NCRA is committed to serving you! Our primary objective is to protect the court reporting profession. Ultimately, however, protecting your livelihood depends on each one of you individually. You are the real troops and it is your efforts that are the key to our success. Show
Visit and join the NCRA Advocacy Action Center to get started!Join the NCRA Advocacy Action Center to stay up to date on the most pertinent issues affecting the industry and receive important alerts on legislation, petitions, and more! What is grassroots lobbying?Grassroots lobbying is simply citizen participation in government. The key to successful grassroots lobbying efforts is assembling people who share common goals and concerns. Grassroots communications are vital in educating legislators to the concerns of the voting population in their state. If you do not share your views with your representative, then your views will not be considered by your state representative when he votes on an issue which affects you. You can make a difference by simply writing, calling, meeting, or faxing your representative! Why should you utilize grassroots lobbying?Grassroots efforts are our best weapon to protect you because it ensures that we will successfully reach and influence every member of Congress. In the past, political decisions were primarily made in Washington, D.C. Today, more politicians are focusing more on what is being said by the local communities and the people. As former Speaker of the House Tip O’Neill stated, "All politics is local." It is incumbent on every court reporter to let your elected officials know your concerns. It is also your duty to educate your elected officials on how any proposed legislation will affect the court reporting profession. The time to act is now--not after legislation has passed that could adversely affect court reporters! Remember, if an issue doesn’t have constituent support, the Member might ignore it. Why does grassroots lobbying work?As a voter, you have the most powerful tool available on Capitol Hill, your vote. You have the ability to hold each representative accountable to you as a constituent. Without hearing from you, your legislator does not know what is important to you as a court reporter. Your recommendation may be the deciding factor in a member’s decision to vote for or against a bill. You make a difference! How to get started?Get started by visiting the NCRA Advocacy Action Center or by contacting NCRA's Government Relations Department at and get assistance organizing your grassroots campaign. Take a few minutes out of your schedule to protect your profession. Remember, if you don’t take action who will?
“Vox populi, vox Dei” or “the voice of the people is the voice of God.” The phrase alludes to the power of majority opinion and how it can be hard to ignore. Leveraging that voice to bring about necessary change is the essence of grassroots lobbying. Grassroots lobbying refers to any attempt by an individual or organization to influence legislation through public opinion. Direct vs. Indirect (grassroots) lobbyingThe IRS describes the two variants of lobbying: Direct Lobbying is “any attempt to influence legislation through communication with any member of a legislative body (i.e., a Congressman or Senator) or any government official or employee who may participate in the formulation of legislation.” Communication is considered lobbying when it specifies a certain piece of legislation and expresses a view on the legislation. Grassroots lobbying is “the attempt to influence legislation through attempts to affect the opinions of the general public.” Similar to direct lobbying, it must specify a piece of legislation and express a view on it. Additionally, it must also “encourage the recipients” of the communication to take action with respect to that legislation.
Related Reading: Grasstops vs. Grassroots and Why You Should Combine Both Who organizes a grassroots lobbying effort?Grassroots lobbying can be undertaken by 501(c)3 nonprofit organizations, companies, trade unions, advocacy groups, interest groups, and grassroots lobbyists. Note: Who is a grassroots lobbyist? 501(c)(3) organizationsCause-based nonprofits can participate in grassroots lobbying by asking constituents and supporters to write to or call lawmakers. They do so by:
Note: By opting for a 501(h)
election, nonprofits can have a better idea of their rights and limits when it comes to legislative lobbying activities, rather than the vague rule of “no substantial part of their activities”. BusinessesGrassroots lobbying can be used readily by businesses that have a large public presence, or those that deal with taxation, government appropriations, and economic development. While generally being experts in direct lobbying, if corporate interests behind an issue match the public interest, they will find it easier to gather support for their campaigns. 501(c)(4) advocacy groupsSocial welfare groups have more room to engage in direct and grassroots lobbying. For example, Labour unions that fall under 501(c)(4) status, may leverage their members to stage sit-ins and protests to persuade lawmakers to avoid cutting funding for certain programs in the budget. While undertaking grassroots lobbying, advocacy groups must note the following:
Note: Public/government agencies are barred from using public funds for grassroots lobbying, in a similar way that they are prohibited from using public funds to influence voters in an election. Private groups can do this—public agencies cannot. The benefits of grassroots lobbyingShowing that there is popular support behind a particular issue is one way to convince lawmakers to take action. That is where grassroots lobbying is more useful in comparison to direct lobbying. Related reading>> Political lobbying strategies and techniques Grassroots lobbying can also help by:
How is it done?Communicate with supporters and ask them to:
You can do that through the following channels: Traditional media:That means TV, radio, and newspapers. Use these spaces to encourage public action on legislative issues. Tips:
Use email if you have a list of supporters that you can segment and send targeted messages to: Tips:
Phone callsYou can use phone calls to educate supporters and connect them with lawmakers (through patch through calling) Tips:
National Equality Action Team or NEAT, an advocacy group focused on LGBTQ+ issues used patch-through calling campaigns to reach out to supporters and connect them to their local elected officials to express their stance on equal rights for the LGBTQ+ community. Text messagesTexts are a convenient way of spreading the word among your supporter list. 95% of millennials send messages daily, so if you’re reaching out to supporters in that bracket, this is the ideal channel. Tips:
