Does Advocacy Make a Difference?


The answer is YES!
To start from the beginning, check out our Advocacy Basics: What is Advocacy? section for more tips and tools! This page has tips to make the advocacy work you do the most effective.

The Pecking Order:
Staffers in Congress place varying degrees of importance to the communications they received based on how long it took the constituent to prepare it - the more thought that went into it, the more important the issue is to the constituent.

Why Old-fashioned is Best:
When possible, you should always communicate with your members of Congress through old-fashioned mail - this shows them the greatest degree of effort. When letters stack up in a congressional office, they know it is an issue that is important in their district. So when it comes to Congress, nothing beats the tried and true snail mail.

Because not everyone can set up an appointment with their member of Congress, letters still remain the most traditional and relied upon contact between constituent and representative. Congressional staff will also respond in writing to every letter that comes into their office, which gives you the opportunity to get your representatives on record regarding their position on your issue. Members of Congress respond as well to faxes and email, although some offices are still catching up to the benefits of the electronic era.

Where to send your letter: You can get addresses and phone numbers for your members of Congress from the U.S. Capitol switchboard by calling 1.800.839.5276. To get a fax number, you will need to call the member's office directly. You can also check out congressional webpages for contact information, including email addresses. For members of the House of Representatives, go to www.house.gov. For senators, go to www.senate.gov.

To Fax or Not to Fax:
Sending a fax is a close second to sending a letter by post. Because they are printed out, they still pile up and have a similar effect as letters. Faxes also have the benefit of ringing like the phone. When a fax machine is constantly ringing and printing out letters, the whole office takes notice. But because a fax is less personal than a letter, they do not get quite as much attention.

The Low-Down on Email Advocacy:
Every office in Congress responds differently to emails. Because many emails are mass produced and easy to send with the click of a button, some staffers pay little attention to email. It is also less common for a congressional office to send a response with their policy position to emails. However, some offices are catching on to using email, and keep active track of how many e-mails come through on each issue. As time passes, Congress will become more responsive to email - but it's not there yet. Sending your emails encourages them to become more responsive in the long run, but it might not produce the desired outcome in the short run. It also has the benefit of being extremely convenient for the user to make thier voice heard.