Hill Advocacy Day
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hill advocacy day
Jump start your preparations for Hill Advocacy Day...
| Scheduling Your Meetings | Preparing your Message |
| NAHRO Advocacy Materials | Meeting with Your Legislator |
| Follow Up Tips |
- First, click here for information on how to effectively communicate with your legislator’s office.
- Contact your legislator's office as soon as possible. To obtain your legislator's contact information, click on the links below:
- Request to schedule a meeting on Tuesday, March 19 with your legislator and or their staff person who handles housing and community development issues. Your first point of contact should be the legislator's scheduler. Please let them know how many people you are expecting to attend the meeting.
Note: Don't drop by unless you have absolutely no other choice--schedules and resources are already stretched to the limit. Drop by appointments can increase anxiety and sometimes strain relationships. If you must drop by, be gracious about the options available to you.
- Before traveling to the conference, remember to confirm your meetings.
- If you weren't able to tune in live, watch a recording of NAHRO's pre conference webinar "What to Know Before You Go: How to Make the Most out of Your Hill Advocacy Day Visits". This session covers the three most important things NAHRO advocates should do before coming to D.C., including scheduling meetings, conducting background research on both the legislator and issues and preparing for follow-up. It also helps you prepare effective local and personalized messages and provide insights into talking and working with Congressional staff. Watch the webinar here. Find the supporting materials here.
- Maximize your effectiveness and attend the Hill Advocacy Day Training session on Sunday, March 17 from 10:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. to arm yourself with tips and information you can use in Washington and back home.
- Attend the "This Just In" from Washington: NAHRO’s 2013 Legislative and Regulatory Agenda session on Sunday, March 17 from 2:30 p.m. - 4:00 p.m. for an examination of the current environment in Washington, as well as a review of NAHRO’s legislative and regulatory priorities and funding recommendations.
- For early morning tips, insights, and information to get your Hill Advocacy Day efforts off to a great start, join your peers at the Hill Advocacy Day Preparedness Briefing & Continental Breakfast on Tuesday, March 19 from 8:00 a.m. - 9:30 a.m.
- NAHRO has prepared a number of new materials to take with you on your Hill visits. Including:
- Rebuilding the Commitment: An overview document of affordable housing and NAHRO's
- Overview of the Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher Program, which includes recommended reforms
- Note: if you would like these materials in hard copy, please print and download them as NAHRO is going green! Additionally, different from years past, NAHRO will not be providing Voter Report Cards or Community Funding Reports. This decision was based on these documents lack of utility and the historical lack of demand.
- Identify yourself as a constituent. Provide your address and tell them about the services you provide to the community.
- Be brief but make your case. Start positive and try to thank your member for something they have done. Don't talk to so long about one issue that you run out of time to talk about other issues of importance.
- Share your personal experiences so you can educate your elected official about current housing issues in your community. Describe the hardships and life changes that you know housing and community development programs have created for residents. Remember to always put a face on the story.
- Share some recent housing facts. Help your elected official understand the importance of affordable housing and the number of people − both in your community and nationwide − who are in need of such housing. Also illustrate how recent cuts have adversely affected your programs and clients.
- Be specific about how your legislator can help you and ask (don't demand) for their support. Identify the bill number of any legislative initiative that requires support and briefly describe what the bill would accomplish.
- Consider leaving a one pager behind that outlines your specific asks. Offer to provide additional information or be a resource.
- Always be polite and respectful and show that you are passionate and committed to your clients. Even if members and staff disagree with your position or issue, they will respect your feelings. People who show they care are memorable.
- For more tips on making the most of your meeting, click here.
- Send a thank you note to your legislator and restate your request for his/her support. If you promised to provide more information--provide it. Additionally, consider inviting them for a site visit of your properties/projects the next time your legislator is home on recess.
- Provide feedback on your meetings to NAHRO's Congressional Relations team via the Hill Advocacy Day evaluations that will be provided on site at the conference.
- Continue to follow up with your legislator's office about your priorities and keep the lines of communication open. Remember, advocacy is a year round activity!
Please be sure to visit often for updated information! If you have any questions or require assistance with preparations for your meetings, please e-mail jbohm@nahro.org
