Sally Heaven

The Congressional Management Foundation has put out a report on how to improve the state of affairs for communicating electronically with Congress.  The report was released on December 8, 2008 (with an interim report published earlier this year in July).  I think that everyone who is doing grassroots and online advocacy campaigns should read the full report, so download it today. 

Here are some of the take-aways I thought were most notable - some of which reinforce already accepted best practices, and one that was new to me:

Citizens should:

• contact your Member of Congress once per issue unless you have new information to provide
• be courteous even if you disagree with your Member's position on the issue
• clearly state your position
• tell a personal story about how the issue affects you

Organizations should:

• be specific in the sample letter about the bill number and the position your organization is taking (pro or con)
• use constituent matching (this is a big one - make sure your members are communicating to their Representative or Senators only)
• make it clear to your members to whom their letter is being sent
• identify the organization behind the grassroots campaign

The "identify the organization behind the grassroots campaign" recommendation made me sit up and take notice.  I used to think it was better NOT to identify the organization, and instead to spend a lot of time and effort making it seem like the letter from the constituent had no connection to an organization at all.  We used various techniques like rotating subject lines for the letter to Congress, rotating a carousel of letters, and not naming our organization in the text of the letter.

Turns out that's not necessarily a good investment of time.  Hill staffers prefer to know which organization is facilitating the communication, as well as an easy way to categorize the organization's and constituents' position on the issue or bill.  And I can't say I blame them, knowing that the volume of messages they receive and must reply to is growing every year.  (I'm not done with my Christmas cards yet, and it's going to be a race to the finish line this year, so I really feel for them.)

The report also calls for a new model of constituent correspondence management on the Hill.  It refers to an aggregated communications dashboard, essentially a tool for managing the volume of incoming corresponence while preserving the ability to read and respond individually to messages.  This dashboard would summarize such pertinent data as the issue/bill number, the issue position of the organization (support/oppose with comments) and the constituent comments.  CMF's study also recommends identifying the vendor as well as the organization so there is a contact in case technical issues are identified.

In addition to easing the burden of managing constituent correspondence, there's another potential benefit for Congress.  Over time, this system would essentially be compiling database of the "poli-fluentials" in a Member's district.  See pages 15-16 of the report - poli-fluentials are people who participate in online advocacy, and are 7 times more likely to be "influentials" in their social networks.  (If you attended the "Social Media for Social Good" webinar yesterday, you probably learned about influentials and social networks.)  There's a lot more to say about poli-fluentials than I can fit in here - maybe a topic for another day.

Anyway, I thought it would be fun to look up some of the older advocacy campaigns that I worked on, and I was pleasantly surprised to see that for the most part, the campaigns I put out in 2001-2006 followed almost all of these best practices (except for the "identify the organization" one).  I'm sure some of my lobbyist colleagues had a lot to do with keeping our letters clear and concise, since most of them had been around the congressional block as legislative correspondents or assistants.  So thanks, guys!

Anyway - the 111th Congress is just around the corner, so if you haven't read this study, get it today and spend some quality time with it over the holidays.

There were two great sessions focusing on advocacy at the Convio Summit in 2008, and I'm not just saying that because I organized them.  ;)

The first was Online Advocacy 2.0:  Moving Beyond Petitions.  The panelists included:

• Christopher Masak from the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network
• Carie Lewis from the Humane Society of the United States
• Marc Ruben from M+R Strategic Services

We heard from each of these organizations how they use web 2.0 strategies to support their online advocacy work.  Christopher Masak did a great job of illustrating how ACSCAN drives offline actions using online tools.  My favorite example was their use of mobile messaging technology to track and drive people to the Fight Back Express - a bus that drove around the country in 2008, stopping in communities to make cancer issues a national priority.

Carie Lewis demonstrated how the Humane Society of the United States uses the "Big 4" social networking sites - Facebook, myspace, flickr, and YouTube - to promote their online advocacy campaigns.  Her presentation was chock-full of useful tips for how to maximize your presence and participation on these sites with specific examples of what works well for each site.  The visual sites especially - flickr and YouTube - made a big impact when HSUS busted some puppy mills in Canada and Indiana.  A picture was definitely worth a thousand words.  (By the way, Carie wasn't kidding - she really is a social networking addict.  Love ya, Carie!  :)

Finally, Marc Ruben presented some examples from M+R's group of clients - Save Darfur, Human Rights Campaign, NARAL Pro-Choice America, and AARP, to name a few - of different techniques that worked to get their message across.  While all of the examples were impressive, the most recent campaign they did for AARP was a flash overlay video around getting out the vote for the 2008 election.  You can look at this extremely creative and participatory video at www.aarpvote08.org - trust me, you won't regret it.

