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Government Relations: GROW - Government Advocacy

PMA Grassroots Employer Toolkit -Making it Easy to GROW Your Advocacy Efforts!

Do you ever wonder why your communications to government officials sometimes fall on deaf ears?

Do you want to know (and be able to utilize) the number one most effective weapon in the advocacy arsenal?

If you can answer yes to all these questions, this online toolkit is for you.

The Most Effective Weapon in the Advocacy Arsenal is... Your Employees!

The people that undertake the day-to-day operations of your business are critical to any grassroots advocacy effort. Why? Because these are the individuals that most elected officials will pay the most attention to. Real, live people and their real, live hopes and fears have a tremendous impact on legislators at all levels.

That's why it's essential that PMA members and industry leaders do all they can to get employees involved in PMA's advocacy efforts - and that's why we've tried to make it as easy as possible for you with this toolkit. Use the following links for basic introductory information and to familiarize yourself with the toolkit.

• What's Covered in Each Section
• Ten Principles for Advocacy Leadership
• Why Employees Should be Involved
• Key Organizational Components

Once you've reviewed the toolkit resources, be sure to read these informative PDF articles on effective advocacy to further enhance your employee grassroots program.

• Effective Communication 101: Great for beginners and old pros alike, this article covers the basics of communicating with elected officials.
• Effective Meetings: This article provides a detailed explanation of how to prepare for a meeting, what to expect in the meeting and how to follow-up after the meeting. It also includes tips from Congressional staffers.
• Effective Site Visits: Discover the key things to know about who to invite, what to show and how to deal with logistics in this article.
• Advocacy Checklist: Need something to help you organize your advocacy plans? This checklist helps you stay on the right track as it guides you through researching your elected officials, deciding which form of communication to use and developing your message.
• Grassroots Campaigns: Having a grassroots component in you advocacy plan is always a good idea, but how do you make it happen? Learn how focusing on the advocates, issues, venues, and organization will help you make an impact on your elected officials.
• Top 10 Things Elected Officials and Staff HATE to Hear: An informative and amusing list of the things not to do or say when working with policy makers.