S. Poverty: Use the election as a hook to urge Congress and candidates to pay attention to what will best help American families struggling in tough economic times. Expand the Child Tax Credit now.
• Global Poverty: Use the election as a hook to urge candidates to prioritize global health. They demonstrate that commitment now by passing the End TB Now Act.

Resolution honoring Paul Farmer introduced. Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-IL-9) has introduced a resolution in the House honoring the life of Dr. Paul Farmer, who passed away earlier this year. It calls for “recognizing the duty of the Federal Government to adopt a 21st-century global health solidarity strategy and take actions to address past and ongoing harms that undermine the health and well-being of people around the world.”

Correction. In last week’s Weekly Update and the October National Webinar, we mentioned that the Global Malnutrition Prevention and Treatment Act had been signed into law by President Biden. That is incorrect. The bill has yet to be signed by the President.

Announcements

Listen to birddogging training. This is a perfect time to tap into the energy around elections to both advocate on our issues and recruit new advocates. Listen to the recording of last week’s “birddogging” training to learn from staff from RESULTS and Right to Health Action.

Join Microaggressions training on October 17. Join us for a two-hour workshop to define “microaggression”, its history, and its impact in daily life. The training is Monday, October 17 at 11:00 am ET . Register for the webinar today (this is the training rescheduled from September 15).

Register for October 20 policy forums. Please join us for the October U.S. Poverty and Global Poverty Policy Forums on Thursday, October 20. On the U.S. Forum at 8:00 pm ET (register here), learn how to engage with lawmakers and candidates on the Renter’s Tax Credit and our long-term goal of achieving economic justice using the tax code. Danielle Bautista, RESULTS San Diego volunteer, will share her perspective on these topics. Please bring your questions. On the Global forum at 9:00 pm ET (register here), we will talk tuberculosis. TB is the second leading infectious disease killer after COVID. And 95 percent of TB cases and deaths occur in low-income countries. We’ll hear from Maggy Ngombi from We Are TB sharing her experience of TB to keep us motivated and inspired to pass the End TB Now Act.

Pulitzer Prize-winning editor to join November Webinar. In November, RESULTS will be doing a big media push to get Congress to expand the CTC and pass our global TB legislation by the end of the year. To help us make the most of this media campaign, we are excited to have Jeff Gerrit, the Pulitzer Prize-winning editor of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, as our guest speaker. The webinar is Saturday, November 5 at 1:00 pm ET. Register for the webinar today.

Join us for Creating Spaces for Critical Conversations training. This anti-oppression training brings together foundations of Social Emotional Learning (SEL) with an equity focus to inform participants on how to have challenging values-based conversations about issues of identity and bias. Participants will learn what helps and what hinders healthy dialogue, and given time to practice skills for interrupting bias, prejudice, and bigotry. The training is Thursday, October 27, 8:00-10:00 pm ET. The training is facilitated by Peace Learning Center; it is an encore presentation from the 2022 International Conference. Register for the training today.

Register for next social media advocacy training. Building on our social media advocacy training in September, join us for a deeper dive on how to create effective content and analyze your results. Social media expert Lindsey Spector will share tips on how to write clear, concise text and develop engaging visual content for social media. She will also discuss analytics and reporting for your social media work. The training is Thursday, October 27 at 8:00 pm ET. Register for the training today. If you would like to listen to the recording of the first training (recommended), please contact Jos Linn.

Apply for the 2023 RESULTS Fellowship. We are now accepting applications for the 2023 class of the RESULTS Advocacy & Organizing Fellowship. For all the details on eligibility and how to apply, check out our website. The application deadline has been extended to November 30.

Upcoming Events

Congressional schedule. The House and Senate are on recess this week.

Unless otherwise noted, registration ends one hour prior to the start of all webinars and trainings.

Wednesday, October 12, New Advocate Orientation, 12:00 pm ET. Register here.

Thursday, October 13: Global Allies Program (with Returned Peace Corps Volunteers), 8:30 pm ET. Register today.

Tuesday, October 18: U.S. Poverty Free Agents, 1:00 pm and 9:00 pm ET. Contact Jos Linn for more information.

Tuesday, October 18: Together Women Rise Advocacy Chapter with RESULTS, 8:30 pm ET. Learn more.

Wednesday, October 19: Media Office Hour, 2:00 pm ET. Join via Zoom at: https://results.zoom.us/j/93668005494 or (312) 626-6799, meeting ID: 936 6800 5494.

Wednesday, October 19, New Advocate Orientation, 8:30 pm ET. Register here.

Thursday, October 20: U.S. Poverty Policy Forum, 8:00 pm ET. Guest: Danielle Bautista. Register here.

Thursday, October 20: Global Poverty Policy Forum, 9:00 pm ET. Guest: Maggy Ngombi. Register here.

Monday, October 24: Global Poverty Free Agents, 7:00 pm ET. Contact Lisa Marchal for information on how to join.

Thursday, October 27: Social Media Advocacy Training Part 2: Creating Effective Content and Analyzing Your Results, 8:00 pm ET. Register here.

Thursday, October 27: Creating Spaces for Critical Conversations training, 8:00 pm ET. Register here.

Saturday, November 5: Monthly National Webinar, 1:00 pm ET. Register here.

Saturday, November 5: Diversity and Inclusion 101, 3:00 pm ET. Register here.

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 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.