To execute a campaign to make afterschool an election issue, it is important to understand your community and the election that you are targeting.  Consider:

• Who are potential partners? Some organizations orchestrate campaigns to raise social issues in every election cycle. Find the organizations in your area whose agendas fit well with yours. Chances are they will be working on a broader issue, such as education or children’s welfare, but will welcome the chance to bring you (and your valuable grassroots contacts and supporters) in as a partner. Some examples of organizations to consider: Children’s Leadership Council, Every Child Matters and Rock the Vote. Also think about the groups that typically organize candidate debates or forums, such as universities or public television stations. Approaching them early and offering your assistance can help ensure afterschool has a place in the event. 
• What election do you want to target? A statewide campaign requires a significant amount of resources, time and effort. We recommend you start locally and, if successful, move to a larger jurisdiction next time. Work with your partners and consider targeting municipal, county or district elections, which will likely be a more effective use of resources. Or, if you determine that state or national offices are most important, target specific aspects of the election, such as securing questions on afterschool in a candidate debate or orchestrating site visits for candidates.  
• What are your campaign goals? You should be able to clearly articulate your goals for the project. This will be especially important when recruiting funders and partners.
• Show me the money! Identify community trusts, local foundations and other groups that may want to fund an initiative like this. Remember, you are more likely to find funders when you undertake a campaign like this with partners.
• How will you make the case for afterschool? This toolkit and our website has up-to-date facts and research that will help, and downloading our Candidate Resource Guide on Afterschool is a good start. The candidate guide can be sent to all candidates as a primer on the importance of afterschool programs as a campaign issue—just remember that if you send it to one candidate, you must send it to all candidates for a particular office. It is also important to know the political lay of the land in your area. Are statewide or local polling numbers available on afterschool? Do you know where the candidates stand on the issue? If any of them are current office holders, have they sponsored related legislation or signed resolutions?
• How will you communicate with the public and your supporters? Two basic communication tools are contact lists and a website. At the outset, you and your partners may want to pool your lists to create a master database. You should continue to build this list throughout the campaign by hosting voter registration, public education and other “list building” events. Your contact list will allow you to call or send out blast emails to your supporters and encourage them to take action. A campaign website will allow you to post event and campaign information, conduct polls and allow the general public to find out more about your issue. Our social media guide in the Reaching Out section below offers more outreach suggestions.
• What are the “rules of engagement” for nonprofits? There is little risk to nonprofits participating in a nonpartisan voter and candidate education campaign, if the activities are managed carefully; the goal is to elevate the issue of afterschool, not a particular candidate or political party. 

This toolkit is filled with an abundance of information on campaigning; however, you should not feel like you have to complete every step and participate in every recommended activity in order for your efforts to be successful. Rather, you should pick and choose—based on the time you are able to spend and the resources available—the strategies most effective to help you reach your campaign goals.

The diagram below offers suggestions for how you should focus your efforts depending upon the level of involvement you choose. Participation at any of these levels is a meaningful accomplishment that will help to advance the goal of afterschool for all.

It can be confusing to know how you can involve yourself in an election if you work for a nonprofit organization. There are a couple of simple ground rules that you need to follow:

1. Equal Outreach – all contact with and materials sent to campaigns should be the same for every candidate running for a particular position. For example, if a Democrat, Republican, Libertarian and Independent are all running for mayor, you must send information to all four candidates. If a candidate requests additional information, you may provide materials your organization already has created, but your organization may not create new materials tailored to a candidate’s needs. Document your contact with the candidate. If other candidates reach out to you, you must provide them information that responds to their requests; be responsive to all candidates equally.
2. Documentation – keep a calendar of each time you reach out to a candidate and every time a candidate contacts you. This will help you keep track of your outreach efforts.

 A few details from the IRS: Section 501(c)(3) provides a federal tax exemption to a charitable organization, so long as it "does not participate in, or intervene in (including the publishing or distributing of statements), any political campaign on behalf of (or in opposition to) any candidate for public office." The IRS also forbids such organizations from trying to prevent a public official from being re-nominated.

 This toolkit is intended to provide guidance on federal lobbying laws, but it is not legal advice. We advise you to consult an attorney if you have specific concerns. This information was adapted from the Alliance for Justice’s series on nonprofit and foundation lobbying and advocacy. 

