Targeting the Grass Tops

Communicating with Policymakers, Editors & Funders

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Our Goal for This Session

• Breakdown Approaches to Gatekeepers.

• Discuss Specific Strategies for Communicating with Key Influential Audiences.• Policymakers• Editors• Funders

• Do’s and Don’ts for Each Strategy.

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Legislators and Policymakers

• Control state budgets.• Set education priorities.• Represent voters in state

and/or district.• Often swayed by:

• Local Media.• Pressure from

constituents.• Lobbying.• Business leaders.

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• Summarize critical goals clearly and concisely.• Remember the KISS principle! • Find out as much as you can about the

individuals/groups you are dealing with.• Put yourself in your audience’s shoes.• Don’t use jargon.• Tell them what role they can play.

Rules of Public Engagement

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Connecting withLocal Policymakers

• Can you identify someone who can open the door?

• Have they been on the hot seat over certain things?

• What do you know about their personal biographies?• Children? Family?

• How is your issue relevant to their priorities?

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Learn Their Backgrounds

Do your homework:• Know the district they represent (state or local).

Find local stats on adult ed., higher ed. and labor.• What are their priorities? • What pieces of legislation are they sponsoring? • On which committees do they serve? • Where is their bases of support?• Know where each legislator is relative to his/her

election cycle.

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How to Engage Them

• Arrange for meetings throughout the year.

• Know the key dates of the legislative cycle.• When does the session

start and end? • By when must legislation

be introduced? • What is the

appropriations cycle?

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Tactics That Work

• Invite policymakers to see your work for themselves – allow them to visit a campus in their off-season, invite them to teach a class.

• Invite adult students to meet with policymakers at the state capitol.

• Use second-party endorsements. Legislators are far more likely to listen to a business leader or a trustee they consider a peer.

• Get to know the staff who can be invaluable allies and they usually need good objective information to do their jobs successfully. Useful staff includes: fiscal analysts, committee staff, and Senate / House secretaries.

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Framing Your Message to Policymakers

• Don’t focus on internal needs and priorities.

• Do frame your message in terms of how your request will address a pressing state or local priority need.

• Communicate the ROI – return on investment.

• State the request in terms of specific measurable outcomes that will result from the investment.

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Policymaker Protocol

Do:• Refer to legislators by their title.• Let them finish their, often long-

winded, questions.• Understand the legislative

process.• Thank them for what they’re

already done.

Don’t:• Approach a legislator regarding

the wrong committee. Understand differences between committee roles and responsibilities.

• Overtly make your case by being critical of four-year institutions. If you must compare to make your point, provide the data and let them draw the conclusions.

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Policymakers - The Do’s

• Think carefully about timing and draw attention to urgency.

• Thank them for meeting and follow up, whether you felt it went well or not.

• Bring relevant materials including brief data points and stories.

• Be prepared for tough questions.• Acknowledge concerns, whether you believe they are

valid or not. • Try to getting the points across that you were hoping to –

regardless of the questions being asked.• Whenever possible, use students to tell your story.

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Policymakers - The Don’ts

• Ever mislead, give information that proves to be wrong or that may make him/her look bad!

• Assume anything is dead or over, until it is really over.• Take losses personally.• Deal in hypothetical situations or set up straw men.• Imply that an issue is none of their business.• Provide answers to questions that were not asked.• Provide tomes of research or information.• Get defensive or interrupt.

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Editors

• Reach policymakers, advocates, opinion leaders and other influentials.

• Sway public opinion.• Prize independence and

journalistic integrity.• Often swayed by:

• Current Events/News.• Personal Stories.• Specific Expertise.

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Background

• Pay careful attention to what newspaper is covering and commenting on.

• What is of interest to the editorial board given past commentary?

• Determine whether or not the issue has been commented on “sufficiently” in the paper’s estimation.

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Tactics That Work

Editorial Board Meetings:• Issue is statewide, has

broad reach, involves significant legislative action or public funding implications.

• Your team has specific expertise to bring to the table.

• Diverse support, time and energy to commit to preparing.

Editorial Outreach – Memo:• When issue and/or

outlet is smaller.• Availability is

problematic.• Paper can approach

issue without your specific expertise.

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Editorial Board Meetings:The Basics

• Face to face meeting.• Editor(s), editorial writers and news reporters.• Typically one hour.• Go in well prepared.• Bring a diverse, expert team.• Have messages ready, but be prepared for

broad discussion.

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Editorial Boards – Do’s and Don’ts

Do:• Request meetings in writing

and follow up by phone.• Make yourselves available for

further information.• Provide brief key facts and

direct to quality sources of information.

• Invite them to weigh in, editorialize on the topic.

• Remind them of recent coverage on their own news pages.

Don’t:• Use time to refer to background

materials.• Ask them when they will write• Inquire about their personal

opinions.• Thank them for or solicit their

“help”.• Ignore how news cycle is

covering the issue.• Scold them for staying out of

the debate.• Assume a letter or email is

sufficient – pick up the phone!

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Editorial Memos: The Basics

• Sent to editorial writers and columnists.• Tells why they should comment on the issue.• Provides brief analysis.• Direct them to experts.• Send data reports, links, etc. • Timing is important.

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Acknowledging Media

• Remember there is no quid pro quo.• Do thank them for their important comment and attention

but not for “help” or “support”.• If coverage is favorable, make central to your broader

communications effort:• Send proactively to policymakers, funders,

supporters, insiders.• If coverage is unfavorable, do not spread it, but:

• Be prepared to explain as best you can to your stakeholders.

• Consider writing to correct facts or misimpressions.

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Funders

• Governed by funding priorities set out by boards.

• Often have deep expertise in funding areas.

• Often swayed by:• Local media.• Boards and

connections.• Proposals and reports.• Other philanthropies.

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Background

Do your homework:• Know what the

organization’s funding priorities are.

• Know who they have made grants to in the past, who are active grantees.

• Learn their funding cycles and their process for making proposals.

• Read their organization's 990 for a sense of their giving capacity.

• Be bold in your ask but stay within capacity.

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Tactics That Work

• Leverage existing connections including other influentials who serve on boards.

• Arrange meetings and invite target local funders to view classes, meet with faculty, etc.

• Arm yourself with data on sustainability, long-term potential, community improvement.

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Framing Your Message to Funders

• Communicate concrete goals and priorities.

• Focus on long-term benefits rather than needs or short-term deficits.

• Frame your message in terms of how your request will address organization’s funding priority.

• Talk about how they can leverage their investments.

• Communicate the ROI.

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Tips for Proposals

• Regardless of the depth of the connection, funders often will require a proposal. Ensure that you follow instructions to the letter.

• Assume document will be passed on to many, so outline goals as if communicating to a stranger.

• Break down goals into aggressive, yet achievable tactics.

• Frame work in terms of funding priorities.• Follow-up as requested.

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Funders Do’s and Don’ts

Do: • Provide data points and

stories they can use to sway their boards.

• Know if they are accepting new applications.

• Discuss benchmarks and measurable outcomes.

• Show your experience in the subjects.

• Follow all instructions and requirements.

Don’t:• Miss deadlines or submit

the day of the deadline.• Cut-and-paste proposals.• Send proposals out

unsolicited or to funders without researching their priorities/guidelines.

• Forget that “by invitation” means that.