It is important to
keep those responsible for arts appropriations informed and included
in the effect of arts funding in their districts.
· Send a poster
of any arts event, past or present, to your elected official.
· Send elected officials your
calendar of events.
· Put elected officials on
your mailing list. Invite them to opening nights by sending a
personalized letter. If you are holding a benefit, ask them to attend
as your guest. Be sure they understand that they are being invited as
your guest and are not being asked to pay.
· Invite elected officials to
give out grants (DEC, United Arts Funds, County grants) at special
events…invite them to MC programs or give out awards. Put them on
stage. Recognize them as a special guest at a performance or exhibit.
· State officials send out
newsletters. Call their office and make sure your organization is on
their mailing list. If the newsletter contains information pertinent
to your audience and/or artists, call the representative and ask them
if you can reprint the article in your publications. Be sure to send
the elected official a copy with the reprint highlighted.
· Use letter-writing
campaigns for all those involved in your cultural programming to send
messages to your elected officials. Audience members should send
letters on their personal stationery. Board members, corporate
representatives and foundations should send letters on their business
stationery. Keep the message simple and use a positive tone.
· Send a tear sheet from an
arts program you recently attended to your local official, thanking
him/her for making the event possible through NYSCA funding. Write
the note directly on the program or on a "post-it" note. There is no
need to write a special letter. Ask your audience and visitors to do
the same with your programs.
TIPS ON LETTER WRITING
· Be brief and
concise. A hand-written letter is fine. · Introduce yourself
(mention the county and town or city in which you live). · State
your reason for writing.
· Indicate the action you
want taken and explain how that action will specifically benefit you
and your community.
· Don't overlook any
opportunity to send personal congratulatory messages or thank you
notes for work an elected official has performed.
TIPS ON PHONE CALLS
· Write down the
points you wish to make and use these notes as a reference as the
phone conversation progresses.
· If the elected official is
unavailable, ask to speak with the aide who works on the issue you
want to discuss. Aides can often be extremely influential in the
legislative decision-making process.
· Introduce yourself and
mention the county and town or city in which you live, especially if
you live in the elected official's district.
· Be brief and concise. Limit
your call to one or two minutes. Preparing a loose script helps.
· State your reason for
calling, what action you wish taken, and what this action will
accomplish.
TIPS ON PERSONAL VISITS
· Call first to
make an appointment. Be punctual.
· Be specific, brief and to
the point.
· Ask the elected official or
aide what his or her position is and how they will vote.
· Give brief reasons why you
believe the elected official should adopt the position you are
recommending. To be most effective, the framework for these reasons
should be the legislator's own viewpoint, interests and concerns
(i.e. legislative committees on which they serve).
· State why your position
will benefit the elected official and his or her constituents.
· Leave the elected official
or aide with an issues-briefing paper, along with your business card.
· Follow up with a thank you
note in which you very briefly restate your position or request.
TIPS ON OP-ED PIECES OR LETTERS TO
THE EDITOR
Before writing your letter or
guest column, study the editorial pages published in the publication
over the preceding 3 or 4 months. Try to put yourself in the editor's
shoes. What do they like to publish; what are the biases of the
periodical; what are the interests? For your piece to get published,
you must have either something new to say or a unique perspective to
offer on something old.
· If possible,
visit with the editor(s) of your local publication(s) to discuss
writing an op-ed piece or to see if the paper wishes to write an
editorial on the issue you are concerned about.
· If you don't visit the
editor, do not hesitate to phone the publication to ask questions. In
any event, it is wise to make at least one phone call before mailing
your letter. Ask to speak to the editor assigned to handle letters.
Let him/her know that you will be submitting a letter. Use this phone
call to get acquainted with the editor; let him/her know who you are
and what your organization does in the community; to find out if
there are any special requirements for a letter; and to briefly
outline the issue you plan to address in your letter.
· Keep your piece short and
sharply focused on the issue you wish to discuss. Letters should be
no more than 450 words.
· Letters should be
individually addressed to the publication. Don't send form letters.
It is most desirable to address your letter to the person in charge
of letters to the editor. Look on the page of the publication
containing letters to the editor for the editor's name, or phone the
publication and ask for the name of the person to whom letters should
be sent.
· To be published, the
writer's handwritten signature, printed name, affiliation (if any),
street address and phone number must be included. The writer's
identity will be withheld only when requested and only under rare
circumstances.
· Carefully read the
editorial page of the publication for submission instructions and
other valuable information. Some publications limit the number of
published pieces by the same individual in a given period of time. If
you are the author of a letter to be published over someone else's
signature, check with the publication about their policy regarding
signatures. Many publications insist on an original signature of the
person whose name appears at the close of the letter.
...ON COMMUNICATING
The communication between you and
the elected official (and his/her staff) needs to be friendly and on
going. The most important words to remember are follow-up. If you
send a letter, follow it up with a phone call. If you meet with the
legislator, follow it up with a note.
HUMANIZE THE MESSAGE
Wherever possible, put a human
spin on the message. Talk about specific programs and include
anecdotal stories about how programs and public dollars affect real
human beings. There is nothing wrong with tugging at the
heartstrings. All of us lend a more sympathetic ear to examples of
real people.
GENERAL PROTOCOL IN ALL
COMMUNICATIONS WITH YOUR LEGISLATOR
· Be courteous
and friendly.
· Be reasonable. Remember
there are always two sides (or more) to any given issue. Reasonable
people can hold differing opinions. Having to pick one side or the
other is never easy.
· Politics is compromise. Be
firm and forceful, but realistic. Don't be too critical.
· Don't try to throw your
weight around or be intimidating. It doesn't work and it alienates
people.
· Remember tomorrow is
another day. We may lose this vote and win that one. The process is
ongoing.
· Don't scold, preach,
lecture or nit-pick.
· In response to a
legislator's questions to you, don't bluff. If you don't know the
answer, say so, and then go get the answer. · Be a good
listener. Give your elected official a meaningful opportunity to
state his/her position and explain why s/he may disagree with you.
You will have a better chance to address a legislator's objections to
increasing arts funding if you know exactly why s/he is opposed.
· Be appreciative-of the
legislator's time, schedule, difficult job in not being able to
please everyone. And particularly of the legislator's support. Take
the opportunity to say 'Thank you' whenever it arises.
IMPORTANT NOTE: One of the most
effective means for us to sway legislators to our side is to have
those legislators who do support us, lobby their brethren who do not.
Nothing is more effective than lobbying from one legislator to
another. Therefore, it is critically important that, as you continue
to engage in the advocacy process with a supportive legislator, you
enlist their aid in convincing their colleagues to come over to your
position. So the bottom line is that you must continually spend time
and energy with legislators who already support your position, so
that they can help you bring other members on board.