Transcript State Chapter Training Webinar - Secular Coalition for America

State
Training
Webinar
Agenda and Presenters
Building State Coalitions
Edwina Rogers, Executive Director
State Website Management
Loren Vandergrift, Webmaster
Effective Lobbying
Kelly Damerow, Director of Federal
and State Affairs
7:00 – 7:15pm ET
10 minutes presentation
5 minutes Q&A
7:15 – 7:30pm ET
10 minutes presentation
5 minutes Q&A
7:30 – 8:00pm ET
20 minutes presentation
10 minutes Q&A
Media & Communications
8:00 – 8:30pm ET
Development & Fundraising
8:30 – 9:00pm ET
Lauren Anderson Youngblood,
Communications Manager
Aisha Goss, Deputy Director
20 minutes presentation
10 minutes Q&A
20 minutes presentation
10 minutes Q&A
Keystone Subject Areas
Health & Safety
Education
Discrimination
Tax Policy
Government Actions
Military
Health and Safety
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Abortion
SmartRecovery
Adoption
Conscience clause
Death with dignity
Stem cells research
Contraception mandate
Medical neglect exemptions
Child care center regulation exemptions
Child abuse reporting exemption for clergy
Vaccination exemptions
Education
Vouchers to religious school
Secular student groups
Religiously motivated bullying
Teaching evolution, not
creationism
• Sex education
• School prayer
• Pledge of allegiance
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Discrimination
• Same-sex marriage
• Faith-based initiatives
• Employment discrimination
exemptions
• Housing discrimination
exemptions
• Grants to religious charities
• Prisoner discrimination
• Boy scouts
Tax Policy
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Religious privileging in the tax code
Automatic exemption status
Financial disclosures (990’s)
Church Audit Procedures Act
Politicking from the pulpit
Parsonage exemption
Military
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Chaplain reform
Humanist identity
Non-proselytism
Acceptance of
nontheists
Government Actions
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National day of prayer
“In God We Trust”
Oaths of office
Legislative prayer
Prayer caucus
Federal funding to
build churches
Changing Demographics of
Religiously Unaffiliated
Changing Demographics of
Nonbelievers
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Secular Coalition Services
Your Government Watchdogs
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Your voice on Capitol Hill – The Secular Coalition is the sole full time 501c4 advocacy
organization representing nontheistic Americans at the federal level.
Legislation and Regulation Tracking – Alerts and updates on legislation that
attempts to privilege or insert religion into secular laws, at the state and federal level.
State Chapters – The Secular Coalition has functional chapters in 7 states and is in
the process of rolling out new chapters in every state across the country. State
chapters organize SCA-trained constituent lobbyists to combat troublesome
legislation at the state level.
Action Alerts – Calls to action on pertinent pieces of legislation at the state and
federal level, allowing supporters to contact their representatives swiftly.
Influencing with Decision Makers– Holding meetings with Capitol Hill and the
Administration advocating for our supporters and arranging for constituent lobbying
visits for our supporters.
Advocacy and Education
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Secular Summit and Lobby Day – An opportunity to show lawmakers that nontheistic
Americans are part of their constituency and advocate at the federal level for
inclusion and secular laws.
Trainings—The SCA offers lobbying and media training to state chapters and
provides continuing support as chapters grow.
Summits & Movement Calls – Hosting strategy meetings to discuss issues of concern
to the movement.
Research – Bolster your advocacy with our updated website collection of research
on secular issues.
Scorecards – Our election scorecards help you quickly identify where candidates
rate in their support of a secular government.
Secular Coalition Services
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Keeping You Updated
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Weekly Movement Update Calls & Agenda – Every Thursday at 12:00 pm ET, in depth
analysis on secular and related issues, including a rundown of all of SCA’s lobbying
efforts and the combined efforts of the entire movement.
Morning Read – A daily synopsis of the secular and related news of the day.
Secular News Daily – Affiliated news website offering secular news and updates from
SCA’s member organizations.
Weekly Wrap Up- Weekly newsletter with the most important information of the week
in an easy to digest format for the casual supporter.
Connecting to You and the Secular Movement
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Facilitating Movement Unity – the Secular Coalition plays an integral role in bringing
together the most powerful organizations in the secular and nontheistic movements
to work on shared goals and toward a common purpose.
Social Media – Connects supporters and movement organizations via social media
networks, keeping the community updated.
Communications – The Secular Coalition blogs, press releases and news updates
feature movement leaders including Herb Silverman, president emeritus of the
Secular Coalition and David Niose, president of the SCA.
Master Calendar—The only calendar featuring movement-wide events, holidays,
conferences and other secular events.
Speakers- the Secular Coalition speakers at events, conferences and other
movement-related events across the country.
New Exciting Initiatives— There’s always something new brewing at the SCA, such as
the Model Secular Policy Guide, written by experts for legislators, providing them with
accurate background, research, and model legislative language to use as a
resource when legislating on secular issues.
