1. Develop a Goal
The first step to advocacy is developing your goal(s). What issue(s) do you want to address and why? What is currently being done to address that issue(s)? How can you further those efforts or do different things to achieve this goal? These are the key questions you can consider when starting your advocacy journey. To help you find an advocacy goal, try identifying gaps in your community or explore specific areas of interest like accessibility in healthcare. Once you choose a topic you can dive into the specifics, start researching the current conditions of that topic, and what aspects of that topic have yet to be addressed. When using advocacy it is beneficial to amplify the advocacy work of others or address the nuanced issues that aren't being addressed! If you need help identifying topics of focus look below for some ideas!
General Advocacy Topics
2. Identify the Scale
When you identify what topic you want to address start diving into the scale. As you identify specifics, you will be able to explore stakeholders and what level of administration to communicate with in order to achieve the goal. For example, if you want your topic to be education then specify what aspects of education you want to focus on, such as inequities in disciplinary action or the presence of Student Resource Officers (SROs) in schools. Then acknowledge the best people to contact to resolve the issue.
For the example of SROs, it may be beneficial to use advocacy that targets your school board who holds the most stake in that decision. If you want statewide policy contact state legislators. Or if you want enhanced bias training for a specific police force you should advocate on a city or state level.
When diving into your specific advocacy objectives it's important to acknowledge the scope of the issue. Are you trying to address something on a national scale? Are you trying to address a national issue but within your state? Are you trying to address a local issue? By identifying the scale of your issue it directs your course of action in terms of advocacy.
3. Make a Plan
Once your have identified your advocacy goals and the scale of your advocacy its time to develop a plan. What are you trying to accomplish and how will it get accomplished? If it is legislative advocacy, what do you need to do in order to advocate for or against a body of legislation. If it is grassroots work, what organizations and local nonprofits will you collaborate with in order to support your community and how will you organize and execute your event? These are the questions you should consider when making a plan for accomplishing your agenda items. Use our guides for help in successfully executing your advocacy work!
4. Execute the Plan
Once you have identified your course of action its time to execute your plan! Use our resources to execute your plan and make some magic happen! Make sure to reflect how your journey went so that you can improve the way you approach your advocacy work in the future! Feel free to report your projects with us so we can amplify your work as an advocate and inspire others with your advocacy. To share your work register with Amplified!