Whether you’re a seasoned advocate or completely new to advocacy, there’s no reason to scale down your advocacy efforts during an election year. Advocacy and lobbying activities may take place during election season provided you follow the rules detailed below. You may engage in the following activities:

• Issue advocacy, you may provide information on your issue as you always have – of course, if you think an activity may cross the line into electioneering or political activity, consult a lawyer regarding these rules; remember equal outreach.
• Speakers: If you invite an office holder to an event in their official capacity rather than as a candidate, you don’t need to invite opposing candidates, but make sure the event has a very clear non-election purpose and ensure the speakers do not discuss the election in their remarks.
• Sponsor a debate between candidates as long as:
  • You invite all qualified candidates;
  • An independent panel prepares the questions;
  • The topics cover a broad range of issues, including those of particular importance to your organization;
  • Every candidate has an equal opportunity to speak;
  • The moderator is neutral and states at the beginning and end of the program that the views expressed are not representative of your organization.
• Try to persuade candidates to agree with you on issues and to make those issues part of their campaign—but that is as far as you can go; do not ask candidates to sign a “pledge” or other public barometer of support for your organization’s issues.
• Work to get your positions included on a political party’s platform by:
  • Delivering testimony to both parties’ platform committees;
  • Including a disclaimer in both oral and written testimony that the testimony is being offered for educational purposes only;
  • Reporting the testimony and any responses in your regularly scheduled newsletter to members.
• Operate a nonpartisan voter registration or “get out the vote” drive. Note that “get out the vote” activities must be designed solely to educate the public about the importance of voting and must not show any bias for or against any candidate or party. In a voter registration drive, voters must be registered regardless of their party preference or their support (or lack thereof) for your organization’s issues. Do not ask where voters stand on an issue before offering to register them.

• Support specific candidates or parties in races for elected office, including:
  • Support or oppose a declared candidate or third-party movement;
  • Conduct efforts to “draft” someone to run;
  • Conduct exploratory advance work.
• Endorse a candidate or contribute to a campaign with money or time:
  • Members can, of course, donate or volunteer on their own time.
• Contribute any cash or in-kind support:
  • Includes loans or paying to attend partisan political dinners;
  • An in–kind contribution is considered providing anything of value to a candidate, political party or political organization when you are not paid the fair market value in return.
  • Creating new materials in response to a candidate’s request for information may constitute an in-kind contribution. For example, while it is fine to provide a candidate with an existing research report or brochure regarding a particular issue in response to their request for information, an organization may not write a speech or op-ed for that candidate to use.
• Send partisan political communications to their members or employees telling them how to vote.
• Sponsor joint fundraising events or solicitations with candidates or a political group.
• Ask candidates to sign a public endorsement of your organization’s agenda.

 Important Definitions

Candidate: any individual who offers himself or herself, or is proposed by others, as a contestant for an elective public office.
Public office: any position filled by a vote of the people at the federal, state or local level—ranging from the president of the United States to the local school board—and elective party offices, such as local area committee persons and party nominations.

Can an organization state its position on public policy issues that candidates for public office are divided on?

An organization may take positions on public policy issues, including issues that divide candidates in an election for public office, as long as the message does not in any way favor or oppose a candidate. Be aware that the message does not need to identify the candidate by name to be prohibited political activity. A message that shows a picture of a candidate, refers to a candidate’s political party affiliations, refers to an election, or includes other distinctive features of a candidate’s platform or biography may be prohibited political activity.

Can an organization post information on its website (or link to other websites) about a candidate for public office? 

A website is a form of communication. If an organization posts something on its website that favors or opposes a candidate for public office, it is prohibited political activity. It is the same as if the organization distributed printed material, or made oral statements or broadcasts that favored or opposed a candidate.

If an organization establishes a link to another website, it is responsible for the consequences of establishing and maintaining that link even if the organization does not have control over the content on the linked site. Because the linked content may change, the organization should monitor the linked content and adjust or remove any links that could result in prohibited political activity. 

During your campaign, you will not only be tasked with educating and prompting your community, but also with defending afterschool against criticism, excuses or apathy. These talking points provide responses to commonly held misconceptions about afterschool programs. 

 Misconception #1: “We can’t afford to pay for afterschool programs.”

Reply: We can’t afford to not support afterschool. If a young person falls into a life of crime, society will pay a tab of roughly $1.5 million over his or her lifetime. Quality afterschool has been proven to deter youth from risky behaviors and offer an alternative to gang life.  Also, afterschool programs save at least three tax dollars for every one spent by reducing the need for remedial education and grade repetition, as well as keeping kids safe and out of trouble.

