U.S. Poverty Weekly Update May 7, 2019
Quote of the Week
“Urge your members of Congress to increase funding for federal housing assistance.”
– RESULTS Bremerton, WA volunteer Alan Newberg in an May 2 letter to the editor in the Kitsap Sun
Got Two Minutes (and 58 more)? Join Tonight’s National Webinar with Joey Lindstrom from NLIHC
Please join us for the RESULTS U.S. Poverty National Webinar tonight, May 7 at 8:00 pm ET. On the webinar, we’ll recap the Set the Agenda campaign and look ahead to new efforts to create the political to end poverty. We are excited to have Joey Lindstrom, Manager for Field Organizing at the National Low-Income Housing Coalition as our guest speaker this month. Joey will share his knowledge on how to best find and connect with local advocates and groups who care about housing. He’ll also talk about the Our Homes, Our Voices Week of Action coming up at the end of May and how you can participate. Please think of any questions you would like to ask him and bring them to the webinar. We’ll also talk about the May Action and hear how advocates in St. Louis have had success in connecting with local housing groups, discuss May-August group planning, the RESULTS International Conference, and our Spring Fundraising Campaign. Join us!
TAKE ACTION: Take two minutes to join the RESULTS U.S. Poverty National Webinar tonight, May 7 at 8:00 pm ET, then stick around for the rest of the webinar. Join online at: https://results.zoom.us/j/873308801 or dial in by phone at either (929) 436-2866 or (669) 900-6833, Meeting ID: 873 308 801). If you login online, please list both your first and last names when prompted. Be sure to remind your groups and action networks of the webinar. The slides for the webinar will be available later today on the National Webinars page. If you have questions, please contact Jos Linn.
Got Ten Minutes? Find Local Housing Allies (May Action)
Millions of American families struggle every month to put and keep a roof over their heads. But sadly, too few lawmakers are sounding the alarm. When constituents and groups band together to raise awareness of this issue, lawmakers must pay attention. In addition, the alliances educate the public about the issue, garnering more support, and then putting more pressure on politicians to act.
In May, we want you to focus on building local allies. This process is not difficult. There are groups in your area who care about people living in poverty and want to raise awareness of America’s housing crisis. There are groups in your area who would welcome a call from your local RESULTS group to work together. And there are groups in your area who want to share their talents and yours in raising awareness of these issues. It’s just a matter of time and effort to do it. Make that time in May.
TAKE ACTION: Take ten minutes to start planning your outreach to local housing allies. The May Action walks you through the steps on how to find allies, make connections with your group, and what to say when you reach out. Also, remember that the “Our Homes, Our Voices” Week of Action, May 30-June 5 is a great “hook” for connecting with allies. Joining an existing event or offering to plan one together is a great way to raise awareness of housing issues in your community, build ties with ally organizations, and expose new people to your local RESULTS work. Make plans to participate. We’ll talk more about the Week of Action on tonight’s U.S. Poverty National Webinar (8:00 pm ET).
Got Twenty Minutes? Do Your May-August Planning
Congratulations on your great work during the RESULTS Set the Agenda campaign. Between January and April of this year, RESULTS volunteers had 80 face-to-face meetings with members of Congress, 157 meetings with congressional staff, and generated 198 media pieces (including 73 on housing and 19 on tax policy). Now it’s time to take the success and use it as fuel to ramp up the next your next four months of work. To help you, we have a new group planning form for you to complete outlining what things you want to accomplish between now and the end of August. How do you plan to connect with community allies (May Action) and new advocates (June webinar)? How will you leverage the RESULTS International Conference to build the political will to end poverty back home? How will you use lobby meetings during the August recess to solidify community partnerships and inspire new people into action? Think about these and other questions as you complete the form during your local RESULTS meeting in May.
TAKE ACTION: Take twenty minutes to do your May-August group planning (it should not take more than 20 minutes). Use our updated online Group Summary Form to set your goals. Please submit your form by May 31. If you have questions or need help with planning, please contact Jos Linn.
Quick News
Still Time to Join the Spring Friends and Family Campaign. Creating the political will to end poverty requires resources to be successful. Your participation in grassroots fundraising is an important part of making RESULTS’ work possible. The Spring 2019 Peer-to-Peer Fundraising Campaign is an opportunity to raise needed funds to train and equip volunteer advocates and support the staff who provide you with research and expertise on our issues. The fundraising campaign is also a chance spread the word about the work you do to end poverty and to grow your network of advocates and supporters. Join the campaign today! Find the resources you need to get started on our Fundraise for RESULTS page.
