Building and maintaining strong relationships with Members of Congress is essential to achieving your advocacy goals. However, many advocates worry that their inability to travel to Washington, D.C. frequently, if at all, minimizes their impact on federal advocacy. However, federal advocacy starts at home, where Senators and Representatives are elected by their constituents. Engaging with Members of Congress in-district is not only more feasible logistically for most advocates, but also provides valuable opportunities to build meaningful relationships with Members and their staff.
This toolkit begins with the different ways you can engage with your Senator or Representative in-district followed by a step-by-step guide for how to meet with a Member of Congress, attend a town hall, plan a site visit, and write an editorial or letter to the editor. In this toolkit, you will find Coalition for Juvenile Justice (CJJ) advocacy priorities and briefing sheets to be used as leave-behinds for your Member. There are also helpful tips for effective advocacy throughout the toolkit. We hope this toolkit provides a foundation for in-district federal advocacy and serves as a building block for strong and meaningful relationships with your Members of Congress.
To access the full toolkit, click here.