Read Next: Text Messaging for Advocacy (501(c)(4) Nonprofit Organizations. Because of its capacity to broadcast a message to a supporter base, social media is a powerful tool for grassroots advocacy lobbying. The most prominent advantages of social media advertising are:
Read Next: Top Grassroots Activism Methods for Your Next Protest (With Real Examples!) Levels of grassroots lobbyingEvery state, city, and county has its own lobbying laws. This can be a difficult maze for organizations to navigate. Here’s a brief distinction between different levels of grassroots lobbying and what they involve: LocalLocal lobbying involves tackling more “on the ground” issues, rather than issues of policy. For instance, whether a grant should be given to X or Y, or whether a particular kind of development or business should be allowed in the town. Municipalities may require that organizations that plan to lobby at a local level maintain and file lobbying reports. Organizations and individuals should check with city clerks about local lobbying restrictions and requirements. StateKnowing the makeup of a state legislature can help you run targeted grassroots campaigns. The positions of authority within a state legislature include the:
Lobbying laws and what constitutes lobbying can vary across states. This includes whether grassroots lobbying comes under the laws for each state. Here’s how each state defines lobbying: FederalGrassroots lobbying at this level is done to influence lawmakers in the House of Representatives and Senate, as well as members of the Executive branch of government. Unlike at the state level, federal law does not mandate the disclosure of grassroots lobbying (under the Federal Lobbying Disclosure Act). That means grassroots lobbying that aims to influence federal policy does not have to be reported in states. Note: Under the Tax Code, for a 501(c)(3) nonprofit no more than 25% of lobbying expenses can be for grassroots lobbying activities, at the federal level. Stages of grassroots lobbyingResearching and assessing current resourcesEffective grassroots lobbying is built on a foundation of research. At the beginning of your campaign, identify the right advocates for your cause, the most persuasive points to put across to decision-makers, and the most impactful tactics you can use to gather support. Here are some things to consider at this stage:
Note: How does a bill become a law? Targeting legislators and alliesTargeting is about allocating the grassroots power you have to the lawmakers you need to influence. Work with your board and key staff members to understand which legislators and elected officials you need to focus on persuading, and finding the key supporter groups that can influence these legislators. Here are the questions you should consider at this stage:
Planning – strategies, and goalsPlanning for your grassroots lobbying campaign involves defining goals and finalizing strategies for supporter and legislator outreach. Make sure you tick these boxes:
Executing the campaignIf you haven’t prepared beforehand (by following the earlier steps), the execution stage can be the most confusing part of your campaign. Some things to consider during and before execution:
Let’s take a closer look at the tools you will need in a grassroots lobbying campaign. As we can see in the previous section, there’s a ton of work that goes into a grassroots lobbying campaign. It requires
Let’s talk about the tools that can help you with these tasks. Online campaign managementCRM tools like NationBuilder, Blue State Digital, or The Action Network allow you to build websites for your campaign as well as manage your supporter database. Some CRMs let you create petitions for supporters to sign and forms for volunteer registration. Here are some other grassroots lobbying CRMs to consider:
Calling and texting outreach – CallHubCallHub is a calling and texting tool that integrates with CRMs like NationBuilder, Action Network, and Blue State Digital so organizers can carry out surveys, patch-through calling campaigns, and organize events in real-time. Campaigns can mobilize supporters from across the world, with the help of volunteers making calls or sending peer-to-peer texts from the comfort of their homes.
Legislative trackingKeeping an eye on the status of a bill is important through all stages of your grassroots lobbying campaign. Tools like LegiScan let you :
Laws regulating grassroots lobbying communicationsWe’ve briefly gone over the laws regarding grassroots lobbying for different groups and levels of government in previous sections. Let us look at what regulations apply to the modes of communication you use to reach supporters and legislators. TV/RadioAll paid advertising on television and radio must identify the sponsor of the advertisement, and include certain disclaimers. Paid ads fall under grassroots lobbying expenditure (and thereby are constrained by expenditure laws) if they:
Phone Calls/TextsIf a phone call or text message asks the receiver to “call their legislator” or “let the governor know” that the individual supports or opposes a particular piece of legislation or executive decision, the call may come under a state’s expenditure laws. (This is on a state by state basis) Grassroots lobbying allows you to take on important issues and educate citizens in the process. Why is the second part important? An uninformed public gives lawmakers the leeway to push and codify harmful legislation into law. Grassroots lobbying helps keep them accountable. What’s next? Once you’ve read up on the regulations for grassroots lobbying with regards to what level of government you are trying to influence, you can start planning and executing your campaign. Take a look at the other resources on our blog, that talk about organizing a community around an issue, methods to communicate with constituents, and messaging to persuade them to take action. What is an example of grassroots lobbying?newspaper advertisements to support proposed legislation, hiring a person to organize public meetings in order to influence action on issues being considered by the legislature, creating or maintaining websites, purchasing e-mail lists, or hiring someone to conduct other online activities, and.
What is grass roots lobbying quizlet?grassroots lobbying. interest groups with a position on a specific legislative proposal to their members, then ask them to contact their legislator to support that stated position through email, letter, facebook, or telephone. independent expenditures.
Which is considered an example of lobbying?What Are Examples of Lobbying? Lobbying examples include meetings and discussions with government representatives, influencing legislation by negotiating the details of a bill, and pushing for presidential vetoes.
Which is an example of lobbying quizlet?Which is considered an example of lobbying? Communicating with government officials to persuade them to support a particular policy position.
|