Age4Action Has Helped Strengthen Grassroots Advocacy

Advocacy is critical to any grassroots movement. It provides an avenue for advocates and legislators alike to support an organizational platform. Over the past two years, the Age4Action Network has provided several tips for launching and maintaining an advocacy program.  The network has developed a hearty advocacy toolkit with useful articles, including:

• Five W’s of Advocacy
• Tips for Connecting with Congressional Staff
• Invigorate Legislators to Jumpstart Your Policy Agenda
• Create a Target List to Increase Influence with Congress
• How to Get an Elected Official to Attend Your Event

Regardless of where organizations and individuals are on the advocacy avenue, it’s important to recognize the advocacy principles Age4Action has threaded though each step outlined in the toolkit.

Everyone is an Advocate

First, anyone and everyone can do advocacy!  Even if funding sources place limitations, action that influences policy is still possible. Be creative. Simply educating legislators about the issue and your organization can be advantageous. Legislators need to hear from community leaders about the good work happening in their districts. Additionally, providing them with thoughtful facts will give them reason to support your work and continues the dialog between your organization and legislators about what is important to the communities served. Education is the first step to advocacy, and everyone can educate. Partnering with other organizations with similar advocacy goals to yours can also be effective Together you can give girth to the issues and highlight the importance to the community at large.

Local Advocacy Can Be Effective

A second advocacy principal Age4Action has woven though each article is advocacy can and should happen locally.  When considering federal legislation, such as the Older American’s Act (OAA), education, stories, support and leadership should come from the district and the constituents.  Although organizations spend thousand of dollars to send constituents to storm Washington, D.C., advocacy action that is done locally can be as effective. Engaging member of Congress through their district office, inviting members to be apart of a community event and meeting with them while they are on Congressional recess are great ways to engage member of Congress. The added benefit: when in the district, members of Congress are often more focused and able to meet with constituents and community leaders.

Make Advocacy Mission Based

The last principle is that advocacy action and organizational framework must be symbiotic. Each advocacy action, whether it is education or a legislative ask, should be based in the framework and mission of the organization. Advocacy action can strengthen the organization by engage individuals and members of congress in helping to achieve its mission.  Additionally, organizations should include advocacy in their framework, see it as a value and support structure.  Advocacy doesn’t just happen; it is planned and implemented by leadership.

Living and exemplifying the principles listed above, the Age4Action advocacy path has been paved with thoughtful and timely engagement. Its success is measured by the impressive network, which has grown from scratch to over 2,000 individual supporters and a robust group of amazing organizations around the country. Age4Action will continue to support the civic engagement movement, and we hope for a future where older adults will thrive as they work, serve, learn and lead.

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