• Parents of 19.4 million children (41 percent) not currently participating in afterschool programs say they would enroll their children if a program were available to them. That is a significant increase from 15.3 million (30 percent) in 2004.
• Among parents with a child in an afterschool program, more than 8 in 10 agree that afterschool programs excite children about learning, keep kids active, develop social skills and reduce the likelihood that youth will engage in risky behaviors. 

 Misconception #2: “People aren’t willing to spend public funds on afterschool programs.”

Reply: Recent polling tells us the opposite. First, the public believes that afterschool programs provide a multitude of benefits for children in a variety of areas—from academics to social skills to health and wellness. Second, they want government at every level to invest in afterschool.

Highlights from America After 3PM and other polling data:

• Eight in 10 parents (84 percent) support public funding for afterschool programs. 
• Voters show a commitment to afterschool during both good and bad economic times. Voters say they are willing to use taxpayer money—and even pay more in taxes—to support afterschool programs.
• Voters want to see all levels of government make a commitment to afterschool programs. They would like the federal, state and local governments to set aside specific funds to be used for afterschool programs.

 Misconception #3: “Afterschool programs don’t work.”

Reply: In addition to many compelling personal stories about the benefits of afterschool, dozens of formal studies clearly demonstrate the value of afterschool initiatives. These studies prove that afterschool programs keep kids safe, help working families and improve academic achievement. Some examples:

• Elementary school students attending LA's BEST afterschool program improved their regular school day attendance and reported higher aspirations regarding finishing school and going to college. Additionally, LA’s BEST participants are 20 percent less likely to drop out of school compared to matched nonparticipants. (UCLA National Center for Research on Evaluation, Standards and Student Testing, June 2000, December 2005 and September 2007)
• High school students participating in Chicago's After School Matters program—which offers paid internships in the arts, technology, sports and communications to teenagers in some of the city's most underserved schools—have higher class attendance, lower course failures and higher graduation rates than similar students who do not participate in the program. (University of Chicago, Chapin Hall Center for Children, 2007)
• A meta-analysis of 68 afterschool program evaluations found that students participating in high-quality afterschool programs made positive academic gains—such as improved school grades and test scores, as well as a significant improvement in their perceptions of themselves, improved positive social behavior and a decrease in problem behaviors. (Collaborative for Academic, Social and Emotional Learning, 2010)
• Afterschool programs also have a positive impact on students most at-risk of failing academically. An evaluation synthesizing more than 30 studies of afterschool programs found that students participating in programs who were at risk of failure in reading or math saw gains in both subjects. (Mid-continent Research for Education and Learning, 2006)
• An analysis on the academic impact of participation in afterschool programs found that consistent program participation led to greater gains in math and improved behavior and school day attendance. Additionally, the higher the levels of participation by students in low-income families, the smaller the math achievement gap between them and their peers from higher-income families. (Pierce, K.M., Auger, A. and Vandell, D.L., 2013)

 Misconception #4: “It’s parents’ responsibility to see that their kids have adequate care.”

Reply: Unfortunately, adequate care is something not always available in every community. Today, only one-fourth of American families fit the “traditional” image of one parent at home caring for children full time, while the other parent provides financial support. In fact, 75 percent of mothers with school-age children are employed. In all, there are more than 30 million children in a household where both parents are in the workforce.

Additionally, the impact of a lack of adequate care is much broader in scope, not only affecting the children and parents who are in need of afterschool resources. Research has found that parents miss an average of five days of work per year due to a lack of afterschool care, and that decreased worker productivity related to parent’s concerns about their child’s afterschool care costs businesses up to $300 billion per year.

With parents reporting spending close to an average of 9 hours during the weekdays working, the gap between work and school schedules amounts to as much as 25 hours per week. This presents working parents with the challenge of finding someone to care for their children while they are at work. Nationwide, more than 3 million children in grades K-8 regularly care for themselves, and 20 percent of all children go home alone after school each day. Further, child care can be prohibitively expensive for many working families. For instance, more than half of American families with an employed mother and a child younger than 15 years old have child care expenses that consume, on average, roughly 8 percent of their monthly earnings. The situation is even tougher for families with earnings below the federal poverty leve—they spend an average of 30 percent of their monthly earnings on child care. The average annual cost of care for school-aged children can total more than $11,000.

