If your association has decided to have an advocacy day, you're probably wondering where to start. Sending advocates to visit Congress or their state legislature can be a daunting task, from getting the meetings scheduled to making sure your advocates can effectively deliver your message.

Here are a few tips to help improve your advocacy days:

1. Have a clear message. The decision to have an advocacy day usually comes from some legislative activity that is important to your association. But you need to be clear about the purpose of your event. What is the ask? Do you want support for a bill, increased funding for a program? It's acceptable to have "meet and greet" advocacy days, where your group comes in and says, "this is who we are and this is what we do," but you can do that only once. If there is nothing in particular that you want from legislators, why have advocacy days?

2. Hit your targets. Because time is limited during advocacy days, you want to make sure that your legislative targets are covered. Find out which legislators sit on the committees that are in charge of your issue and make them the priorities. That means making sure that constituents from their districts are in attendance. If you see holes in your targets, go through your membership roster and find people from those districts and invite them to your advocacy days. Your database cannot do this for you. You have to pick up the phone and ask. It's amazing what people will do if you just ask.

3. Be flexible. When scheduling meetings for advocacy days, remember that it is not like scheduling a meeting with the dentist. Legislators are busy and your events may be planned for days when members are in special hearings or committee meetings or when they aren't in session until late in the day. Don't fill your advocacy day with luncheons or special speakers. That will make it difficult for you to say yes when you're offered a meeting at the only time the legislator is available. As part of remaining flexible, your advocates need to be available from early morning to early evening. Make sure they aren't planning to leave early or arrive late.

4. Train your advocates. When it's all over, advocacy days are only as good as the training. Your advocates don't need to know the history of the bill or how a bill becomes a law, but they need the background on your ask so that they can be confident in their discussions with legislative offices. Some statistics and financial figures are helpful, but don't weigh your advocates down with information that they don't really need. During the training portion of your advocacy days, it's crucial to show your advocates how to connect the data and their stories to the ask. Many associations use a demonstration, some use role play, but before you send them on meetings, make sure they know what the ask is and how to get to it.

For more information about successful advocacy days and other programs to maximize the potential of your grassroots networks, visit http://SoapboxConsulting.com

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