Capitol Hill Day Checklist

Gathering the Troops

Have they advocated before? How comfortable are they with it?
Do they understand the basic skills (know what they want, who they’re talking to, how to talk to them and how to follow-up)?
How will you be sure they gain those skills if needed?
How will you gather the information you need to know about your legislators?
How will you share that information with your advocates (Conference call? Meeting?)

Have you asked advocates for compelling local anecdotes (helping people get a dream home, for example)?
Have you consolidated local statistics and stories?
- How many people have they worked with?
- How many people do they employ?
- How much money does the firm make (even rough numbers)
- What charitable organizations in the district are they connected to?

Have you reviewed the list of legislators and developed a specific message for each?
Have you coordinated your group to be sure the right people are talking at the rights times during the meetings?
Have you cross-matched specific advocates with specific legislators?
Do you understand the stories people are prepared to tell and their relevancy to specific legislators?
Have you prepared your group to be flexible (meetings in the hallways, for example)?

Have you developed a follow-up plan for each office (site visits, townhalls, local meetings)?
Are you prepared to implement that plan?
Have you set aside a time to write thank you notes?
Have you established a system for feeding the information back to your team in DC?

Questions? Contact Victoria Givens at 202-383-1021.