Once in a while, I have the opportunity to look in the rearview mirror at my 20-plus-year career working at organizations such as Catholic Charities USA and Goodwill Industries International as an advocacy and government affairs professional.

Identifying advocacy leaders within the network was always a headache. While local agencies had a footprint in key legislative districts, we often didn't know who within the agency (besides a ridiculously busy CEO) to contact when we needed that agency to reach out to their Member of Congress about an important issue. Furthermore, once we were lucky enough to identify the advocacy leader at the key agency, that person often lacked the existing relationship with the congressional offices and the skills to effectively engage them.

There are a number of factors that make it difficult to identify rising leaders in advocacy networks. A big one is that it is hard for grassroots advocacy organizations to consistently detect, track, and monitor most grassroots activities (short of emails sent to congressional offices through online legislative action centers) conducted by their citizen advocates. Another challenge is that budding grassroots/grasstops supporters can quickly grow apathetic when they receive frequent calls to action to send form emails to Congress. Just how many times can an advocate hear about a supposed advocacy emergency before they start to tune out all appeals from your organization?

In other words, they feel that they have been left in Form Email Purgatory.

If you suffer from this headache, CMF may have some aspirin to offer.

Each year, CMF conducts webinars exclusively for the citizen advocates who are affiliated with groups that participate in CMF's advocacy training program, The Partnership for a More Perfect Union. For example, last month, CMF educated 200 people about "What to Expect in a Meeting with a Member of Congress."

Watch a short segment, "CMF's Top 10 Tips on Effective Meetings."

After watching a similar webinar last year, one participant said the following:

"That was wonderful as usual. An excellent use of 40 minutes, you guys always provide terrific information!"

While CMF agrees that our training programs are a great way to help citizens and Congress to communicate more effectively, there's another benefit for grassroots advocacy organizers. Participating organizations that invite their supporters to attend a CMF training webinar can request a report to learn who attended as a result.

Think about it. Attending a training program is a good indicator of people's interest in advancing from Form Email Purgatory – including people from key districts who are advocacy rock stars in waiting for your group.

Offer Your Advocates an Alternative to Another Ineffective Form Email Campaign

CMF's research proves that citizens who take the time to build strong relationships with Members of Congress and staff have a great deal more influence than simply participating in form email campaigns. By offering training to your advocates whose talents are currently wasted in Form Email Purgatory, you can:

• reward them for their ongoing support,
• expose them to training that will give them the skills they need to REALLY make their voices heard, and
• identify and mentor those who demonstrate their commitment to your cause because they attended a CMF advocacy training program.