Lobby For Animals
Don't just dream of change Lobby For It!
Learn How Easy It Is To Lobby For Animals
Learning to lobby is really a lot easier than you'd think. You have to remember that our elected officials are just people like you and me and they are there to listen. We just have to make sure they hear our voices as often if not more than they hear the oppositions. Listed below are some training videos as well as other resources to get you started with your lobbying efforts. New content is constantly being added so check back regularly. The resources below will help take you step by step through the process and as always we are available to answer any questions you may have, so just head over to our contact page and send us an email.
In addition to the training offered our representatives would love to come and speak at your school or event about the importance of lobbying so if that is something you are interested in please feel free to contact us.
Why Lobby? The importance of Lobbying For Animal Rights
Tips For Successful Lobbying
Tips on working with your legislators to help animals
Tips on attending a Town Meeting
Attending Town Hall meetings can seem intimidating but they're not and they can be a very valuable resource for the any lobbyist.
Sample Letter of Support/Request for Sponsorship
These sample letters can be used as a guide when putting together your own correspondence, just use the template as an outline and change the data to fit the legislation you are working on.
Sample Follow Up Letter
This is a sample letter with tips on what to address in each section when writing a follow up letter to your representative.
Legislation, Laws & Acts
Detailed description of the different types of Legislation, Laws and Acts along with an explanation of in what situations they apply.
TrackBill
TrackBill is a very useful website for locating and tracking legislation. Once you sign up you can search their database for various types of legislation by using either key words or a bill number , than you can choose to track it and you'll receive notifications letting you know it's progression through the legislative process.
Just Click on the picture to the left to get started.
OpenSecrets.org
OpenSecrets.org profiles can show you who's making the big political contributions in your state, as well as where the money's coming from (by city, by zip code, and graphically with our "money maps"). You'll also find links to a money profile of your senators and representative, with a detailed look at where their campaign warchest came from.
Contact Worksheet
This is a worksheet that you can use to keep track of your Representative contacts. It is a fillable form that will allow you to record all pertinent information pertaining to each Representative you come in contact with.
2019 State Legislature Breakdown
U.S. Government 101
Learn the basics of what your representatives roles are in the United States government and who you should contact in your lobbying efforts.
Calling elected officials
Calling your legislators is a very effective way of lobbying. And in this instructional video I am going to give you a guideline to follow to make your call successful.
Seminole County Delegates Meeting
Click on the picture to view an actual Delegates Meeting I attended. Choose the November 13, 2013 date. This video will give you an idea of exactly what takes place at these meetings. Each person has 3 minutes to talk about their topic so prepare ahead of time and make sure to include the key points of your issue. If you want to see my presentation advance the video to the time 1:38 .
Glossary of Terms To Know
This is a link to the United States Senate Glossary of Terms. These terms are ones that I feel everyone should familiarize themselves with so that you are aware of the terminology used in the political arena.
United States Legislative Calendars
Links to the United States legislative Calendars for the state and federal level. They will show you when your Representatives are in session.
Tips to keep in mind when lobbying
The following list is one that I will periodically be adding to as things pop into my head. They are pointers and tips that I have found to be helpful when working on lobbying issues but are not necessarily included in my videos. They may be from personal experience or just tips that have come up along the way while watching others in their lobbying efforts. You have to look at every experience as a learning experience and take away from it something to help you grow.
Seminole County School Board Meeting
This is a link to a school board meeting I spoke at recently on teacher raises. While it is not on an animal or environmental issue it is still a pretty good example of what a town hall and a delegates meeting is like and can definitely be used as resource. Each speaker has 3 minutes to speak just like at delegates meetings. Take notice to who let let exceed their time and why. You should however always plan to end at 3 minutes. When you watch the video you will see many different people giving speaches, some good and some, well, not so good but that just means you can learn something from each of them. My speech is at 3:02 on the video (1st number on the time clock).
Guide to political fact-checking on the internet
Infographic by Mike Wirth http://visual.ly/how-our-laws-are-made
