Virtual Advocacy Day

This webpage provides everything you need to make your Virtual Advocacy Day on March 1 a success.

Please join us on Tuesday, March 1, from 9:00am – 10:00am via zoom at 

https://icadv-org.zoom.us/j/84427867086

During this zoom meeting, you’ll:

Hear directly from the directors of IowaCASA, ICADV, and ICCC
Learn more about legislative advocacy
Find out what we’re asking from legislators this year, and why we’re asking for it

Quick Links:

Legislative Ask:

We urge legislators to support a Justice System budget bill that invests at least $10 million in state funds for crime victim services AND amends the victim services budget line item to ensure these funds can support all victims of violent crime including survivors of homicide, human trafficking, sexual assault, domestic violence, etc. Currently state victim services funds are limited to domestic and sexual abuse services.

If you have any questions or if you have other issues you'd like to address in your advocacy, let us know. 

An investment of $10 million will provide necessary support to crime victim service programs struggling to meet an increased demand and unmet need for services with significantly less funding.

At least 28,000 fewer crime victims will receive services from Iowa programs in the next two years without additional financial support.
While an investment of $10 million won’t completely address the significant unmet need, it will go a long way in providing essential support to survivors of violent crime.

Click here for additional talking points for the legislative ask.

Find Your Legislators:

Find out which legislators represent you: go to https://www.legis.iowa.gov/legislators/find and enter your address, and/or the address of the victim advocacy program you work for.

Email: Below you'll find links to alphabetical lists of legislators which include individual email addresses. You can click on the legislator’s name for bio information and to sign up for their newsletters and some members list their home address and personal phone numbers. Generally, legislator’s email addresses are firstname.lastname@legis.iowa.gov

House: https://www.legis.iowa.gov/legislators/house

Senate: https://www.legis.iowa.gov/legislators/senate

Phone: When the State Legislature is in session, you can reach legislators by calling the House or Senate switchboard Mon – Thurs.

House switchboard: 515-281-3221

Senate switchboard: 515-281-3371

Templates for Contacting Your Legislators:

Email template:

Representative [insert last name] or Senator [insert last name]:

My name is [your name] and I am [who are you? a survivor? constituent? victim advocate? program director?] from [where do you live? or, if you are a victim advocate, where is your program located?].

Please support a Justice System budget bill that invests at least $10 million in state funds for crime victim services AND amends the victim services budget line item to ensure these funds can support all victims of violent crime including survivors of homicide, human trafficking, sexual assault, domestic violence, etc. Currently state victim services funds are limited to domestic and sexual abuse services. These funds address significant unmet needs, ease the impact of federal funding cuts, and prioritize efforts to eliminate disparities in access to services for Black, Indigenous, and People of Color.

If possible, I would like to schedule a time to meet with you by phone or video conferencing today or in the future to discuss more. I look forward to your response with a time for us to talk about how we can support and address the needs of crime victims.

Sincerely,

[your name, city]

Phone call template:

Representative [insert last name] or Senator [insert last name]:

My name is [your name] and I am [who are you? a survivor? constituent? victim advocate? program director?] from [where do you live? or, if you are a victim advocate, where is your program located?]. Please support a Justice System budget bill that invests at least $10 million in state funds for crime victim services AND amends the victim services budget line item to ensure these funds can support all victims of violent crime including survivors of homicide, human trafficking, sexual assault, domestic violence, etc. Currently state victim services funds are limited to domestic and sexual abuse services. These funds address significant unmet needs, ease the impact of federal funding cuts, and prioritize efforts to eliminate disparities in access to services for Black, Indigenous, and People of Color.

Don't forget to tell us how your interaction(s) go!

Additional talking points - CLICK HERE!

Tips for Talking to Legislators

Relax- they are people too and they like to talk to constituents.
Introduce yourself and say where you are from.
Be brief: pick 1 or 2 topics, state why you support, use personal impact story when possible, ask for their support. ("Can I count on your support?")
Be honest: It is ok not to know- your credibility is most important. (Never guess or give false information. Just promise to get back to them.)
Be respectful: Speak passionately but don’t insult or argue. If they disagree, they may support you later. Find a shared value.
Thank/Follow up: send email thanking them for meeting, re-stating your request, and providing any information you promised to send.

Don’t take it personally if they have to cut the meeting short due and/or if you meet with staff instead of the legislator. Staff are main source of information for legislators. Please fill out your legislator meeting summaries--they are extremely helpful to our advocacy efforts.

Legislative Priorities:

Resources for Advocacy Day:

If you have questions or concerns about participating in Virtual Advocacy Day, please contact:

Iowa Coalition Against Sexual Assault: membership@iowacasa.org or 515-850-1905

Iowa Coalition Against Domestic Violence: lindsayp@icadv.org or 515-421-4658

Iowa Coalition for Collective Change: alexandran@iowachange.org; main office is 515-442-5217; Luana, Executive Director is 515-412-4448

Report Back About Your Interaction:

Please let us know how your interactions went with your elected officials by filling out the interaction report. This helps inform our future advocacy efforts.

We Appreciate Your Feedback:

Following the day's events, let us know how we did by filling out the Virtual Advocacy Day evaluation form.

Ask

Finds Your Legislators

Templates

Tips

Resources

Priorities

Questions