The realities of today’s working world make afterschool programs an absolute necessity. More than 8 in 10 parents agree that afterschool programs help give working parents peace of mind about their children when they are at work (85 percent) and that afterschool programs help working parents keep their jobs (84 percent).

Afterschool funding and policy affects millions of families, as well as stakeholders such as employers concerned about productivity and future workforce. Be sure you have an understanding of key policies that affect afterschool in your area. A number of federal policy initiatives have major impact on afterschool in local communities:

• 21^st Century Community Learning Centers—a $1.2 billion funding stream that supports afterschool programs in thousands of communities across America. Be familiar with the impact of these grants to the areas candidates want to represent.
• Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA)
• Expanded Learning
• Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM)

When asked about the most important problem facing America today, Americans are most likely to point to the economy. STEM education is critical to the success of our future workforce—and therefore our economy. This makes STEM even more central in the minds of voters, and places it near the forefront in many candidates’ and policymakers’ speeches.

Our future economy will be primarily driven by innovation that arises from advances in STEM. By giving all children opportunities to develop strong STEM skills, we can ensure the next generation’s ability to build and maintain a strong national economy. Adding to the sector that develops new products and tackles pressing problems also adds to the pool of people creating jobs for our economy, which, in turn, helps us all. In fact, one job in the high-tech sector leads to four new jobs in local goods and service industries. Over the next five years, employers will need to hire nearly 1 million employees with basic STEM literacy and more than 600,000 employees with advanced STEM knowledge.

Yet, a survey of CEOs of major US corporations conducted by the Business Round Table and Change the Equation revealed that approximately 60 percent of job openings require basic STEM literacy, and 42 percent require advanced STEM skills. However:

• Twenty-eight percent say that at least half of their new entry-level hires lack basic STEM literacy.
• Sixty-two percent of CEOs report problems finding qualified applicants for jobs requiring advanced computer/IT knowledge.
• Forty-one percent report problems finding qualified applicants for jobs requiring advanced quantitative knowledge.

The following chart illustrates some of the kinds of activities you might undertake to reach each key audience. Remember, this is not an exhaustive list and is only meant to serve as a foundation on which to build.

Letters to the Editor

Sending a letter to the editor is a great way to disseminate your message to a wide audience and one of the easiest ways to get published. In many cases, letters are your best shot at getting published, if only because newspapers print more letters than editorials each day.

Letters to the editor are widely read and well worth submitting.

Here are some things to keep in mind:

• Letters to the editor pages differ from newspaper to newspaper. You will need to take a look at your own newspaper to get a feel for what they do and do not publish.
• If the paper writes reports on anything related to afterschool or education, use those articles as a starting point for your own editorial; the paper is more likely to print a letter to the editor if it responds to its own coverage.                        
• Though most letters to the editor are opinionated, you can also write them just to raise the issue of afterschool, especially as it relates to the community.
• Send a copy of your letter to as many publications as you can in your area; you never know who will pick it up, and you can never have too much publicity. Make sure to use your database to reach out to high-profile members in the community who are sympathetic to your cause. Encourage and work with these individuals to place letters to the editor or op-eds in the local and regional news outlets.

 A sample letter to the editor is available in our Sample Materials.

Editorial Board Meetings

Most newspaper editorials are written by editorial writers, not reporters. These writers are part of the newspaper's "editorial board," usually made up of the editorial page editor, editorial writers with responsibility for specific issue areas and other ranking members of the newspaper staff.

Find out how to engage these writers at meetings with members of the public. Editorial boards frequently meet with representatives of local organizations, elected officials, candidates and anyone else they think might be able to inform them on issues that matter to their readers. The meetings generally last about an hour, and they are usually the occasion for a vigorous give-and-take between the editorial writers and their guests (and sometimes among the editorial writers themselves).

