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2314
University Ave. #20
St. Paul, MN 55114
Phone: 651.642.1904
Fax: 651.642.1517
Greater MN: 1.800.289.1904
Email: info@mncn.org |
Ten reasons to lobby for your cause
- You can make a difference. In Toledo,
Ohio, a single mother struggling to raise her son without the
help of a workable child support system put an ad in a local newspaper
to see if there were others who wanted to work for change. There
were. Over time, they built the Association for Child Support
Enforcement, which has helped change child support laws across
the country.
- People working together can make a difference.
Mothers Against Drunk Driving convinced dozens of states
to toughen their drunk driving laws. As a result, the numbers
of drunk driving deaths are lower nationwide.
- People can change laws. History
is full of people and groups that fought against great odds to
make great changes: child labor laws, public schools, clean air
and water laws, public schools, clean air and water laws, social
security. These changes weren't easy to achieve. They
all took the active involvement - the lobbying - of thousands
of people who felt something needed to be changed.
- Lobbying is a democratic tradition. The
act of telling our policy makers how to write and change our laws
is at the very heart of our democratic system. It is an
alternative to what has occurred in many other countries: tyranny
or revolution. Lobbying has helped keep America's democracy
evolving over more than two centuries.
- Lobbying helps find real solutions. People
thinking creatively and asking their elected officials for support
can generate innovative solutions that overcome the root causes
of a problem. Through such work, abused children have found
rapid placement in safe homes, and restaurants have been able
to donate excess food to food shelves.
- Lobbying is easy. Lobbying isn't
some mysterious rite that takes years to master. You can
learn how to lobby - whom to call, when, what to say - in minutes.
There are a few simple reporting rules that your nonprofits
organization needs to follow, but they aren't complicated.
- Policy makers need your expertise. Few
institutions are closer to the real problems of people than nonprofits
and community groups. Every professional lobbyist will tell
you that personal stories are powerful tools for change. People
and policy makers can learn from your story.
- Lobbying helps people. Everything
that goes into a lobbying campaign - the research, the strategy
planning, the phone calls and visits - will help fulfill your
goal whether it be finding a cure for cancer, beautifying the
local park, or some other cause that helps people.
- The views of local nonprofits are important.
Because local governments often decide how to spend federal
and state money, local nonprofits have even more responsibility
to tell local policy makers what is needed and what will work.
Your lobbying can have an immediate, concrete impact on
people in need.
- Lobbying advances your cause and builds public
trust. Building public trust is essential to nonprofit
organizations and lobbying helps you to gain it by increasing
your organization's visibility. Just as raising funds and
recruiting volunteers are important to achieving your organization's
mission, so is lobbying.
Adapted from
"Ten Reasons to Lobby for Your Cause" from Center
for Lobbying in the Public Interest.
Questions? Comments?
Contact Josh Winters at josh@mncn.org
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