Campus CompactNational Campus Compact Network MeetingAdvocacy and Lobbying Preparation and Discussion

January 2014 Network Meeting Agenda

• Monday, January 27th

• Strategic plan and organizational project work• Translating national into local action• Dinner with guest speaker

• Tuesday, January 28th

• Visits to Capitol Hill

• Afternoon reflection; next steps

• Wednesday, January 29th

• Organizational realignment, cont.

• Guest panel

Where to Start?

• How to find your state's Congressional Delegation, their DC office location, and their Chief or education staff member's name(s)

• Understand the difference between district and DC staff (small crowded offices, you may have to meet in the hall!)

• Get a list of congressional names and office numbers — IMPORTANT to pre–arrange in walking order by building and by floor (get a map of the capitol complex)

• http://www.contactingthecongress.org

Getting Ready

• QUESTION: are you going to the Hill "alone" or with a region of colleagues from bordering states — coordinate now with your colleagues!  

• SUGGESTION: check to see if any of your member campuses have a FEDERAL lobbyist on their staff.  Many contract with lobbying firms, but if they have a STAFF member that lives in/goes to Washington, DC that person might be willing to TAKE you to see members of Congress from your State.  May be worth the effort to connect with that person(s) ahead of time?

Doing your prep work!

• Check to see which committees your MOC's are assigned to — IMPORTANT to know if you have a Committee CHAIR or Vice CHAIR or a RANKING member of Congress from your state! “Ranking” vs. “rank and file”

• There are at least TWO primary areas of interest to our work:  1) Education policy and 2) CNCS funding (found in the Labor HHS Ed Appropriations Committee) BUT, think of examples from other areas important to the federal gov’t (e.g. veterans returning to college…)

• http://edworkforce.house.gov/committee/subcommitteesjurisdictions.htm

• http://appropriations.house.gov/subcommittees/subcommittee/?IssueID=34777

• http://www.appropriations.senate.gov/sc-labor.cfm

• http://www.help.senate.gov/issues/issue/?id=20c1298a-5186-4859-8488-a6731cf07a9e

Homework!

• WORK on memorizing your "elevator speech” In :30 seconds "What is Campus Compact and what do we do?”

• -- but then be ready to add examples from campuses in their geographic region, and also the big flagships schools in your state which "belong" to everyone in the state?!

Be Prepared!

• Be prepared for questions like those on Florida’s "top ten FAQ's" but also — • How is your state compact funded? How much is your total budget? What do

you spend the money on? How large is your staff? What's your administrative budget (%)

• How much are member dues?• How are you connected to the national network?• How many member campuses? How many are public vs private? 2-year vs 4-

year? • Why isn't XYZ school a member?• Which campus does the best/worst work in your field?• Does your work involve partisan politics – how/why? What about getting

students to vote?• Think of other tough questions you might encounter… (expect the

unexpected and be ready!)

Crafting Your Message

• Advocacy: broad education and policy influencing, not tied to specific legislation• Direct Lobbying: attempt to influence specific

legislation through communication with any member of a legislative body• Indirect Lobbying: grassroots communication to

encourage others to take action to influence specific legislation• Advocacy and Lobbying Without Fearhttp://stage.raffa.com/Newsroom/News/Documents/RAFFA_LOBBY_reprint1.pdf

Crafting Your Message

• Who are you?• What do you want?• Why should I care?

Who are you?

• Keep it simple, no jargon• Use numbers (members, students)• Focus on unique features (statewide, cross-

sector, civic engagement focus)• Explain how we can be a resource

What do you want?

• Specific ask (even if just awareness, invitation to other events)• Importance of public purpose• Other issues of interest (AmeriCorps,

funding)

Why should I care?

• Connect to their issues – do your homework• Connect to their geography – members in their district and their alma

matter• Overlapping your state map of congressional districts with member

campuses• Check to see if your MOC (Member of Congress) is an alumni of your

member institution(s) HINT: look at the pictures on the walls in their office to see any featured mascots!

• If available, see where the staffer went to college (look for topics/ways to get them excited and connected to our work)

• Create (or at least think about) a summary of engagement highlights from campuses in his/her district and/or his/her alma matter

• Reiterate how you can be a resource

Template

• Create a one-page hand-out to leave behind:• BRIEFLY and VISUALLY depicts your state compact (perhaps

a list of member institutions, a color photo of student engagement, a few pithy quotes or headlines; our LOGO; an impressive statistic)

• It can be front and back, but not too wordy – your compact at a quick glance (a picture or diagram is worth a 1,000 words)

• Customizable template resource – • Data, research• Pictures• Stories

Questions/Discussion

• What is your message? • What would you focus on?• What are you concerns?• How can we support each other?

Next Steps

• January Network meeting discussion: • Leverage existing efforts• Informing champions• Working at the state level• Advocacy toolkit, talking points

Next Steps

• Between now and January• Get a list of all of your state’s members of Congress with

building and room number• Put that list in walking order first by building, then by

what floor the office is on• Compare Congressional districts to member campuses to

see which schools are in which member’s district• Create your one page template to leave in each of the

Congressional offices• Make your hotel reservations by December 13, 2013