The last time you read an article with a title like this, it may have been a college or high school syllabus. Essentially, that is what MDA will be providing through this toolkit – a guide that builds on itself to become a “course” in all things grassroots advocacy. In keeping with the syllabus theme, we will be breaking these grassroots advocacy toolkit blogs into “101-level” blogs and “201-level” blogs.

In 2024, grassroots advocacy is more powerful than ever, thanks to a wide variety of technology options and the ability to connect with advocates from across the globe or just down the street. In this toolkit, we will delve into the fundamentals of grassroots advocacy and equip you with the tools you need to get involved and make change happen!

Are you ready to join an active grassroots community working for those living with a neuromuscular condition? Let’s get started!
 

The Basics of Advocacy:

Change in our society, whether large or small, happens through advocacy. Folks may have many reasons for engaging in advocacy – perhaps to ask for a policy change, support an idea that matches their values, or seek ways to support their communities. As such, advocacy can take many forms. These may include lobbying lawmakers in support of legislation, campaigns to gain the media’s support and attention, working in your neighborhood or community to raise awareness of a particular concern, and even the letters that you send to Congress asking them to support legislation that benefits the neuromuscular disease community.

Advocacy can occur across every industry, trade, social issue, company practice, and beyond. Ultimately, there are four steps in the advocacy process:

1. Identifying the issue or cause that brings people together in support.
2. Finding or building a group of advocates that you would like to work with.
3. Finding an activity that will serve the issue well, such as writing to your Members of Congress or attending an event or webinar to learn more.
4. Carrying out the action. 
 

However, there is an important distinction to make – grassroots advocacy is how we refer to our volunteer, community-driven advocacy work at MDA. What separates “grassroots advocacy” from other forms of “advocacy,” such as lobbying?

What is Grassroots Advocacy?

Grassroots advocacy is the work done to raise awareness and show support for a cause or issue by those who are living and participating in their local community. It is not shepherded by professional lobbyists and is largely done by an individual or coalition of individuals. Remember, you do not need to be an expert to be an advocate! With grassroots advocacy, change happens from the ground-up and at the “roots.”

Why Grassroots Advocacy is Important: 

As shared earlier, “grassroots advocacy” is how change is made. You will have the opportunity to add your voice to the conversation about some of the most pressing issues that members of the neuromuscular community are facing. It may be helpful to think of advocacy in terms of “playing the long game.” What we mean by this is to adapt strategically when information is evolving, and circumstances are changing. Sometimes, you may need to rewrite messages, change the tone to match urgency, and continue thinking of ways to bring in new supporters to the campaign you are supporting. Setbacks may occur, but it is important to remember the extended timeline that creating great change can take. Meetings to learn about policies with stakeholders must be held along with legislative hearings, public events, press support, and much more.

Lawmakers need and want to hear from their constituents when making decisions that affect them. As a grassroots advocate, you hold significant power as a constituent. Without constituent input, lawmakers risk making decisions that are unpopular or harm communities within their constituency.

In a world where many things can be done with an Internet connection, those getting involved in grassroots advocacy are now given access to some of the most highly powered tools to engage in advocacy – popular social media platforms X, Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok, in addition to email marketing, can make it easy and fast to connect with others who have shared experiences.

Things to Note:

• With grassroots advocacy, it is important to recognize who the decision-makers are. In our work at MDA, it is Members of Congress, federal agency officials, and those involved in the legal system.

• Effective and clear communication is essential for advocacy success. When   you send messages to and communicate with your fellow advocates, your information and messages should be short and to the point so that advocates have the information they need to take action quickly – all at their fingertips. Messages should also be shared via social media, press, and in other venues.

• Grassroots advocacy often involves storytelling. Storytelling is incredibly important because you are the best messenger of your story! No one else can tell your story as well as you can. MDA can work with you to figure out the best way to tell your story!
 

MDA Advocacy Resources:

At MDA, it is our goal to provide you with the resources you need to get involved with grassroots advocacy. MDA offers a range of resources and tools to empower advocates, including:

• Use MDA’s Action Center to find contact information for your elected officials, learn about our top policy priorities for the neuromuscular disease community, and take action on our current advocacy campaigns. Think of it as your MDA Advocacy one-stop shop. Go here to get started.

• MDA Advocacy Institute: Access our on-demand webinars to get the latest information on issues impacting the MDA community and beyond, as well as ways that you can get involved.

• Access The Vote: Get the information and resources you need to exercise your fundamental right to vote during this November’s election and beyond.

What’s next?

At MDA, we use our grassroots advocacy program to connect the work we do on the legislative, regulatory, and legal fronts in an easy-to-understand, common-sense way. We will be sharing more toolkit blogs in the weeks to come.

Before you can create a successful advocacy campaign, you must think about the guiding ideas and principles that will serve as a campaign’s foundation. If you were to pick out two or three ideas that define your campaign, you have just determined what your campaign’s values are. Our next Advocacy Toolkit lesson will be focused on values. That is, determining your personal reasons and goals for engaging in advocacy and harnessing those principles to find the most impactful ways for you to get involved. How can you utilize these concepts to support your advocacy? We will discuss all these ideas and more.

If you found this blog helpful, please share it with your family and friends who are interested in learning more about grassroots advocacy. Please contact us at advocacy@mdausa.org with any thoughts, questions, or suggestions for this series.