State of the Union June 2018

Note from the President: Welcome to summer excitement! When it comes to advocacy this is my favorite time of year. Members of Congress spend the majority of the summer back in their districts meeting with constituents and finding out what issues to focus on. What makes this year extra interesting is the mid-term election in November. All 435 members of the House of Representatives are up for election and 33 out of 100 Senate seats are being voted on. Be sure to focus on candidates as well as current Members of Congress. Many of these candidates will be elected and serving in Congress next year. Below are a handful of items we need everyone doing this summer. Even if you’re not on the political team, you can expand your skillset and participate.

Lobby Members and Candidates: Beyond the normal channels for setting up a lobbying meeting with Members of Congress, you can also contact the campaigns of candidates and request a meeting.
Mobilize: It always amazes me the impact 7-10 people emailing a leader can have in getting that leader to support a bill. The more people emailing the more engaged leaders tend to get in fighting global poverty.
Bird-Dog: Members of Congress hold town halls to talk to constituents and find out what issues are important to them. Attending these and asking them what they’re doing to address global poverty is a highly effective way to put them in the “hot seat” in front of their voters. As always, be polite and know the leader’s background on the issue before the event. Many leaders are doing wonderful work when it comes to fighting poverty and you’ll want to thank them.
Send Thank-Yous to leaders: If there is anything your Members of Congress have done related to global poverty that you can thank them for, please do (co-sponsored one of our bills). Ideally, send a handwritten note. We hear this frequently from congressional staffers that are friendly to the cause, but leaders really appreciate Thank-Yous and it tends to get them more active on the issue.

– Clint Borgen
[hr]

Political Updates
[hr_invisible]

Lobbying Efforts

Total # of Lobbying Meetings in May: 71
Total # of Lobbying Meetings in 2018: 373
Lobbying Meetings Goal for 2018: 560

Advocacy Emails

Number of Advocacy Emails in May: 8,013
Advocacy Emails Goal for 2018: 100,000
% of Congress Emailed in May: 91%
[hr]

Congressional Office Meetings

[one_half first]

Political Affairs Team members Alexander Klein and Cheyenne Roinestead met with Nicole Frazier, the Greater Denver area Regional Director for Senator Cory Gardner (R – CO).

[/one_half]

[one_half]

Regional Director Chivia Horton met with Rep. Bill Foster (D – IL 11th).

[/one_half]
[hr_invisible]
PR/Marketing Team member Ani Gevorkian met with her congressional leaders in California at a town hall and through bird-dogging.

[one_third first]

Ani with Rep. Adrin Nazarian (D – CA 46th).

[/one_third]

[one_third]

Ani with Rep. Jim Beall (D – CA 11th).

[/one_third]

[one_third]

Ani with Rep. Ro Khanna (D – CA 17th) at a town hall event in Cupertino.

[/one_third]

[hr]

Warren’s Address

Listen to the latest from Warren about the goings-on in D.C.

[hr]

Content Team Updates

Here are the Top 10 Articles for May on BORGEN Magazine.

[hr]

HR Team Updates

There is a 96% increase in applicants – May 2017 vs. May 2018.

Professional Development Help

We are pleased to offer professional development help to our interns. To find out more go to: https://borgenteam.org/professional-development-help/

[hr]

Recognition

Congratulations to the following team members that have achieved Borgen Project Honors & Recognition.

- - Bird-dog Award: Ani Gevorkian, PR/Marketing Team.
  - Chief Closer Award: John Davis Williams, Political Affairs Team.
  - President’s Circle: Cheyenne Roinestead, Political Affairs Team.
  - Public Outreach Award: Annie Goldstein, Political Affairs Team (June 2018) and Emme Arnesen, Political Affairs Team (June 2018).

Visit the Our Team Members page and read about success stories with our organization.

[hr]

Getting the Word Out
[hr_invisible]

In The News

The Borgen Project was cited this week in Newsweek! Kim Jong Un Stays in Luxury 5-Star Singapore Hotel While His People Starve

Information Events & Group Presentations

PR/Mktg Team member Ana Paola Soria Galvarro held an information event where participants were very interested in supporting the International Affairs Budget and calling & writing to Congress in support of our cause.