Advocate

Resources for Association volunteers: sharing our Advocacy priorities and accomplishments, and inspiring new advocates in your community.

The following resources are available to assist you in your advocacy efforts:

Messaging Tools:

• Advocacy Spot Messages — Supports embedding "information spots" about advocacy resources and activities at Association events.
• Advocacy Key Messages — For use in volunteer training on supporting advocacy message integrity.
• Safe At School Display Ads — PDF files of 2 impactful Safe at School display ads that local market event committees can use in their program books or for use in other local print materials. 2 files are formated for half-page placement and 2 files are formated for full-page placement. Especially relevant for Father of the Year or Gala event programs.
  • Association Tightrope Full Page Ad
  • Association Tightrope Half Page Ad
  • Association School Desk Full Page Ad
  • Association School Desk Half Page Ad

Recruiting and Engaging Advocates:

• Petition Form: Federal Funding — For use at Association events. Focus: Urge congress to expand funding for diabetes research and prevention programs.
• Petition Form: Safe at School — For use at Association events. Focus: Urge elected officials that children with diabetes should be medically safe at school and have equal educational opportunity.
• Business Card Recruitment Tool Talking Points - This document gives instruction and information to assist you in the distribution of the new business card recruitment tool. This tool will enable us to expand our Legal Advocacy attorney and health care professional networks providing us with more of these professionals to assist with discrimination issues.

Local Market Planning Tools:

• The following two documents are templates to be used by the local Community Leadership Board, as tools to outline the role and responsibilities of the local Advocacy Chair, and local Advocacy Committee. All Community Leadership Boards should identify a member of the board to serve as Advocacy Chair. Many communities also have an Advocacy Committee in place. Both documents provide a general outline for these roles, but should be modified to meet local needs.
  • Advocacy Chair Description
  • Local Advocacy Committee Description
• Advocacy Engagement Ideas — Designed to support local staff and volunteers in including advocacy messages, materials and activities at all association events.
• Elected Officials at Events — American Diabetes Association policy and tips for including elected officials at Association events.
• 2013 Advocates in Action Calendar — The roadmap for guiding local advocacy efforts in 2013. It lists both leadership and grassroots tactics for each month. Tactics denoted as most closely aligned with the goals of the Associaiton's Strategic Plan should be included in the strategic plan of every market.
• State Advocacy Directors - Designated states and contact information

Presentation Tools and Resources:

• 2013 Government Affairs and Advocacy Update: Presentation Kit
  Listed below are links to key files for use by Advocacy Chairs in providing an update to your Community Leadership Boards(CLB).
  • PowerPoint Slide Presentation (for projecting at CLB meeting)
  • PDF of Slides and Script Notes (for use by Advocacy Chair or other presenter)
  • PDF of the CLB Presentation Slides Only (no script) - may be printed for CLB members, expecially if a projected slide show is not feasible
  • PDF Tips Sheet for PowerPoint Files
  • The following files should be printed and distributed to each CLB member:
    • 2012 Advocacy Accomplishments Highlights document (print for CLB members)
    • 2013 Legislative Priorities
    • 2013 Advocates in Action Calendar
• 2012 Community Presentation
  • PowerPoint Slide Presentation — Created for use by local volunteers and staff in outreach to community clubs and organizations to let them know how the association delivers mission through advocacy.
  • Accompanying Script for Slide Presentation — A PDF file that shows both the slide image and script text for each slide of the above listed PowerPoint presentation.

Training Webinars:

• Advocacy Outreach to Communities Hardest Hit by Diabetes — April 2013. Topics include: Association advocacy related to health disparities; culturally competent advocacy outreach, recruitment and engagement; and including Advocacy outreach and engagement in Association high risk programs.
• Tailoring Advocacy Activities for Each Hometown Event — February 2013. Covers strategies and resources for advocacy messaging, outreach and engagement at Association events in your hometown, such as:
• How you can help extend our legal advocacy outreach
• New advocacy print materials
• Specific strategies for each type of Association event
• 2013 Government Affairs and Advocacy Update and Priorities — January 2013. Covers the Association's GA&A 2013 priorities, highlights of 2012 accomplishments and our roadmap for engaging "Advocates in Action" for the coming year.
• Supreme Court Ruling: What Does it Mean? - July 16, 2012. In June, 2012, the Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) ruled to uphold the Affordable Care Act. What does the decision mean for people with diabetes? Learn about what the court said and how it impacts people with and at risk for diabetes.
• April Advocates in Action Webinar: Spotlight on Legal Advocacy — April 26, 2012. Learn about the American Diabetes Association efforts to fight for fairness for people with diabetes; and about how you can help extend our legal advocacy reach by raising awareness and support in your hometown! Hear ideas from other markets about how they've included legal advocacy messages, personal stories, print resources, and activities in their hometown events.
• Hometown Advocacy: Sharing our Stories, Inspiring Support — February 2012. Covers strategies and resources for advocacy messaging and engagement at association events, as well as for outreach to community clubs and organizations.

Advocacy Handouts:

• 2012 Advocacy Accomplishments Highlights — Highlights of advocacy accomplishments for 2012.
• 2013 Federal and State Legislative Priorities — Lists all Federal and State Legislative priorities for 2013. Appropriate for use with both internal and external audiences.

Easy Advocacy Checklists for Association Events and Programs:

These one-page event-specific checklists are designed to be a quick guide for local volunteers and staff to use in planning how to include Advocacy messaging, materials, and engagement activities at Association events and programs. Each checklist includes both basic and advanced practice suggestions, as well as timeline information about ordering materials and making logistical arrangements.

• Easy Advocacy at Step Out
• Easy Advocacy at Tour de Cure
• Easy Advocacy at Gala or Father of the Year
• Easy Advocacy at Camp, Family Link or Other Youth Events
• Easy Advocacy at Diabetes EXPO or other Education or Health Fair Events
• Easy Advocacy in High Risk Community Programs