To help legal professionals make a genuine impact in Washington, the Governmental Affairs Office has designed an all new ABA Grassroots Action Center with the single focus of connecting you directly with your elected officials.
Some people ask if grassroots advocacy really works, and the answer is definitely yes. When congressional leaders were polled during a 2015 survey by the Congressional Management Foundation on the most influential ways of communicating, eight of the top ten ways involved hearing directly from constituents like you. A visit from a lobbyist was not even in the top five. That is why the ABA Governmental Affairs Office redesigned its Grassroots Action Center with information to quickly bring you up to speed on legislative developments involving ABA policy issues, give you assets like infographics and talking points to add your voice to the ABA’s on these issues, and provide online tools so you can speak with your elected officials on your schedule.
The new ABA Grassroots Action Center is designed for advocates of all levels. If you have never advocated on issues before, we have compiled some tutorials, tips, and best practices to get you in the discussion. For the more experienced advocates, we have additional assets like in-depth research, talking points, one-pagers, and more to take your advocacy to the next level.
We also have several tools that enable you to communicate directly with your elected officials without having to leave the site. Send pre-drafted emails on current ABA priority issues that are guaranteed to make it through congressional firewalls. Edit those emails with your own perspectives and experiences for a greater impact. Want to take it a step further? Use our patch-through call option to get a brief script before being connected over the phone with your congressional offices. See our social media center for even more ways to reach out and access images we have created for your use.
As part of this grassroots relaunch, we are also revamping our monthly newsletter, The Washington Letter. We will continue to provide legislative and governmental updates on policy developments of interest to the legal profession, but we are adding other relevant content and clear action items to help you amplify the ABA’s message in Washington. For example, we are including a monthly legislative research tip provided by our ABA librarian, Jill Sandor, and featuring an advocate spotlight to recognize some of the great work our ABA members are doing around the country.
This is all part of an effort to help ABA members have their voices heard as part of the ABA’s grassroots effort. Our Congress is increasingly listening to constituents like you, and we want to give you the tools and the knowledge to join the conversation. After all, 52% of Senators and 37% of Representatives come from a legal education. They want to hear from you; that is who they were elected to represent. The ABA needs you to help the association on priority issues so we can be heard above the noise and have an even greater impact in Washington. Check out the new ABA Grassroots Action Center at ambar.org/grassroots and see how you can make a meaningful difference in under five minutes.
Follow us at on Twitter @ABAGrassroots for further developments.