Once Election Day has passed, be sure to review public pronouncements, candidate surveys and other materials from the winning and losing campaigns. Understand the winning candidate’s position on afterschool and hold them to any afterschool related campaign statements. Look for opportunities to connect afterschool to other priorities of your newly elected officials. Remind them of your expertise and offer to provide information and research to help them better understand your issue.
For more ideas on how to educate officials once they’re in office, check out our Action Center.
A national poll released in January 2023 finds that vast majorities of the public – across gender, race, age, regional and party lines – consider afterschool programs to be important to their communities.
Read the Study Poll Results Blog
Accelerating students' learning and growth, promoting healthy futures, supporting working families: This is afterschool. Check out our factsheets about afterschool in your state.
Dear [official]:
Congratulations on your campaign victory! Ensuring that our children are safe and engaged in learning opportunities after school is a priority for America. A majority of voters – 81 percent, according to a recent poll – agree that afterschool programs are "an absolute necessity" for their communities, and the same number want newly elected leaders at the local, state, and federal levels to provide more funding for them.
Despite this clear consensus, [insert number from your state map] young people in our state need our support in the hours when school is out. These children are also losing out on important opportunities to connect with caring adults and gain skills that will help them realize their full potential. I urge you to invest in afterschool and summer learning programs during your term in office. I’m not alone; two in three adults want their federal, state, and local leaders to provide funding for these programs..
I hope you will consider the [state afterschool network or afterschool program] as a resource to you in your new role. We would be delighted to connect you and your staff with local afterschool and summer learning programs to conduct site visits to see firsthand the critical roles that these programs are playing for our children, youth and families in our state.
As you consider ways in which you can invest in afterschool and summer learning programs in your newly elected position, we can provide you with any needed research on supply and demand and evidence of effectiveness. [State afterschool network or afterschool program] has a strong network of afterschool supporters across the state and we are looking forward to engaging our network to support any proposed policies that will keep children safe and learning in the hours after school and throughout the summer.
Again, congratulations on your victory! We look forward to working with you to ensure all children in [state] have the opportunities they need to realize their full potential.
Sincerely,
[your name]
[your phone number]
[your email address]
There are a number of things you can do to follow up with the field. Ideally, the end of the campaign is just the beginning of your outreach to the database that you’ve built.
1101 14th St NW Suite 700
Washington, D.C. 20005
(866) KIDS-TODAY | Email us
The Afterschool Alliance is working to ensure that all children have access to affordable, quality afterschool programs. Afterschool programs are critical to children and families today, yet the need for programs is far from being met. Learn more
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Support the Afterschool Alliance (CFC# 31020) through your Combined Federal Campaign Workplace Giving Program.
