Understand Advocacy - Key Advocacy Tools

What many people do not realize is that writing a letter to members of Congress can actually make a difference. Congressional staff members say that all it takes is up to 20 handwritten letters to bring attention to an issue in a congressional office. This makes letter-writing a great tool for students since it takes a short amount of time and costs just a few cents. You can have letter-writing gatherings at group meetings or after class. National, state, and local organizations such as Acting on AIDS can pro­vide helpful information like sample letters and fact sheets. If you’ve been given a sample letter, per­sonalize it by adding information about how the issue affects you, your community, or your program.

In general, an effective letter is only one page long. Address one issue and name one desired response per letter. This way your representative’s staff will be able to compile your letter with similar letters in order to tally how many people share your same position. Be brief, courteous, and specific. Start and end your letter by stating why you are writing and what you are asking your representative to do. The tone of your letter should be polite, even if you disagree with a member’s position or are expressing disappointment about an action they took.

Always address your legislator properly, making sure you’ve spelled his or her name correctly and have the right title. (For example, Senator Dianne Feinstein or Vice Admiral Richard H. Carmona, M.D., M.P.H., FACS. State senators should be addressed as Therese Murray, Massachusetts State Senator; Massachusetts State Senator Therese Murray; or the Honorable Therese Murray; state representa­tives follow this same pattern.) Before you address your representative, look him or her up online to make sure you have everything correct.

For more targeted letters, write to representatives on key committees. Web sites—including the ones listed near the end of this page—and congressional guides in public libraries provide lists of the different congressional committees and what issues these committees address, as well as which members of Congress are involved.

If your elected official is not supportive of your request, find out why and see if you can address his or her concerns. If your representative replies, write a thank you note. It shows you care enough to watch how your representative responds. Be sure to track the progress of your issue in Congress, and let your representative know you voted on Election Day.

A few other things to keep in mind: Do not write to a representative who does not represent your area—many congressional offices disregard mail that is not from a constituent in their district or state. Faxing letters following these guidelines is one of the most effective tactics. Prior to the anthrax scare on Capital Hill in the aftermath of 9-11, letters were the preferred method of commu­nication for constituents, but today faxing is more readily received.

Making Phone Calls

Sometimes legislation moves so quickly on Capitol Hill that there is no time to write letters; in that case, telephone calls are a fast and personal way to express your concerns. Calling your legis­lator is very effective, particularly in the days leading up to an important vote. To prepare for the phone conversation, jot down a few notes containing the key points you want to make, and refer to the notes during your call. Keep your message brief; it is important to request a specific and measurable action.

Unless you know your elected official personally, you will speak to someone on his or her staff. In fact, you may want to ask to speak with the legislative aide who handles health or HIV and AIDS issues. If an aide is not available, leave a message with the receptionist containing your name, address, and phone number. If you are with a group and will be generating numerous calls, ask other callers to also leave a message with the receptionist. Since you are trying to establish a positive relationship with the staff, you don’t want to overload the legislative aide with too many calls. A few callers can contact the aide to let him or her know there are other messages with the receptionist.

Setting up a Phone Tree

To generate a persuasive number of calls, form a telephone-tree network of activists. Ask every per­son in the network to deliver a message to the congressional office. This flood of calls can sway an undecided vote or convince a legislator who wonders where the public stands on a particular issue. Here are a few steps to help you organize a phone tree:

1. Make a list of the current phone numbers of everyone in your telephone tree.
2. Choose a coordinator and several key people. Think of the coordinator as the tree’s trunk and the key people as the main branches. The coordinator will construct and pass along a message to the key people, who will be responsible for calling up to 10 people. The coordinator will also maintain the phone tree to make sure it stays current.
3. Give the key people the names and phone numbers of the people in the network they are responsible to call, as well as the name and phone number of the elected official being contacted.4. Have the coordinator start the tree by passing along a short and concise message to the key people. Since the message will go through the tree, it needs to be clear enough for every­one to write down and repeat to the elected official.
5. Have the key people contact their list of callers to begin the tree. Once the callers make their calls, have them contact their key person to verify that the message went through.
6. Once the key people have heard confirmation from their callers, they should contact the coordinator so the coordinator knows the phone tree was successful.

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