Working with Congress: Activist Milestone #1

Send an E-mail to Your Member of Congress

It may sound elementary, but have you ever sent an e-mail to your member of Congress? Did you know you could?

E-mail is a great first step in starting a conversation with a legislator, registering your concerns and interests, and building courage regarding your power as an advocate. The process of crafting an e-mail to your legislator is also a good way to begin getting to know how to research your member of Congress.

If this is your first time reaching out to your member of Congress, you need to know how to reach him or her. You can find out the name of your member of Congress on the RESULTS website.

The email format for a member of the Senate or their staff is [email protected]. The email format for a member of the House or their staff is [email protected].

Next, create and send your e-mail. The EPIC format (Engage, state the Problem, Inform about a solution, give a Call to Action) is very useful to the process of crafting an advocacy message to your legislator. RESULTS also has e-mail actions you can take directly from our website. You can send e-mails to members of Congress, as well as letters to the editor. Go to our Take Action page on the RESULTS website to find current actions you can take today. Then, celebrate your victory!

For more detailed information on how to craft a sharp, compelling message, see Working with Congress Activist Milestone #3: Write a Letter to Your Member of Congress. You can also check out a great blog post by Merlin Mann on writing smart e-mail messages that are more likely to get a great response.