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Speaker Series - Los Angeles, CA (May 28, 2010)
California's Health Care Funding in Critical Condition: How to Lobby Government Officials and Advocate for the Health of Your Constituents
On May 28, 2010, Alliance for Justice, in partnership with California Partnership, Health Access and the Health Justice Network (a project of the Asian Pacific American Legal Center), hosted a training for nonprofits on strategies to lobby government officials and advocate for the health of their constituents. This event brought together a diverse group of nonprofits – ranging from members of the Asian Pacific Islander and the LGBT communities, as well as more traditional health advocacy organizations and labor unions.
Participants shared stories about how the Governor’s revised budget would impact nonprofit organizations and their constituents, learned more about the budget process and opportunities to advocate for policy change at the various stages of the budget, heard tips on how to talk about the proposed health care cuts in a way that may resonate with legislators, played a strategy game to analyze what advocacy activities an organization would want to utilize to ensure the budget reflects the needs of their constituents, and heard how the law actually encourages nonprofits to advocate for policy change.
Some practical tips our presenters and attendees shared during this event included: 
· The issues nonprofits face in responding to the Governor’s May revised budget are varied – ranging from nonprofits that are coping with the compounding effects from budget cuts to their programs year after year, to concerns over how the national health care reform proposals will play out during this year’s budget negotiations;
· All nonprofits have a role to play in lobbying on the budget – regardless of how big or small the nonprofit is;
· Nonprofits should consider their existing resources and skills when planning an advocacy strategy. For example, if an organization can only get people to send in 50 letters to legislators, that nonprofit might want to make 50 posters instead since these posters might send a better message;
· We need to think creatively when planning advocacy campaigns and find ways to help our constituents speak for themselves through case studies and human interest stories;
· The budget is a year-round process and there are a variety of advocacy strategies nonprofits can utilize throughout the year.
Alliance for Justice’s West Coast Office will continue to support the advocacy efforts of nonprofits in California around the budget and to ensure we all have a voice in the policy process.
Additional Resources on How to Lobby the Legislature |