One Week Until Conference Early Bird Expires! We want to see you in DC this summer at the RESULTS International Conference to learn from leading experts on housing, connect with volunteers from around the country and around the world, and to make your voice heard on our issues. And the time to register is now. The Early Bird registration rate will expire NEXT WEEK on Wednesday, May 15. So, if you want to join RESULTS’s biggest event of the year and save some money doing it, register tonight for the Early Bird expires. Go to resultsconference.org to register today. Also, if you are a current, active RESULTS volunteer who wants to come to the Conference but may need help if “filling the gap” in funds to get there, apply for Gap Funding. Be sure to apply now as our gap fund is limited and tends to go quickly.
Fill Out Lobby Reports. If you’ve had a face-to-face lobby meeting, met with aide, or asked a question at a public event in 2019, please fill out the Lobby Report Form for each event if you haven’t done so already.
Nominate Someone to be a Grassroots Board Member. Do you know someone who would be a strong voice for guiding our national organization? Nominate yourself or someone you know as a Grassroots Board Member. Read more on Board member responsibilities and how to nominate someone. Nominations are due May 12.
REAL Change Slots Still Open. We are still accepting applications for the 2019-20 REAL Change Fellowship class. If you or someone you know want to be part of the next class of young RESULTS leaders, apply for the REAL Change Fellowship today.
New Report on Ending Child Poverty. The Children’s Defense Fund (CDF), in conjunction with researchers at the Urban Institute, recently released their 2019 End Child Poverty Now Report. Nine policies Nine Priorities are put forward that would cut child poverty by 57.1%, lifting 5.5 million children out of poverty, and cost little to the national budget. Among the recommendations are increasing EITC and expanding Housing Choice Vouchers. This report builds on additional research by the National Academies of Science, Engineering, and Medicine (NAS), which also recommended an increase in EITC and Housing Choice Vouchers to cut child poverty. Both reports demonstrate that RESULTS volunteers are championing policies that have a proven ability to make a real dent in poverty. Read a summary of the CDF report here and a blogpost about the earlier NAS report here.
Read Candidate Positions on Poverty. Spotlight on Poverty has a new tool to help you sort through all the presidential candidate positions on poverty. Check it out!
Upcoming Events
May 1-May 31: RESULTS Spring Fundraising Campaign. Sign up to participate today.
Tuesday, May 7: RESULTS U.S. Poverty National Webinar, 8:00 pm ET. Guest: Joey Lindstrom of the National Low-Income Housing Coalition. Join at: https://results.zoom.us/j/873308801 or dial (929) 436-2866 or (669) 900-6833, Meeting ID: 873 308 801. Find recordings and slides from previous webinars on the National Webinars page.
Wednesday, May 8: RESULTS Action Network Community of Practice webinar, 8:00pm ET. To join, log in: https://results.zoom.us/j/427674133 or dial in: 669-900-6833, Meeting ID: 427 674 133. You can also join our Facebook and e-mail groups.
Tuesday, May 14 (12:00pm ET) and Wednesday May 22 (8:30pm ET), RESULTS New Advocate Orientation. Get started at: https://results.salsalabs.org/volunteer/index.html.
Thursday, May 16: Quiet Leadership Book Club, 9:00 pm ET. To join, go to https://results.zoom.us/j/482992263. You can also join by phone at (929) 436-2866 or (669) 900-6833, meeting ID 482 992 263.
Tuesday, May 21, U.S. Poverty Free Agents Calls, 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.
Monday, May 27, Memorial Day holiday. All RESULTS offices closed.
Monday, May 27-Friday, May 31: Congressional Recess. Submit your meeting requests today.
Tuesday, June 4: RESULTS National Webinar with Hahrie Han, 8:00 pm ET. Join at: https://results.zoom.us/j/873308801 or dial (929) 436-2866 or (669) 900-6833, Meeting ID: 873 308 801. Find recordings and slides from previous webinars on the National Webinars page.
Saturday, July 13-Tuesday, July 16, 2019: RESULTS International Conference. Register today at www.resultsconference.org!
Find other events on the RESULTS Events Calendar.
Other Resources
Learn more 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.
Report lobby meetings in our Lobby Report Form and report any published media in our Grassroots Media Form.
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 (our new digital 2018 Annual Report is now available).
RESULTS Staff directory.