State of the Union April 2020
Political Updates
Lobbying and Advocacy Efforts
- Total # of Lobbying Meetings in March: 22
- Total # of Lobbying Meetings in 2020: 104
- Lobbying Meetings Goal for 2020: 710
Advocacy Emails
- Total # of Advocacy Emails in March: 7,780
- Total # of Advocacy Emails in 2020: 20,056
- Advocacy Emails Goal for 2020: 120,000
- % of Congress Emailed Year to Date: 73%
Congressional Office Meetings
Political Affairs Team member Dhruv Bhardwaj (right) met with the staffers of Sen. Kamala Harris’ (D-CA).
Political Affairs Team member Dana Kit met with two of Sen. Cory Booker’s (D-NJ) congressional staffers to discuss the International Affairs Budget and Global Child Thrive Act.
Political Affairs Team member Brett “Russell” McCraw met with Rep. Bill Flores (R-TX-17th).
Katianna Laveaux, Advocate (on the right) with Congresswoman Yvette D. Clarke, attended the congresswoman’s panel discussion on the census 2020.
Warren’s Address
Listen to the latest from Warren about the goings-on in D.C.
Content Team Updates
Articles of the Month: Minnesota Refugee Resettlement by Amanda Ostuni, South African Income Inequality Persists by Perry Stone Budd and The Rise and Empowerment of Female Farmers in Nepal by Taylor Pittman.
Recognition
Congratulations to the following team members who have achieved Borgen Project Honors & Recognition.
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- Chief Closer Award (raised $1,000 or more): Jordyn Garrett-Green, PR/Marketing Team member, Natalie Coyne, Political Affairs Team member, Megan Tigue, Regional Director and Laurel Sonneby, Content Team member.
- Bird Dog Award: Advocate Katianna Laveaux, Political Affairs Team members Michael Villani, Kyle Israel Kalindjian and Daniella Cardinale-Weinberg.
- President’s Circle: Political Affairs Team members Brett McCraw, Max Warren, Dana Kit and Alexis Page.
- Public Outreach Award (50 or more people mobilized): Political Affairs Team members Lindsey LeBaron, Matthew Nieves and Kyle Israel Kalindjian.
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Visit the Our Team Members page and read about success stories with our organization.
Getting the Word Out
One-Mile Campaigns
PR/Marketing Team member Onastacia Roe spread the word about global poverty in her hometown of Fort Dodge, IA. Onastacia also highlighted her campaign on Instagram (see below).
HR Team member Lauren Tetleton posted flyers surrounding Knoxville’s courthouse where many congressional leaders have an office.
HR Team member Breanne Slossar in North Carolina.
PR/Marketing Team member Jordyn Garrett-Green (center) teamed up with her family to post flyers throughout their neighborhood.
Thumbs up! PR/Marketing Team member Sylvia Fuentes posted flyers in San Francisco, CA. Sylvia even delivered a flyer to fast-casual restaurant food chain, Chipotle!
Advocate Katianna Laveaux seen posting flyers in Brooklyn, NY.
Political Affairs Team member Matt Nieves.
Presentations
Amy Ramspoth, Regional Director and HR Associate, attended a Rotary presentation (while 32 weeks pregnant) recently. It went well, despite there not being a big audience due to COVID-19.
Tabling Events
Regional Director Hannah Reznik held a tabling event at Flagler College in Florida. The main goal of the event was to mobilize students to email their congressional leaders in support of the International Affairs Budget. Hannah mobilized 21 students!
Letters to the Editor
Political Affairs Team
- Liz Vernon in the News and Tribune: Want an effective border wall? Invest in foreign aid!
- Alexis Page in The Alliance Review: Plea to U.S. government to invest in peace
- Natalie Coyne in The Washington Post: Further fallout from the coronavirus
- Lindsey LeBaron in the Daily Herald: Pass the time by saving lives around the world
PR Team
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- Megan Delmore in the Eugene Weekly: Keep Families Together
- Rhea Ferrer in The Star News: Investing today in tomorrow’s leaders
- Vivian Priestley in Seven Days: The Virus Is a Symptom
HR Team
- Amira Berry in the Daily Times: World must respond to coronavirus threat
Content Team
- Maia Cullen in the Newton TAB – Wicked Local: Resident urges global health investment during COVID-19 health crisis
Outreach & Mobilizing Materials
PR/Marketing Team member Daysha Robinson advertised her virtual fundraising event.
HR Team member Valerie Yang created a graphic for social media to announce her fundraising campaign.
“Contact Congress” by Regional Director Ashley Strand.
“How Children Suffer from Poverty” by PR/Marketing Team member Adrian Jones.
“What can the U.S. do? by Regional Director Sarah Gruesser.
PR/Marketing Team member Onastacia Roe created several graphics to promote The Borgen Project and her fundraising campaign.
We Fight for the Underdog and Volunteers Needed by PR/Marketing Team member Lorryn Murray.
“How The Borgen Project Operates” by PR/Marketing Team member Jordyn Garrett-Green.
Fundraising
PR/Marketing Team member Onastacia Roe created a “Pie to End Poverty” fundraiser. For every $2.00 donation to The Borgen Project, donors could “pie” Onastacia. Onastacia created and posted a graphic to promote the fundraiser on her social media channels. “I had my sister pie me in the face for each donation, and my grandma recorded each time. I then posted the video on my Instagram and Facebook stories and tagged each donor. […] I had 6 donors and raised $12.00 in total!”
PR/Marketing Team member Vivian Priestley held a garland and silkscreen print sale to raise money for her fundraising campaign. Vivian shared the art on her Instagram Story.
Content Team member Abby Haynes’ mom runs a baking business. The two have been collaborating to raise proceeds for The Borgen Project.
Political Affairs Team member Liz Vernon held a bake sale with plenty of delicious treats.
Media Outreach
Blogs
PR Team member Kristina Johnson created a blog to advocate for The Borgen Project.
Don’t forget to tag @theborgenproject in your content on Instagram
Celebrities and influencers have the perfect platform for getting the word out. Political Affairs Team member Natalie Coyne reached out to Afghan rapper and activist, Sonita Alizadeha, about The Borgen Project. Sonita shared a Borgen Project post highlighting the Keeping Girls in School Act to her Instagram Story.
Content Team member Janice Athill persuaded, Miss Jackson, actress and entrepreneur, to give The Borgen Project a shoutout on her Story.
Content Team member Lauren DesJardins created a series of graphics to share on her Instagram Story.
Videos
Global Poverty and The Borgen Project by PR/Marketing Team member Adrian Jones.