U.S. Poverty Weekly Update November 1, 2016
U.S. Poverty Campaigns
Weekly Update | November 1, 2016
“We should keep fighting to protect all federal programs that help working people live safe, dignified lives. These are the programs that helped me get through my childhood so that as an adult I would have a chance at a brighter future.”
– RESULTS Minnesota volunteer Manilan Houle in an October 28 op-ed in the Duluth News Tribune
- Got Two Minutes? Call Three Friends Today to Invite them to Your November 15 Outreach Event (November Action)
- Got Ten Minutes? Make a Last Push to Meet with Candidates (October Action)
- Got Twenty Minutes for Outreach in November? Reach Out to New People to Invite to the November 15 Webinar (November Action)
- Let’s Get to 150 Media Pieces by Election Day
- Quick News
- Upcoming Events
Quick Action: Use Election Coverage to Generate Media about Poverty in America
| Take Action! |
Got Two Minutes? Call Three Friends Today to Invite them to Your November 15 Outreach Event (November Action)
On November 15, RESULTS is hosting a National Outreach Webinar with Dr. Maya Rockeymoore. As we hit the final week before next Tuesday’s election, Americans are asking themselves – what happens after November 8? Dr. Rockeymoore will use her impressive expertise on anti-poverty public policy and the inner workings of Congress to help answer that question.
With millions of Americans anxiously waiting for the election to be over, you have the chance to offer a respite from the mudslinging, polls, and debates and instead have a meaningful discussion on what this election will mean for real people in your community. Americans care about their country and want to see the best in our country and its people. Inviting a few of them to share this experience with your local RESULTS group can help feed that need. If you inspire just one person to become more engaged in their democracy, you have made democracy stronger.
TAKE ACTION: Take two minutes to call three people you know to invite them to the RESULTS National Outreach Webinar on November 15 at 8:00 pm ET. Tell them if they want to know what to do after the election to improve the lives of low-income Americans, they should attend the event with your local RESULTS group. The November Action is a guide to help you have a successful local outreach event on November 15. In addition, our Outreach Webinar page has resources to help you get ready for the event and make it successful. If you have questions or need help with planning your outreach meeting, please contact Jos Linn ([email protected]).
Got Ten Minutes? Make a Last Push to Meet with Candidates (October Action)
One. Week. Left. In just over 7 days, all the prognosticating, polling aggregates, and Twitter wars will finally be over (we hope!). But even with so much of the electorate feeling election fatigue right now, the importance of this election and what happens afterward could not be more important. America’s problems will disappear on November 9. And the people who get elected will be tasked to address them. It is therefore our job to convince them to put poverty at the top of their “To Do” list.
TAKE ACTION: Take ten minutes to find a candidate town hall or schedule a candidate meeting to talk about the racial wealth gap and the EITC. See the October Action to help you. Find candidate contact information in our Election Guide (for members of Congress, see our Elected Officials Guide). Because it’s the last week of the campaign, you may not have the chance to sit down with the candidate him/herself. However, meeting with his/her policy staff is the next best thing. These people are likely to go to work for them in Washington if they win, so building those relationships now can give you a huge advantage going forward.
If and when you get a meeting or plan to attend a town hall, please contact Meredith Dodson ([email protected]) for coaching to help you get ready.
Got Twenty Minutes? Reach Out to New People to Invite to the November 15 Webinar (November Action)
With our National Outreach Webinar with Dr. Maya Rockeymoore only two weeks away (November 15 at 8:00 pm ET), we are already getting reports from RESULTS groups around the country who are using this unique event to build and strengthen their groups. Wonderful! That’s exactly why we're doing this. Outreach is such an important part of RESULTS’ success over the years; we want to make it easy for you to do it each year. And what better way than having a nationally respected speaker talk to you and new people about how we can use the results of this very contentious election to make poverty history.
Our new November Action has all the information you need to make this event a success. It walks you through the entire planning process, all the way through the event to what to do as follow-up afterward. Hopefully, you’ve already started planning your event but if you haven’t, it’s not too late (RESULTS volunteers are quite adept at pulling things together in a short amount of time).
Right now, your focus should be on turnout by inviting as many people as you can to come. Friends, family, and colleagues are obvious invitees, but there are others in your community who might find this event worth attending. Remember – don’t rule anyone out. Even in this partisan campaign atmosphere, there are areas of common ground. For example, one of the few things that Barack Obama, Paul Ryan, Hillary Clinton, and Donald Trump agree on is that we need to expand the Earned Income Tax Credit. Build bridges by reaching out to diverse communities in your area. Here are a few suggestions:
- Circles USA members (find local chapters here)
- Community Action agencies and members
- Republican, Democratic, and Independent campaign volunteers
- Faith community members
- Interfaith organizations
- Social justice groups
- Racial justice organizations
- Worker justice advocates
- Tax fairness groups
- State and local officials
A simple phone call or e-mail to someone in these and other organizations could result in your next great volunteer. Take time this week to introduce RESULTS to new potential allies.
