U.S. Poverty Weekly Update December 18, 2012
“This is our first task – caring for our children.”
— President Obama, December 16, 2012
New and Urgent in This Week’s Update (Two-Ten-Twenty Actions)
- Got Two, Ten or Twenty Minutes? Follow Up with Tax Aides about Your Tax Credits Request (December Action)
Latest from Washington, DC
Organizational Updates
Got Two, Ten or Twenty Minutes? Follow Up with Tax Aides about Your Tax Credits Request
It’s crunch time! Knowing this is a busy time, we’re keeping it simple — it’s all about the December Action, following up with Congressional offices one more time to protect the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) and Child Tax Credit (CTC). By now many of you have talked with them, gut do you know where they stand and whether they asked his/her boss to speak to Senate or House leadership?
TAKE ACTION: Take whatever time you can carve out of your busy holiday schedule to call the tax aides in your House and both Senate offices about the EITC and CTC, requesting that your senators and representative(s) talk to party leadership (Sens. Reid/McConnell/Reps. Boehner/Pelosi) to specifically support:
1. Making the expiring improvements to the EITC and CTC permanent
2. Including a principle that specifically protects the EITC and CTC from cuts in any deficit reduction framework.
Use our Laser Talk: Follow Up with Tax Aides about Protecting the Earned Income Tax Credit and Child Tax Credit for guidance on your calls. If you are spending a few minutes on Facebook or e-mail passing along holiday greetings, you can also ask others to take action by including this text: “Tell Congress not to children into poverty by raising taxes on working families by protecting the Earned Income Tax Credit and Child Tax Credit. Take this RESULTS Action and make a difference: http://capwiz.com/results/issues/alert/?alertid=9823986&MC_plugin=2201.” [note: if you are posting on Facebook, put the “@ before RESULTS and that can help you link to our Facebook page]
Submit a Letter to the Editor about Protecting Working Families
There are many threats serious threats to critical anti-poverty programs in the “Fiscal Cliff” debate — for an overview of the threats to SNAP, Medicaid, etc., and actions you can take, see our recent blogpost. If you have time, perhaps while traveling to visit families and friends, listen to our Budget Showdown and Laser Talk Training Call from last Thursday along with a recording of our December National Conference Call on the RESULTS website.
And, if you can carve out a few minutes in front of a computer, remember that outreach to the media is critical in building the political will we need to succeed. Policymakers still consider print media an important source for information and gauging public opinion. Media is also critical for educating the public about our issues. We need that public support as we push Congress to do the right thing when it comes to protecting America’s most vulnerable.
TAKE ACTION: Submit a powerful letter to the editor urging Congress to protect low-income Americans in deficit reduction talks. Tell them by name to invest in poverty reduction and oppose cuts to services that support low-income individuals and families. You can use talking points from our December Action to draft your letter. Try to relate your letter to a recent story in the paper about the fiscal cliff or expiring tax cuts. This will increase your chances of being published. And don’t forget to share any personal stories or anecdotes that relate to the issue to help engage the readers.
If you only have a few minutes, use our online LTE alert to submit your letter. You can also find information about media outlets in your area using the RESULTS Media Guide.
Announcements
Submit Your Face-to-Face Meeting Requests Now. For 2013, RESULTS has a goal of meeting face-to-face with representatives and senators in the 25 states and 66 House districts where we currently have volunteers (with more being added). Get started now on meeting and exceeding that goal by putting in your request for face-to-face meetings with your representative and senators. You can tailor our online request form. Be sure to follow up within a few days to confirm that your request was received and the status of it. Once you get a meeting scheduled or if you plan to attend a public event to ask a question, please contact the RESULTS U.S. Poverty staff to help you plan your agenda and devise the best messaging to use in your meeting.
Learn to Better Use the RESULTS Website on January 7, 2013. Inform and improve your advocacy using the RESULTS website! This training at 9 pm ET will provide you a guided tour of the RESULTS website focusing on key areas that will help you get educated on our issues, trained in effective advocacy techniques, and into action on ending poverty. For the training, please be in front of your computer with internet access. For questions and to RSVP for the call, contact Jos Linn at [email protected].
Use RESULTS Outreach Action Sheets. Download, print and use our outreach action sheets at your next meeting, outreach event, or other public event. We have sheets on Tax Credits (EITC and CTC), the Wealth Gap and Asset Building, and Head Start and Child Care.
Fundraising News
Our end-of-year annual appeal campaign is underway with an ambitious goal of raising $30,000 by December 31st. You may have noticed letters arriving in the mail and on email from RESULTS Executive Director Joanne Carter, which were sent to all of our donors. How can you help make this campaign a success for millions of people in poverty? Here are some suggestions below. Thank you for your help in raising the profile of RESULTS as our donors make their end-of-year charity decisions.
If you have a RESULTS group Facebook or Twitter account, post the appeal link a few times this week. For example:
- Help us reach our goal of raising $30,000 by year’s end & help lift families out of poverty.ht.ly/fPh0e #TalkPoverty
- Give a truly amazing gift this holiday season: Donate to RESULTS & help lift families out of povertyht.ly/fZ2xh#EndPoverty
- Help RESULTS grow our reach & impact by expanding to all 50 states, 2/3 of congressional districts – Give a gift today! ht.ly/g1iUT
If you’d like your family to give a gift to RESULTS as a holiday present to you, email them this link to our annual appeal online fundraising site.
Send an end-of-year email wrap up of your group’s activities to all your local supporters with this link to our annual appeal online fundraising site. This site lists several of our RESULTS accomplishments that you can reference as well.
And, please consider making a donation to RESULTS or RESULTS Educational Fund yourself!
RESULTS Activity Calendar
(See a complete calendar on the RESULTS website)
Tuesday, December 25 – Tuesday, January 1: All RESULTS offices closed for the end of year holidays. Happy Holidays from all of us at RESULTS!
Monday, January 7: RESULTS Website Training, 9:00 pm ET. (712) 432-3100, passcode 761262. RSVP to Jos Linn at [email protected].
Wednesday, January 9: RESULTS Introductory Call, 1:00 pm ET. (712) 432-3100, passcode 761262. RSVP for the call.
Tuesday, January 15: RESULTS Free Agents group (U.S. Poverty) call, 9:00 pm ET. (218) 486-1611, passcode 7378587# (RESULTS#). For more information, contact Jos Linn at [email protected].
RESULTS Contact Information
Main Office: (p) (202) 783-7100, (f) (202) 466-1397, 1730 Rhode Island Ave, NW, Suite 400, Washington, DC 20036. If mailing a donation to our DC office, please address the envelope to the attention of Cynthia Stancil.
RESULTS U.S. Poverty Legislative and Grassroots Support Staff:
- Meredith Dodson, Director of U.S. Poverty Campaigns, (202) 783-7100, x116, [email protected]
- Jos Linn, Senior Associate, U.S. Poverty Campaigns, (515) 288-3622, [email protected]
- Jenny Martin, U.S. Poverty Grassroots Organizer, New England, (413) 774-1707, [email protected]
- Ann Beltran, U.S. Poverty Volunteer Lobbyist, [email protected]
- Cindy Changyit Levin, Grassroots Development Associate, (773) 236-7758, [email protected]
The RESULTS U.S. Poverty Update is sent out every Tuesday via email to RESULTS volunteers and allies all over the country. The purpose of these updates is to inform and activate RESULTS activists to take action on our U.S. poverty campaigns.