Being a Successful Citizen Lobbyist

Standing up for our values requires being organized and engaging in the public policy debate. As Board Member and trainer Marcia Avner puts it, "Public policy is the set of decisions that we make as a society about how we will care for one another, our communities and the land." If we want to have a say in those decisions, we need to be organized. Whether the issue is funding for schools, green jobs, worker's rights, or any other issue -- progressives win when we come together as an organized advocacy and lobbying force.

How do we get there? In many ways issue-based campaigns are similar to political campaigns. In an electoral campaign, the challenge is to reach out to voters in the most personal way possible. Similarly, winning on issues requires reaching out to elected officials - the more personal the contact, the better. Elected officials can and should be reached in a variety of ways: letters, calls, visits, e-mails, and faxes. Before doing this work, you first need to educate and mobilize a base of supporters, target your audience, research the issue, and develop a lobbying strategy.