Log on for Lobbying Lessons

Introducing the newest way to prepare for Hill visits: The Advocacy Classroom.com. The NEW website offers self-paced courses in effective advocacy and the capacity to customize courses on any issue for any group seeking more effective advocates.

Summer is still in full swing, but school is in session for passionate people wanting to take the leap into advocacy. The AdvocacyClassroom.com website, being launched today, transforms concerned citizens into effective advocates through an easy to use online course.

The first available course, Communication 101: How to Communicate Effectively with Congress, covers advocacy basics such as knowing what you want and how to ask for it, but other classes will be online soon that cover everything from motivating grassroots to initiating cyber advocacy. Students can take the classes at their own pace and check their progress with short quizzes and a final exam.

Moreover, the AdvocacyClassroom.com creators will design custom courses for groups wishing to organize advocacy training for their members. Using issues and objectives specific to an organization, AdvocacyClassroom.com provides a unique forum for advocates to acquire important information and learn the techniques to present it on the Hill, without leaving their desks.    

The first online courses syllabus is derived from Advocacy Guru Stephanie Vances effective advocacy book, Government by the People: How to Communicate with Congress. A professional speaker, Vance presents the concept behind the book to organizations around the country during annual conferences and legislative days. Vance is also the principal of AdVanced Consulting, which provides strategic planning advice to groups looking to improve their advocacy efforts.

The Advocacy Classroom represents the latest step in our efforts to build trust between citizens and their government," said Stephanie Vance, president of the Advocacy Classroom. Students, interest group members and advocates from all walks of life can use this resource to learn more about the factors that influence elected officials and how to use the power of constituency to their advantage."

The AdvocacyClassroom.com is a component of the Advocacy Classroom, an offline series of workshops held in Washington, DC and also available on CD-Rom. Learn more and take a demo course at www.AdvocacyClassroom.com.