how to be an advocate without lobbying
Post on 14-Jun-2015
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How to be an Advocate without Lobbying
Beth Yoke, YALSA Executive Director
What We’ll Cover Today
• Defining terms: what is what
• Legal underpinnings• Political activity• Lobbying• Advocacy activities• Q&A / idea sharing
Terminology
Each of these is different, although often they’re mistakenly used as if they’re interchangeable:• Political activity• Lobbying• Advocating
Why Restrictions Exist
Tax status• Federal law limits what kinds of
government affairs activities a 501c3 organizations can dooAbsolutely no political campaigningoLimited lobbying (varies based on how
not-for-profits file for taxes)
Good brief overview: http://bit.ly/FRxaZg
Political Activity – never ok
Lobbying – some ok
• Asking an official to oppose or support a piece of legislation
• Any communication that refers to and reflects a view on a specific legislative proposal or bill
Actions whose purpose is to influence legislation
Ask your supervisor for policies or guidelines
Advocacy – always ok
• Communications with government officials or between organizations & their members that does not attempt to influence legislation
• Education• Providing expertise or technical assistance• Releasing data, research or survey results of
nonpartisan studies• Discussing broad policy issues (social,
economic, etc.)• Self defense
Types of Advocacy
Communicate
• Goal is to raise awareness & visibility
• Create a regular schedule: monthly messages are a good frequency
• Let library leaders, officials & policy makers know what’s going on
• Keep messages positive and respectful• Idea is to inform, not to complain
Discuss
• Take time to meet with policy makers and elected officials to talk about issues that are important to them & their voters, including:• Adolescent literacy• Internet safety• Workforce development / career prep• Digital literacy skills
Show how the library helps with these• Quarterly meetings are a good amount• Be positive & respectful• Bring a teen, parent or other advocate
Educate
• Officials aren’t aware of how the library helps the teens & their families in your community unless you & your advocates tell them or show them
• An official in-the-know can make informed decisions
• Other library staff would benefit from knowing teen services basics
Share Expertise
• Become a valuable resource• Ensure officials & policy
makers have the information they need to make informed decisions
• Show how library resources can be used to support their work
• Provide information and training to library coworkers• Create a culture where all
staff value teen services
Build Relationships
• Most time-consuming part of advocacy
• Can have the biggest results• If a positive working relationship
is in place, a level of trust comes with it• The outcome is that it’s easier
to discuss difficult issues & reach compromises
Be Visible
• Who:– You, your teen space– Your teen patrons & their
parents• When: as often as possible• How:
– In person– Online
• Why: the squeaky wheel gets the grease
Resources
• Free toolkit• Free webinar• Canned presentation• Downloadable handouts• Tip sheets• Wiki page for adding & sharing content
www.ala.org/yalsa/advocacy
Questions? Comments? Ideas?
• What haven’t we covered?
• What would you like to know in more detail?
• What ideas or comments do you want to share?
Contact
Beth Yokebyoke@ala.org312.280.4391LinkedIn: http://linkd.in/AmcIGu
YALSAEmail: yalsa@ala.orgFacebook: www.facebook.com/yalsaPhone: 312.280.4390Twitter: @yalsa
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