National Alliance to End Homelessness

Advocacy Resource | February 2, 2011

Files: PDF | 4.72 MB | 8 pages

Successful advocacy and lobbying efforts depend upon establishing a strong relationship with your elected officials. When congressional offices trust your organization and know that you are a credible and reliable partner, they will be more likely to respond positively to your advocacy requests.

Developing this kind of relationship takes time. To make the most of that time, you should map out a strategy for your advocacy efforts. This section of the toolkit offers some suggestions for doing so.

This toolkit covers important strategies for successful advocacy, including:

• Making advocacy a priority;
• Prioritizing key issues and targets;
• Developing strategic partnerships; and
• Choosing an "approach" to your asks.

It also explores key steps in creating a year-long strategic advocacy plan, including:

• Setting goals and objectives;
• Choosing strategies;
• Building internal capacity to advocate; and
• Assigning a timeline.

In addition to several helpful tips and a list of five key steps for success, this toolkit also includes:

• Example Goals and Objectives Chart (editable); and
• Example Timeline (editable).

Click here to return to the complete Advocacy Toolkit.