Destination Funding Advocacy
Within the crucial landscape of funding advocacy, success often hinges not just on what you know but on how and when you engage with decision-makers. Effective advocacy requires a strategic, long-term approach that goes beyond superficial transactional relationships.
Here are two fundamental principles and action steps that can transform your advocacy efforts from reactive requests into proactive partnerships.
1. Talk to Them When You Don’t Need to be Talking to Them
- Organizations tend to reach out to electeds/decision-makers when they need action on an issue.
- Efforts will be much more effective if you reach out to your targets prior to your needing help.
- Spend time getting to know them and, importantly, make sure they get to know you, your organization, and your leaders.
When to talk to them:
- During community or public events
- In response to a personal, organizational, or professional milestone
- At election time
- Regularly scheduled check-in
Action Items
- Follow them on LinkedIn
- Set regular calendar invites
2. Research
Do your homework and do it early. Knowing a great deal about your advocacy targets and issues is a critical component of successful advocacy research.
- Based on your organizational goals and objectives, what does success look like?
- What data points are central to measuring performance against this success criteria?
- Know the topic and data better than the person you are talking to.
- Be prepared to articulate any opposition better than the opposition.
Action Items
- Fully understand your stakeholders and how they like to be communicated to.
- What are their past priorities?
- How do your requests relate to their pain points?
- Who are they close to, and who do they trust
- Research and understand competing parties and competing proposals.
Building influential relationships and conducting thorough research are not one-time tasks but ongoing commitments that form the foundation of successful funding advocacy. By investing time in relationship-building before you need support and maintaining a comprehensive understanding of your issue landscape, you position yourself as a trusted resource rather than just another voice seeking attention. Remember that effective funding advocacy is a marathon, not a sprint – the relationships you cultivate and the knowledge you accumulate today will become invaluable assets in advancing your cause tomorrow.
Take these action items as your first steps toward more impactful advocacy efforts and commit to making them part of your organization’s regular practice.
