TO: YWCA Leaders
FROM: YWCA USA Public Policy & Advocacy
DATE: February 15, 2017
SUBJECT: Recess Plan and Budget Advocacy Tools
Dear YWCA Leaders,
Congress will recess on Friday, February 17, and members of Congress will be back in their home districts until they reconvene on February 27. This is a great time to reach out to your representative and start new relationships or cultivate existing ones. Your members of Congress need to hear about the issues impacting your community. This recess plan includes a variety of ways you can make sure your voice is heard, regardless of organizational capacity.
During recess, YWCA USA and our partners are focused on promoting the Affordable Care Act, but there are other opportunities to take action as well. We have also included information about the FAMILY Act and the United State of Women 100 Days of Action, in particular their Week of Action related to this recess. Recess is also a prime time to give your members of Congress feedback on recent Cabinet votes, so we've included information to help you thank them, or express disappointment in their vote, on the Cabinet nominations that YWCA took a position on. Learn more about the nominations on the Transition 2017 page on the Intranet.
In addition, we recognize FY2017 and FY2018 budget processes will be complicated, and may impact funding streams you count on. To help you build a proactive strategy, we have created a budget advocacy toolkit (also available as a PDF). This toolkit includes a number of resources and templates to help make your budget advocacy efforts as manageable as possible.
We strongly encourage you begin talking with your members of Congress now about the difference these funds make in your community. Don't wait until your funding is threatened to speak up.
If you have any questions or comments, please email advocacy@ywca.org.
Sincerely,
YWCA USA Public Policy & Advocacy
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