So that was Tuesday!  On Wednesday the advocacy presentation was Applying Advocacy Best Practices on the Convio Platform.  Robin Anderson, Convio interactive specialist, and Chris Burley from Defenders of Wildlife presented at this session.  These two were an especially effective combination.  Robin kicked off the panel by presenting some general best practices for using different Convio modules and tools to maximize your advocacy impact and viral marketing capabilities. 

Chris then told us about how Defenders used Convio for their campaign to stop aerial hunting of wolves in Alaska.  What I'm still thinking about after this presentation is Chris' advice to know who your targets are and to ask them how they prefer to be communicated to.  Years ago I used to think that it was better to "disguise" that the letter was coming from a supporter of an organization, but this is actually not the case - members of Congress want to know what organization is facilitating comments and to easily be able to tell if the comment is in favor of or opposed to a piece of legislation.

I'm interested in how online advocacy will continue to evolve over the next year with a new Congress and a new Presidential administration, especially an administration that is more web-savvy than any have been previously.  Maybe in 2009 we'll have a session called Online Advocacy 3.0 - The Hot New Tool You're Not Using Yet.  Either way, I hope to see you in 2009!

The weather around Washington, DC has been crazy lately - one day it's 75 degrees and rainy, the next it's 40 degrees and sunny.  In fact, it's starting to remind me of the daily travails of the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the stock market in general - wild, roller coastery mood swings that leave us all feeling off balance and like we're not prepared for what might be on the horizon.

I certainly wasn't prepared this afternoon at Baltimore Washington International Airport - I was on my way down to Austin, Texas for the 2008 Convio Client Summit.  I had packed my coat in my bag and checked my luggage, thinking I was already overdressed in a T-shirt and jacket, but nope nope nope.  I was FREEZING.  So it just goes to show, when the weather is crazy, whether it's real or metaphorical, you need to be extra-prepared.

So anyway, while in the airport, I ran into my friend Olga Woltman of Adams Hussey & Associates, a Convio partner.  We had a nice chat, and running into her reminded me of an upcoming webinar that Kim Cubine, Principal and Senior Vice President of Adams Hussey & Associates, will be presenting soon.  Now, if you've met Kim, then you know that not only is she friendly, smart and funny (I think the expression is "a hoot"), but she's also one of the most savvy marketers that you're likely to meet.  I've been continually impressed not only with the depth of her experience, but how she's also willing to try new strategies and keep things fresh.

The title of the webinar, presented by Kim in partnership with the Direct Market Association of Washington and co-presented by Tim Kersten of Tim Kersten Consulting, is "The Economy - Going from Bad to Worse - Can Your Group Survive?"  (Sounds cheerful!)  Uplifting as it sounds, the information is certain to be valuable.  This is what they plan to cover:

• How have charitable groups and nonprofit organizations weathered the economic cycles of the past 40 years?
• And how have these groups been impacted in 2008?
• How should you address this with the President of your organization and your Board of Directors?
• How do we raise money and talk about issues in an economy that's gone from bad to worse...with no end in sight?
• What are some ideas for maintaining current members?
• How do we manage risk in an unknown economic environment?

These are all things I'd want to know if I were working in a nonprofit development or membership department.  Here are the details - and note that the webinar costs $99.  I'm sure it will be worth it!  You can sign up for the webinar here.

Date: Wednesday, December 3
Time: 12 noon – 1pm Eastern time
Location: By webinar in your office

Tomorrow evening is the opening reception of the 2008 Convio Client Summit!  I hope to meet lots of you there - I'll be in the Connection Cafe blog lounge as well as out and about at the conference.

And by the way - the weather in Austin is pretty darn great.

My colleague Seth Merritt recently highlighted Blog Action Day, and today is the day!  This year the topic is poverty, and the aim is to raise awareness and trigger a global discussion about poverty, a complex issue with no quick, easy solutions.

We have many clients who are working on the poverty issue, and I wanted to highlight some of them and invite you to visit their websites, get more informed and involved, and support their important work.