Secular Policy Guide
• With Co-Chairs Jacques Berlinerblau and Wendy
Kaminer
• Working with Academics, Policymakers, and
Advocates
• Providing Guidance to Policymakers On:
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Constitutional Framework
Health and Safety
Education
Discrimination
Military Discrimination
Tax Policy
International Policy
National Secular Movement Call
• White House &
Congress
• Secular Events
• Secular News
• United Nations
• Students
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Judicial Update
State Chapters
New Research
Coalition Expansion
Charity Work
Thursdays at Noon ET
Phone: 559-726-1300
Code: 199568
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SCA Coalitions
CARD – Coalition Against Religious Discrimination
NCPE – National Coalition for Public Education
Coalition for Responsible Sex Education
National Advisory Board – Watching religious
hospital mergers
• International Family Planning Coalition
• LCCR – Leadership Council on Civil and Human
Rights
• IRF – International Religious Freedom Roundtable
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State Coalitions
Benefits to Coalition Work
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Increased credibility
Maximized resources
Shared ideas
Mutual support
Strength in numbers
Types of Coalitions
• Common cause
o Developing and implementing a shared policy agenda
around a common cause
o Ex: respect for nonthesists, child welfare, human services,
the arts, etc.
• Specific Issue
o Coordinating efforts on a specific issue campaign
o Ex: contraception mandate, blasphemy laws, etc.
Working in Coalitions
• Clear purpose/mission
o To increase the visibility of and respect for
nontheistic viewpoints in the United States, and to
protect and strengthen the secular character of
our government as the best guarantee of freedom
for all.
• Include all stakeholders
o All groups that can endorse our mission
o Be sure to think beyond the “usual suspects.”
• Understand limits
o Not all coalition members will agree on everything
all the time, and that’s okay!
• Communicate
o Clear communication avoids missteps
o Conference calls
Building a Coalition
• Identify groups that support our mission
• Attend/speak at their meetings
• Get permission to list them on the website
• Partner with organizations, even only on a single
issue
• Bigger the coalition the better
Q&A
Please type your questions in the chat box
NEW State Website
Management
Secular State Purpose
• Built for state chapters to
share and promote state
activities with supporters,
press, & local government.
• As a community tool where
supporters can share and
discuss updates, strategy,
lobbying efforts in a single
place.
State Sites Overview
o About
o News
o Resources
• State and National
• Training Guides and Videos
o Key Issues
o Supporting Groups
o Events
• Physical and online
• Attendee Registration and communication
• Recordings of past calls
o Legislative Reports
o Community
Secular Community
• Tools for the a state chapter
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Posts
Polls
Documents
Questions
Wikis
Supporting Groups
Threaded conversation on all content
Following and Notification
Natural Promotion of Content.
Future integrations with Secular.org
This is just the beginning
Leadership Roles
• State leadership has the ability to add events,
pages, news and more.
• Further customization abilities coming with time
• To apply for leadership access you may do so at
http://states.secular.org/states/secular-stateleadership-application (must be logged in)
Getting Started
• Getting started guide will be available on all
state resource pages along with the posting of
this recording
Q&A
Please type your questions in the chat box
Effective Lobbying
• State lobbying Strategy
o Preparation
o Lobbying in Action- Legislation
o Lobbying in Action- Regulation
• The Lobby Visit
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Preparation
Requesting a Meeting
Day of the Meeting
The Meeting
Follow up
• Contacting your legislator
o Phone
o Letter
o Email
• Presenting Testimony
State Lobbying Strategy
Preparation
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Build a coalition
Grow your list of supporters
Gather and prepare resources
Build relationships with lawmakers
Fundraising
Monitor legislation and regulation
Opposition research
State Lobbying Strategy
Lobbying in Action
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Coordinate with your organization or coalition
Opposition research on this bill/amendment
Meet with legislators
Educate
Call to Action
The Lobby Visit
Lobby Visit
Preparation
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Know the facts
Know the history
Know the legislator
Prepare material
Lobby Visit
Requesting a Meeting
• Email or call the office
o Scheduler is the gate keeper!
• Have several dates and
times ready to offer
• Provide them with:
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Your name and contact info
Your organization
If you are a constituent
Specific bill or issue you want to
discuss
Day of the Meeting
Dress
Timing
Demeanor
Greeting
Information presentation
Decide who will be the
primary speaker
• Know with whom you are
meeting
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o Meetings with staffers are just as
important!
The Meeting
• Open with a thank you
• Introduce the Secular Coalition and
its mission
• Ask if they are familiar with terms like
“humanist,” “atheist,” or “secular”
• The reason why I wanted to meet
with you today…
• Share personal experiences
• Ask if they have any questions
• Thank them again
• Be professional and courteous
The mission of the
Secular Coalition
for America is to
increase the
visibility of and
respect for
nontheistic
viewpoints in the
United States, and
to protect and
strengthen the
secular character
of our government
as the best
guarantee of
freedom for all.
