Does your organization advocate well on the local level, but is afraid to make the leap to Washington? Look no further. Anyone can launch a winning advocacy campaign on Capitol Hill – you just have to follow the right steps.

In 2011, Youth Villages, a nonprofit providing child welfare and mental health services to families across America, was able to get their bill (H.R. 2883: Child and Family Services Improvement and Innovation Act) passed by following eight critical guidelines. Nicole Truhe of Youth Villages recently spoke to the Advocacy Leaders Network (ALN) about her organization’s winning strategy:

1. Understand the legislative process. Know how bills are formed, how they move, who moves them, and who/what might slow something down/ build support.
2. Pursue only a few priorities. Try to choose a single priority (two maximum) and own that issue. With so many voices being represented in Washington, you have the greatest chance of being heard by putting all your efforts behind one provision.
3. Schedule introductory meetings or phone calls. Get to know congressional staffers before you ask something from them. If you belong to an organization that is relatively small or outside of the beltway, this is especially critical. This process can be lengthy, but the relationships you build are well worth the effort.
4. Focus your efforts on 3 groups:

• Those who are currently working on your issue and endorse your position. If a caucus does not exist for your issue, form one.
• Those working on your issue, but it's a second tier issue for them (generally supportive, but not gung ho).
• Those working on it but with a slightly different policy recommendation or even opposition to your position.

When these groups are identified, built a coalition around the first two and take time to sit down with the third group. By doing so, you can neutralize those who are opposed because they feel like they have been heard.

5. Take a balanced approach:

• Use two lobbying firms (one Republican and one Democrat) to help garner bipartisan support.
• Identify the committees and committee members that are most likely to deal with your issue and target these offices.
• Each time you add a Democrat to your roster, go after a Republican. If balance starts getting off, stop pursuing whichever party is overrepresented.

6. All politics is local. To cultivate your grass-tops, find a local, connected person in the appropriate district to write a letter of support, make a call or both. Frequent district visits are also key to establishing a local support.
7. Be flexible. Anticipate a slow process, but be ready to move quickly when the opportunity presents itself. Youth Villages began their advocacy efforts in 2009, and it was not until September 2011 that their bill was up for vote. Once this process began, however, it passed through both chambers and was signed in less than a month.
8. Anticipate roadblocks and defeat, but take failures in stride. If one pathway leads to a dead end, do not be afraid to try again. Advocacy efforts often stall because they are latched on to controversial, high-profile bills. If this is the case, try looking for less prominent pieces of legislation to incorporate your message into. Youth Villages made several unsuccessful attempts to pass their legislation under different bills – they finally succeeded in 2011 after three separate tries.

About the Advocacy Leaders Network (ALN): ALN is a workshop series hosted by the Congressional Management Foundation (CMF) and produced by Beekeeper Group. Each event is a collaborative discussion between the expert presenters and practitioners in the audience, which focuses on best strategies for educating their supporters to enhance communications, understanding and the relationship between citizens and Congress. The next event will be September 21, 2012.

Ryan Lichtenfels is a Research Associate at the Congressional Management Foundation.