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Tips for Effective Activism
Letter, Fax, Phone, or Email?
Write a powerful letter
Participate in public hearings and community meetings
Meeting with elected officials
Letter, Fax, Phone, or Email?
A typed or handwritten letter carries the most weight with any recipient. You can copy (and paste into your word-processing program) any of our pre-written, customizable messages. U.S. mail addresses for elected officials can be found on our Get Connected page.
Most of your messages can be sent via fax. However, for certain issues or in cases where you cannot find a fax number for the intended recipient of a message, send your message by email instead.
A telephone call shows that you care enough to spend a little money, and if you can actually speak with the recipient, phone conversations offer unparalleled opportunity for feedback. For each Take Action item, along with the customizable message, we also offer you the intended recipient's phone number should you wish to follow up your message with a phone call.
Emails require less commitment from the sender. Recipients, of course, have this in mind when they read emails. However, the convenience - not to mention the potential to mobilize hundreds or even thousands of messages - makes email an indispensable tool in the activist's arsenal.
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Write a powerful letter
See our tips on how to write a powerful letter.
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Participate in public hearings and community meetings
Public hearings provide an opportunity for public comments on a particular project or vote. This kind of community involvement can make a strong statement.
Some tips:
Time is limited at public hearings, so arrive early to sign up for a slot to speak.
When you speak, focus on your main points. You will often be able to submit written statements which will allow you to address additional concerns.
Be polite and respect other community members' ideas. A hearing is a forum for the exchange of ideas, not a neighborhood contest.
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Meeting with elected officials
Meeting with elected officials in person is an opportunity to make personal contact with decision-makers and convey your position in a persuasive and animated manner. A lobby visit allows you to tell your Senator or Representative what you think about a certain issue or bill and ask her/him to take positive action.
Here are some suggestions for a successful lobby visit:
Before the Meeting
Request a meeting in writing with specific times and dates. Follow up with a call to the scheduler or secretary to confim the meeting.
Make sure to convey what issue or bill you would like to discuss.
Decide on talking points to express your most important ideas.
Set a goal for the meeting. Do you want the Representative to vote for or against a bill or introduce legislation?
During the Meeting
Be prompt.
Keep it short and stick to your talking points.
Take the time to thank the elected official for past votes in support of your issues.
Provide personal and local examples of the impact of the legislation.
Be honest and don't claim to know more than you do about an issue. You don't have to be the expert, just a committed and active constituent.
Set a deadline or timeline for response.
After the Meeting
Write a thank you letter to the legislator.
Send any materials and information you offered.
Follow up on deadlines and if they are not met, set up others. Be persistent.
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Reproduced with permission of Sierra Club Copyright 2007 Sierra Club. All Rights Reserved.
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