TAKE ACTION: Take twenty minutes to keep planning your successful outreach event on November 15 (or other day if your group has a conflict on the 15th). The November Action has all the information you need to have a great event. In addition, we are adding new resources to our Outreach Webinar page each week. In the last week, we’ve added a RESULTS PowerPoint and flyer to advertise your next RESULTS meeting (to hand out to new people at your event). If you have questions or need additional materials (including RESULTS brochures), please contact Jos Linn ([email protected]) for assistance.
Let’s Get to 150 Media Pieces by Election Day
In 2016, RESULTS volunteers have gotten 142 media pieces published about poverty in America. One-third of those (48) have come in just the last two months. You all are media machines! You are making poverty in America – whether politicians and the media want to talk about it or not – an issue voters should care about. Just this past Sunday, the New York Times published three opinion pieces about poverty in America. Both Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton are calling for expansions of the Earned Income Tax Credit. You are making an impact.
So don’t stop. We’re at 142 now; let’s get to 150 media pieces by Election Day. You can do it. If you’ve gotten letter to the editor (LTE) or op-ed published already, send another one in to another paper. If you haven’t been published, send a new one to the same paper or send your old one to a different paper. As LTE extraordinaire Willie Dickerson says, write and send them in (see Willie’s tips for successful media on the RESULTS Blog). If you want to do it quickly, use our online media alerts on the EITC or SNAP to send in letters today. Or use the September Action to write your own personal letter. Our Media Guide has a list of media outlets in your state and around the country. If you need help, please contact Jos Linn for assistance ([email protected]).
Keep the poverty conversations going in the media!
Quick News
Read New Grassroots Stories and Then Share Yours. RESULTS would like to gather your advocacy stories to inform and empower others in the important work of ending poverty. We have already started highlighting some of these stories on our website. We want to hear your story too. Go to our Voices of RESULTS form and share it with us today!
Join the new RESULTS Volunteers Facebook page. This new online resource is a place where you can share successes, pictures, challenges, best practices, and ask questions in your advocacy work. Go to https://www.facebook.com/groups/RESULTSVolunteers/ to sign up.
December Webinar Will Be a Joint Webinar. As you look ahead to your December schedules, our monthly National Webinar will be a joint webinar with our fellow RESULTS Global Poverty volunteers. The webinar will be Saturday, December 10 at 2:00 pm ET. More details soon.
Upcoming Events
Go to the RESULTS Events Calendar to see a full list of RESULTS events. Also, find a list of the RESULTS U.S. Poverty staff with contact information on the RESULTS website.
Congressional Recesses: House and Senate: Monday, October 3 – Friday, November 11. Request face-to-face meetings. After your meeting, please tell us how it went by filling out the RESULTS Lobby Report Form: www.tinyurl.com/RESLRF.
Election Day, November 8. Find your polling place and other voter info at: www.vote411.org.
RESULTS U.S. Poverty National Outreach Webinar, Tuesday, November 15 at 8:00 pm ET. Guest speaker: Dr. Maya Rockeymoore. Join online at http://fuze.me/32255914 or by phone at (201) 479-4595, Meeting ID: 32255914#. Listen to previous webinars on our National Webinars page.
RESULTS Introductory Call, Tuesday, November 9 at 9:00 pm ET. If you want to learn more about RESULTS, register for an upcoming Intro Call on the RESULTS website.
RESULTS U.S. Poverty Free Agents Calls, Thursday, November 17 at 1:00 pm and 8:00 pm ET (note different date). To participate, login in at http://fuze.me/32256018 or dial by phone at (201) 479-4595, Meeting ID: 32256018#.
RESULTS Joint U.S. and Global Poverty National Webinar, Saturday, December 10 at 2:00 pm ET. Listen to previous webinars on our National Webinars page.
RESULTS International Conference, Saturday, July 22 – Tuesday, July 25, 2017. Washington Court Hotel, Washington, DC. More details soon.
If you have a question, comment or suggestion for the RESULTS/RESULTS Educational Fund Board, please e-mail them to RESULTS Grassroots Board Member Vanessa Garcia at [email protected]. You can download RESULTS’ most recent Annual Report at: https://results.org/about/annual_report/.