1. Advocacy 101 NCSHA Annual Conference, Nashville, TN September 29, 2015 Guy Ford, Ohio HFA Kim Herman, Washington SHFC Garth Rieman, NCSHA

2. Advocacy Fundamentals Recognize your role Create opportunities to engage your legislators Understand your audience Make your request clear Master your subject material Leverage stakeholders and partners Follow up

3. Recognize Your Role Constituent contact is influential. A recent Congressional Management Foundation report found that the most influential method for swaying an undecided Member of Congress is personal communications from constituents. Congressional staff said constituent visits to the Washington office and to the district/state office have the greatest amount of influence on an undecided member.

4. Recognize Your Role Constituent contact is influential. Your perspective matters. Your experience equips you to convey helpful information.

5. Create Opportunities to Engage Meet with your legislators or their staff in their D.C. or state offices. Invite them to groundbreakings, openings, and other activities where they can see properties, residents, and communities. Leverage media, including social media. Consider town hall meetings, speeches, debates, and other events.

6. Understand Your Audience Know your legislators’ committee assignments and interests. Use language and data likely to attract their interest. Respond to special considerations.

7. Make Your Request Clear Be specific. Be direct. Ask for a response.

8. Master Your Subject Material Collect, interpret, and share helpful data on need for affordable housing and impact of priority programs. You don’t have to be an expert. Share what you know.

9. Master Your Subject Material Be reliable. Be helpful. Obtain information in response to questions or comments. Defend your view.

10. Enlist Partners and Stakeholders to Help Make Your Case Include partners and stakeholders in meetings. Encourage them to sponsor events. Encourage them to use their fundraising and other tools to build relationships. Ask them to push your priorities within their networks.

11. Follow Up Exchange contact information. Ask for their preferred mode of communication. Follow up with a thank you note. Express appreciation for the time spent in the meeting and reiterate your main points. Briefly go over your priorities and what you would like to see done. If a member or staffer requests additional information, supply it for them in an easy-to-understand manner. Stay in touch with new information or to reiterate your priorities.

12. Tips for Meeting with Congress Bring printed materials to leave behind. Be ready to deliver a short, concise message on your issue. Your objective is to be brief and clear about what you want. Avoid acronyms and jargon. The person you are meeting with may not be familiar with your organization and your priorities. Be prepared to give a quick overview regarding your organization.

13. Tips for Meeting with Congress Be brief and clear in your message. Legislators and staff may only have a short time to meet with you, so be sure to get your point across. Listen carefully to the member or staff’s response. Even if they disagree with your position, be cordial and understanding.

14. Source: GovTrack.us Breakdown of Bills and Resolutions by Status, 108th-113th Congresses Analysis In the 113th Congress, only 3% of the 10,637 bills introduced were enacted, for a total of 296 bills enacted The share of bills enacted as a percentage of legislation introduced has declined from 5% in the 108 th Congress to 3% in the 113 th Congress; this may be attributed to increased partisanship in both chambers 10,669 total bills 13,072 total bills 14,042 total bills 13,683 total bills 12,299 total bills 10,637 total bills Percentage of Bills Enacted as Laws on the Decline

15. Advocacy 101