Follow Up
• Thank you note
o Nor more than two days later
o Email is acceptable
• Update if there is movement on your bill or issue
• Keep up the relationship
o Send any information you come across that they might find
relevant their way
o Become a resource they can rely on
Contacting Your Legislator
Phone Call
• Know what you want to say
before you call
• Write down a few talking
points
• If possible, know the number
and name of the bill before
you call
• Mention that you are a
constituent
• State your opinion clearly and
quickly.
• Be courteous; Thank the staff
member for his or her time
Contacting Your Legislator
Letter
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Show a connection
Make it personal
Keep it brief
Include a call to action
Be respectful
Be accurate and timely
Thank you
Give the Facts
Contacting Your Legislator
Email
• Similar to letter, but
keep it short!
• Subject line should
include the word
“constituent”
• If no response, follow
up a week later
Presenting Testimony
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Format
Presentation
Committee Preparation
Hostile questions
Q&A
Please type your questions in the chat box
Media &
Communications
• Press Releases
• Media Alerts
• Press Interviews
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Terms to Know
Preparation
What to Say
How to Say It
Tips
• Letters to the Editor
• Social Media
Media
Press Releases
• The best way to get out
an important
announcement.
• Is this newsworthy?
• How will people relate
and connect?
Media
Press Releases
• Relevance
• Timing
• Attention-getting
Media
Media Alerts
• When you need to get the
word out about an event
but a Press Release is too
much
• Description of Event
• Time, place, location
• Contact Info
Press Interviews
Terms to Know
• “On-the-Record Interviews”
• “Backgrounders”
• “Off the record”
Press Interviews
Preparation
• Know the official position
• Impact on the organization
• Stay away from attacking
one group
• Always be professional
• 7-10 second responses
• Make up an agenda
Press Interviews
What To Say
Share Website or contact information
Stay on message
Don’t get backed into a corner
If you do not like a question, reframe it
If you don’t know the answer to a question, be
upfront
• Once you have said what you want to say, stop
talking
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Press Interviews
How To Say It
• Speak in positive terms
• Do not repeat your opponent’s
terminology/phrasing
• Speak in terms of your values first and then your
positions
Press Interviews
Tips
Practice
End on a strong note
Thank interviewer for the opportunity
Ask for other’s contact information
Find out when and where interview will be
published
• Offer to give them more information when
needed
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Letters to the Editor
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Know the policy
Be timely
Stay on message
Get local & personal
Use your credentials
Follow up
Social Media
Wikis (Wikipedia and Philosopedia),
Blogs (Huffington Post, Friendly Atheist)
Micro blogs (Twitter)
Social networks (Facebook and MySpace)
Forums (Yahoo groups)
Review sites (where users write reviews, including
Amazon and the Internet Movie Database) Video
and photo-sharing sites (You Tube and Webshots)
• Social bookmarking or news sharing sites
(del.icio.us).
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Social Media
• How does my target
community receive or
consume news?
• Go where your
audience is
• Use the 1/3 rule.
Social Media
Top 10 Conversations to Listen in On
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Complaint
Compliment
Problem
Question or Inquiry
Crisis
Campaign Effect
Competitor
The Crowd
• Influencer
• Point of Need
Q&A
Please type your questions in the chat box
Fundraising
• Chapter fundraising
model
• Finding Donors
• Asking for Donations
Fundraising
• Without the support of our
donors, it would be
impossible for the Secular
Coalition for America to
exist!
• A robust base of support is
critical to our lobbying
efforts
Fundraising
Chapter Model
• Resources to help
• Growing the chapters across the country
• Benefits:
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Helping them helps you
Federal members of Congress start in the states
501(c)(4) advantages
Experts on the fundraising rules.
• Logistics:
o All collected donations directed to the Secular Coalition for America, or
being entered on secular.org.
o List your state chapter in memo section of checks or comments section on
the webpage
Fundraising
Finding Donors
• Reminders
• Encouraging supporters to
become donors
• Materials on hand
o Return envelopes
o Cash box
o Pledge Cards
Fundraising
Asking for Donations
• It’s ok to ASK!
o Some people can donate time and energy, others can
donate money
o People give because it feels good
o "Can you support the Secular Coalition for America by giving
$100?"
• After you ask, stop talking
• Peer-to-peer ask
o "I gave $500 to the SCA this year. That is a big commitment
for me. I don't know what a comparable gift would be for
you, but I hope you can support our work in that way."
• Concrete and thematic examples
• Always say thank you
Q&A
Please type your questions in the chat box
Thank you!
Copies of this power point and
the accompanying guides can be found at
secular.org/statechaptertraining
or in the “resources” section
of any state chapter page
Images courtesy of shutterstock