Our advocacy role involves a multifaceted blend of tasks, broadly falling into three key areas:
1. Advocacy and Influence:
- Monitoring legislative and regulatory developments: Staying on top of proposed legislation, regulations, and policies that could impact the organization's interests.
- Lobbying and advocating: Crafting and implementing strategies to influence government decisions, often through direct lobbying of lawmakers, presenting testimony at hearings, and building relationships with key officials.
- Grassroots engagement: Mobilize the AFA members and the local community to contact elected officials and express their views on policy issues.
2. Relationship Building and Communication:
- Building relationships with government officials: Cultivate strong relationships with lawmakers, regulators, and other government officials to promote the organization's interests and gain insights into government processes.
- Communicating with stakeholders: Keep the organization's leadership, employees, and members informed about relevant government developments and communicate the organization's position on policy issues.
- Media outreach: Work with the media to raise awareness of the organization's priorities and perspectives.
3. Strategic Planning and Analysis:
- Assessing the political landscape: Analyze the political landscape, including upcoming elections, public opinion trends, and shifts in political power, to inform the organization's government relations strategy.
- Developing policy positions: Work with internal stakeholders to develop the organization's stance on key policy issues.
- Measuring success: Track the organization's progress in achieving its government relations goals and evaluate the effectiveness of its strategies.
This may be a role some people are uncomfortable with, or think one person can't make a difference, but by shifting your perspective (focusing on impact, thinking cumulatively, embracing one’s unique contribution) and taking action (starting small and local, connecting with others, and celebrating with others) reinforces one’s sense of agency and fuels continued action.
In short, advocacy through government and community relations is important. "Your voice matters. Use it – as Together, we can make a difference."