The Resource Center for Disability Advocates | News & Articles | The Advocacy Guide E-Newsletter The Advocacy Guide March 2006 This e-newsletter is intended to provide useful information to both individuals and nonprofit organizations to help them more effectively achieve their mission and improve the lives of people with disabilities. Topics may include fundraising, grant writing, the start-up process, sensitivity training, financial management, technical assistance, independent living, strategic planning, organizational management and the legislative process. Reaching Your Legislator Tips for Successful Grant Writing Myths & Truths of Fundraising Running an Effective Meeting Reaching Your Legislator As a grassroots group or individual advocate, you are seeking change and want to connect with your lawmakers to establish results. According to www.grassroots-advocacy.com, an important skill for advocates is to learn how to effectively reach the elected representatives. Writing a letter to your legislator is a great way to establish what it is that you want. The key is to make it effective, so further action will be taken. According to www.grassroots-advocacy.com, here are some tips to writing an effective letter: In the introduction paragraph, identify yourself and establish if you are writing on behalf of yourself and/or other individuals. Explain the reasoning of the letter and refer to the specific legislation. Indicate a bill number and name. Define how the issue you are focusing on affects you or your organization directly. Be sure to use factual information with sources as much as possible. Confirm the action you want your legislator to take. Do you want him/her to vote a certain way on legislation, express the views or send you information? Remember to focus on one issue only. Keep the letter straight to the point and focused. If desired, request a meeting with the legislator and/or a staff member of the office, according to www.biami.org. For a professional look and to indicate the return address and telephone number, type or handwrite (legibly) your letter on personal or business stationery. After distribution of the letter, stay on top of the issue. If the legislator answers your request, send a thank you letter. Tips for Successful Grant Writing Successful grant writing has the power to make or break any organization's plans for a new project. It is important to always keep your goals in mind when writing grants and proposals. There are many organizations that have similar projects; therefore, they could easily compete for the money that will fund the project. How do these organizations come up with successful grant proposals? According to the Harvard Graduate School of Education, here are a few tips to help any organization with writing grants: Evaluate your plan or program to be sure it has clear goals and objectives as well as whether or not it is reasonable and justified in its purposes. Know who reads your proposal to determine the proper language and format to be used. Follow specific instructions for format and presentation of the grant proposal. Pay attention to grammatical errors and follow proper writing techniques. Be clear in your request as to what exactly you need and what it will be used for; who it will benefit and any other important details. Accurately budget your project costs. Allow sufficient time for review of the final proposal before turning it in. Do not wait for the final deadline to turn it in. Avoid using negative statements in the proposal. If there are changes or other issues that must be addressed in the proposal, be sure to focus on their solutions. Submit the proposal to multiple funding sources. By submitting it to more than one, you are increasing your chances to receive approval in a timely fashion. Myths & Truths of Fundraising According to Tony Poderis of Raise-Funds.com, fundraising is often viewed in a negative manner. Most do not like being turned down and are therefore very hesitant to even try fundraising. If an organization looks at fundraising in a positive light, their efforts may be rewarded. Below are some myths that may bring down confidence as well as some very true facts that will surely benefit any organization. Myths: Fundraising is impossible. If you are going to raise money, you have to have a strong background in success. It is common knowledge that corporations and foundations give most of the money. Truths: Organizations must earn support. Successful fundraising is hard work, even for those people who are well prepared. Fundraising is not raising money; it's developing relationships. Organizations do not raise money by begging for it. Money is raised by informing people of the organization and creating excitement about the project and/or organization. People do not just give money away; they have to be asked for it. There is never the perfect moment to ask for money, ask NOW! Fundraising takes time, patience and planning to be successful. Running an Effective Meeting According to www.managementhelp.org, meetings are a crucial part of any organization. They allow the organization to plan, make decisions and ensure daily tasks are being carried through. To ensure that your meetings are the most effective, here are some tips: Before the meeting: Determine the purpose of the meeting. Does the meeting need to occur or are there more appropriate ways to accomplish your goals? Decide who should attend the meeting. Make sure all appropriate employees will be present at the meeting. If necessary, plan the meeting to accommodate the most critical members' attendance. Create an agenda and distribute it with any other pre-meeting informational materials. Allowing participants to know what will be discussed and giving them the resources prior to the meeting will allow them to be more educated, and in turn make the meeting more effective. During the meeting: Start and end on time. Designate a person to take notes. Encourage all members to participate because their input is valuable to accomplishing all goals of the meeting. Review the decisions made in the meeting. At the end of the meeting, allow time for a meeting evaluation. This will provide an opportunity for employees to make suggestions and solutions to making future meetings the most effective. After the meeting: Send the minutes of the meeting to all participants within 24 hours so proper action may occur. Hold a follow-up meeting to discuss any and all results that have occurred since the meeting. If you need additional information on any of these topics, please contact: The Resource Center for Disability Advocates Provided by Independent Living Consultant Services 207 House Avenue, Suite 107, Camp Hill, PA 17011-2308 Local (717) 731-1900 (717) 737-1335 (TTY) Toll Free (800) 323-6060 (800) 829-7404 (TTY) This program is funded in part through the Pennsylvania Developmental Disabilities Council.