American Jewish World Service is an international development organization motivated by Judaism's imperative to pursue justice.

American Near East Refugee Aid is a leading provider of development, health, education and employment programs to Palestinian communities and impoverished families throughout the Middle East.

The American Red Cross helps vulnerable people around the world to prevent, prepare for, and respond to disasters, complex humanitarian emergencies, and life-threatening health conditions.

Bread for the World  is a collective Christian voice urging our nation's decision makers to end hunger at home and abroad.

Capitol Area Food Bank of Texas's mission is to nourish hungry people and lead the community in ending hunger.

CARE is a leading humanitarian organization fighting global poverty. We place special focus on working alongside poor women because, equipped with the proper resources, women have the power to help whole families and entire communities escape poverty.

Feed the Children is a Christian, international, nonprofit relief organization with headquarters in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, that delivers food, medicine, clothing and other necessities to individuals, children and families who lack these essentials due to famine, war, poverty, or natural disaster.

Freestore Foodbank is one of Ohio's largest food banks, and serves a population of some 160,000 low-income persons in a twenty-county region.

Grameen Foundation's mission is to enable the poor, especially the poorest, to create a world without poverty.

IRC (International Rescue Committee) is a critical global network of first responders, humanitarian relief workers, healthcare providers, educators, community leaders, activists, and volunteers.

Lutheran World Relief works with partners in 35 countries to help people grow food, improve health, strengthen communities, end conflict, build livelihoods and recover from disasters.

Metropolitan Council on Jewish Poverty is the voice of the Jewish poor and the first line of defense for our community's needy. We fight poverty through comprehensive social services, and treat every individual with dignity and respect.

Millennium Promise's mission is to achieve the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) - eight globally endorsed objectives that address the many aspects of extreme poverty - in Africa by 2015.

Mobile Loaves and Fishes is a social outreach ministry for the homeless and indigent working poor.

Oxfam America is an international relief and development organization that creates lasting solutions to poverty, hunger, and injustice.

Peace Corps traces its roots and mission to 1960, when then Senator John F. Kennedy challenged students at the University of Michigan to serve their country in the cause of peace by living and working in developing countries.

Project Concern International's mission is to prevent disease, improve community health, and promote sustainable development.

Save the Children is the leading independent organization creating lasting change in the lives of children in need in the United States and around the world.

Stop Hunger Now is a Raleigh-based international hunger relief agency that has been fulfilling its commitment to end hunger for over 10 years.

The US Fund for Unicef  was founded in 1947 to support the work of the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) by raising funds for its programs and increasing awareness of the challenges facing the world's children

Any omissions from this list are inadvertent and solely the responsibility of the author.

Please visit these organizations today and learn more about what they are doing and how you can help. 

So last week I learned about something new (to me, anyway) - Rickrolling.  Basically you put a link into a webpage or email message that instead of going where the user thinks it will, it links to the Rick Astley video "Never Gonna Give You Up" on YouTube.  According to Wikipedia, this has resulted in over 13 million viewings of "Never Gonna Give You Up".  The current number is well over 19 million and counting.

I heard about this in the context of an NPR story about a candidate for state house in Kansas, Sean Tevis, who decided to run for Kansas State Representative.  When two weeks of canvassing hadn't yielded the fundraising he needed, he made a website to help raise the money.

And what a website it is!  I love the personal tone, the user-friendliness, and of course the comic strip.  Yes, the comic strip.

One of the ways Tevis raised the money he needed - $26,000 in less than a week and a half, and $96,000 at the last filing deadline - was by publishing a comic strip on his site.  These cartoons do a great job of explaining the campaign process and what goes on behind the scenes to the layperson.  (Also, as a BSG fan, I love the Battlestar Galactica reference about halfway through the cartoons.)

Not only is the internet enabling political candidates to raise more money online than ever, I think this is a great example of how creativity and an authentic, personal message can help anyone - be it a political candidate or a nonprofit organization - to connect with people and build a real relationship.  Authenticity is the key and it's much-sought these days - it's easy to tell when a message is not genuine.

So it was the mention of Rickrolling that caught my attention, but the rest of the story and checking out Sean Tevis' website for myself was the informative and illuminating part for me.  What awesome creativity will we see next from the interwebs?

Also - check out this really cool link.