UPDATE, PART 2: GRASSROOTS, OUTREACH, STRATEGIC COMMUNICATIONS & SOCIAL MEDIA
Dear Friends –
In our last update we discussed the activities taking place on the legislative and legal fronts and some of the great headway we’ve been making [link here]. In this part we’re updating people on our important grassroots and communications efforts.
Grassroots, Outreach & Social Media – Exciting Developments!
Letters and faxes from victims, suggestions from attorneys, and other materials directed to congressional members have bolstered our legislative efforts and cheered on the DC decision-makers. (We are just about at the 600 letter level.) But strong co-sponsorship and ultimate passage of the legislation will only happen with an extremely effective grassroots and strategic communications effort. I’m very excited about what’s in store here.
For effective grassroots, nothing beats a strong letter-writing program that encourages congressional members to support legislation. In order to maximize outreach, as you know NIAP has been working hard to broaden the numbers of letter writers and advocates beyond direct Madoff victims by communicating the message that “No one is protected” to all. While there are thousands of Madoff victims we might turn to, there are millions of investors in America right now unaware of the lack of protections. While we are asking victims to distribute this message to family members, friends and general contacts, we are also seeking to distribute this message through associations with other organizations and the general investor community.
In order to be successful, we are working on improvements on three important fronts:
New State-of-the-Art Letter Writing System with New “Micro-site”. NIAP has been working closely with a strategic communications firm to simplify and broaden NIAP’s outreach and further facilitate letters to Congress in support of the Garrett legislation (H.R. 757). NIAP is about to launch a new “micro-site” targeted solely to promote passage of this important bill. The site, which uses the WeGov platform, will make it extremely easy for general investors, victims’ friends and family members to send powerful messages with just a few simple entries, while giving them the flexibility to customize their message.
The micro-site is currently focusing on building support for HR757, as this is legislation that is able to bridge both the victim and general investor communities. Working together, the lobby firms (who have been working closely with both Republican and Democrat members and staff) and the media communications firms have established HR757 as the important immediate focus, both for legislative and public awareness purposes. (During the markup period, we can also press for modifications legislation.) We will ramp up support for HR1635 – the tax bill — in short order.
Those who support HR757 would do so most effectively by utilizing the new NIAP site, or by faxing or sending personal letters. Clearly, as most all of our members do want our hard working lobby firms to succeed, we need to do everything we can to help those working for us in DC (some who have been working on a pro-bono basis for you for better than a year) to accomplish our goals. The NIAP site will allow the lobby firms to use copies of the letters to enhance their influence in meetings with Congressional members and staff.
Nothing should undermine or dilute the letter-writing efforts. For maximum impact, we need thousands of letters going to Congressional members in all districts, in both parties. Professionals have been clear on this issue: aside from personal relationships with Congressional members, letters are the single most effective vehicle for grassroots action.
Expanded Social Media Program. Now that NIAP is working hard to engage the non-victim community of investors, under the guidance of several social media professionals, NIAP has formed an all new Social Media Team guided by our DC Strategic Communications firm and another Social Media Expert. Their goal is to help all to exploit social networking platforms (twitter/facebook/youtube and LinkedIn). The team, consisting of 18 members, has had training sessions on the use of Twitter as an outreach tool for NIAP by a Social Media expert. Since the forming of the team, NIAP is now ‘Tweeting’ its news, providing content for the team to broadcast. We will continue to hold training sessions until the team is proficient on the use of Twitter and will then move onto facebook and other social media. While NIAP has dabbled in social media for some time, it is now embarking on a major effort.
Ever wanted to learn about facebook? We would like as many people as possible to participate in this. If you’d like to help and expand our message, please contact DJ at admin@investoraction.org
. It’s also a great way to learn about social media?
Strengthening Our Volunteer Group. NIAP call volunteers consist of a group of dedicated callers responsible for making phone calls to the masses of victims, keeping them apprised of what is happening, educating them on pending legislation, and how they can influence their congressional representatives (i.e. letter writing). This is of particular importance in reaching the elderly who we estimate to represent approximately 20% of our membership in a cost effective manner, many of whom do not use the internet or email communications. Responsible for many of the letters generated thus far, this group will be central to our grassroots success.
We are continuing to try to grow this group, and encourage you to help out if you have even a modest amount of free time. Please contact Ilene at ilenek@investoraction.org
or Andrew at andrewbv@cox.net for more information.
We have several Grass Tops – NIAP members who have developed direct relationships with their Congressional representative and/or key aide. In fact, one of our team was recently invited to Washington for the House Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations hearings by his Congressman’s office.
Action Item for Madoff Victims: while we’re continuing with our letter-writing campaign, we want to see a ramp up in letters at the next appropriate milestone in Congress, which we hope to see in the next couple of weeks. This should help us meet our new goal of 1000 letters prior to the upcoming hearings expected sometime in the summer. We are asking all congressional members who have previously supported any of the previously introduced tax or SIPC bills to now support both HR757 and HR1635.
Right now there is nothing you can do to help that is more important than moving HR757!
Other ways you can help…
…victim stories. We continue to need people to tell their stories. If you are willing to tell yours, speak with the media, and/or have your story posted on-line, please contact Ilene at ilenek@investoraction.org
…with our Capital Campaign. Like all organizations, NIAP is challenged by some hard realities: lobbyists, PR Firms, staff, materials, general office expenses and more.
We’ve been working so hard for you. For nearly two years, we’ve been part of an extraordinarily difficult battle to change a system that led to enormous damage for many of us, and threatens continued misery for years to come. While so many have participated in this battle, NIAP, even as a small organization, has contributed enormously to the modest successes of this battle, and is determined to fulfill its goals of improved investor protection. Funds are needed in order to continue our collective path to success, however, and NIAP is embarking on a capital raising campaign. If you have the means to contribute, or the fundraising experience to help, please call us. Success is in sight, but we are at a critical juncture. Your help will be greatly appreciated.
One final piece of news…. NIAP will be looking to upgrade its look in our communications. So look for some changes in the near future. If you have any further questions, please contact us as shown below.
In Peace,
Ron Stein
