Holiday Gift Ideas for Citizen Advocates

Racking your brain for that perfect present for your favorite advocate? If another power tie is simply out of the question, Ive got a few ideas that should impress even the most fickle advocates.

(PRWEB) December 24, 2003 --Racking your brain for that perfect present for your favorite advocate? If another power tie is simply out of the question, Ive got a few ideas that should impress even the most fickle advocates. Following is a list of free and not-so-free items that will thrill citizen advocates everywhere. No matter what the cause, or who is advocating, there should be something on this list for everyone. If you're low on cash, think about how you might combine some of the free options into an effective advocate toolkit -- and happy advocating!

Keep them in the Know: One of my key points for effective advocacy is to have a clear idea of what you want from your elected officials. One way to make sure youre asking for something relevant is to keep track of whats happening in DC. A subscription to Roll Call (www.rollcall.com ), the newsletter of Capitol Hill, can provide news and information on all the Washington, DC goings-on." This is a little pricey (about $150 per six months) so, for a free option, consider going to www.congress.gov and printing out information on all the legislation on a topic of interest to the recipient. Or, ask your elected officials for reports from the Congressional Research Service. CRS has ready-made reports and info packets on pretty much every topic under the sun. You can Another great freebie is a subscription to the Politics Online e-newsletter, available at www.politicsonline.com. And, of course, a subscription to the Advocacy Tipsheet will always warm their hearts.

Give them the Dirt: Effective advocates also need to know a little bit about what makes their elected officials tick. One great way to find out biographical and general interest information is through the The Almanac of American Politics, 2004 (available at Amazon.com for $41.97) or Cq's Politics in America 2004: The 108th Congress (also available from Amazon.com for $88.75.) For the free option, consider going to bioguide.congress.gov and printing out information on their favorite elected officials. You can also sign them up for free daily e-mails from www.yourcongress.com, which tells them how their elected officials voted during the last legislative day. Or, to really impress them, contact those elected access a number of procedural reports directly at http://www.house.gov/rules/crs_reports.htm. officials and ask for an autographed picture.

Donate to the Cause: We all know that elected officials need money to get re-elected and special interest groups need money to get their message out there. Why not make your favorite advocate happy by contributing to a politician or cause that they support? You can find political campaigns through Vote Smart and www.vote-smart.org , or learn more about different interest groups through a Google search (www.google.com). For the free option, consider printing out all the down and dirty" campaign financing information on a politician that really irritates that special someone at www.opensecrets.org.

Provide the Forum: Have you ever noticed how people who really care about an issue like to talk about it? At length? To anyone who will listen whether they want to or not? Well, help them engage in that conversation (thankfully with others) by making a contribution to www.e-thepeople.org and introducing them to the site. At this site, participants can engage in political discussions with like-minded and not-so-like-minded fellow enthusiasts. You don't HAVE to pay to participate, so it's a good free option as well. Or, consider posting a question or letter on www.congress.org on an issue that your advocate cares about.

Amuse and Confuse: Amuse your citizen advocate with a flag that's been flown over the U.S. Capitol. These are available from your Congressional office for $17 to $30. You can also mix them up a batch of the famous White House hot chocolate: download the recipe and don't worry, chocolate is bipartisan.

Finally, I would be remiss if I didn't mention a couple things that you can find here at AdVanced Consulting. Of course, theres my book, Government by the People: How to Communicate with Congress" ($7.95). I'll even sign it if you ask me to! Or, for the free option, print out the tutorial pages from my website and offer it to your favorite advocate. You can also purchase your favorite advocate a course at our online Advocacy Classroom.
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