Newspapers rely on advocates to propose meetings. It is important to reach out to editorial boards to put ideas about afterschool–related articles on their radar. Here's how to proceed:

1. Put together a group of three or four local afterschool advocates, including a representative of an afterschool program and perhaps a community-based organization leader, parent and business leader who has partnered with an afterschool program.
2. Write a brief letter or email to the editorial page editor of your local newspaper requesting a meeting, laying out what you'd like to discuss and why it is important and timely.
3. Follow up your letter a day or two after it arrives with a telephone call to the editorial page editor. Be prepared to offer suggested dates and times; steer clear of afternoons, if possible, and Fridays altogether.
4. Have a preparatory meeting with your group before meeting with the editorial board at the newspaper, should they agree to meet with you. Practice answering questions and decide who will take the lead in answering questions about specific topics.
5. Each member of your group should be ready to offer a three-minute opening summary of important points. Be sure each group member addresses a different aspect of the benefits of afterschool programs.
6. Know your material and be ready to answer questions.
7. Do some research to find out which editorial writer covers this issue. You may want to get back in touch with this writer in the future.
8. Leave materials (fact sheets, information on your program, etc.) with the editorial board writers when you leave.
9. Send a thank-you note after the meeting, highlighting key points you want to be sure editorial board members remember and addressing any questions you left unanswered.

A crucial aspect of your work is mobilizing afterschool supporters—they are one of your greatest assets. Optimize their effectiveness by encouraging them to vote and by prompting them to ask candidates where they stand on afterschool.

Start with your own list of supporters and contacts. Convene and brief members of the afterschool community and the broader children’s community, including local elected officials, practitioners, parents, PTAs, etc. As you organize meetings and gauge interest from like-minded organizations in your area, it may be useful to think about the size of their databases and strength of their existing grassroots networks. This can and should be a factor when deciding on partners.

“Get Out the Vote” (GOTV)

In addition to hosting events and using the Internet to rally support around afterschool, it is important to make a push to turn out voters through targeted materials. Items such as palm cards, fliers, mock bbballots and other election-related materials can be distributed to your supporters in the community and at Lights On Afterschool events. This material should also be easily accessible on your website. These materials should note the day and date of the election. Implementing this GOTV effort separately from any information you provide on your issues may be the easiest way to avoid concerns of electioneering; if you would like to combine the two, you may want to seek further advice. 

It is important to ask candidates about their positions on afterschool. This is both your opportunity to get the candidates’ positions on the record and the candidates’ opportunity to express their views. Asking questions about afterschool in public settings will help ensure that these issues are included in the political conversation, while prompting candidates to take a formal stand on afterschool. This is especially important when considering that most candidates do not include afterschool policy in their formal campaign platforms. Be sure to phrase your questions in an unbiased manner, to avoid indicating that there is a “correct” answer—otherwise, your question (combined with the candidates’ responses) may be construed as an endorsement of the candidate who provided the “right” answer.

If a candidate goes on record as being supportive of afterschool, it will help you hold him or her accountable after the election. Candidate surveys and questionnaires are another way to get candidate views on the record. You can also use candidates’ survey responses to share an objective view of the candidates with afterschool supporters. For example, re-printing candidates’ complete responses—and noting who did not respond—can provide advocates with information about where the candidates stand on these important issues. Make sure you have given each candidate for that particular office the same opportunity to answer.

Polls can help you identify and refine messages and themes that resonate with the public to make for a stronger campaign and more focused messaging.

If you have the resources, conduct polls or surveys to register voter opinions on a variety of subjects, including afterschool. Using the surveys and opinion research can help you make the case that public concern for afterschool is among the top issues on voters’ minds. This can serve as the “meat” of your campaign. Consider having the youth in your program conduct their own poll with questions for their fellow students as well as parents and community members. 

If you do not have the resources to conduct polls or voter surveys, you may be able to use existing data to make your point or work with an organization already conducting a poll for this election. Do not reinvent the wheel! Review existing research and polls on afterschool and collate the data to release “new” results from which to base your talking points. If an organization is conducting a poll, discuss adding afterschool-related questions.

Finally, it may be helpful to get feedback from high-level supporters outside your community. Surveying out-of-state advocates and colleagues may give you a better sense of how to present the campaign and what issues might work. Use these people and organizations as resources to help you frame the debate in your community. They may have suggestions of what has worked in their respective areas.

 For sample polling questions and ideas to make your poll a success, check out our Sample Materials.

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.

 For a sample follow-up letter to newly elected officials, check out our Sample Materials.

Share these resources along with your letter:

2018 Poll findings

Your State Factsheet (Click on your state, then “Learn More about Afterschool in [your state]).

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.

• Be sure to send acknowledgements to the field, thanking them for their effort and hard work.
• Organize a post-election meeting with your partners and area campaign leaders, and share best practices: what worked, what didn’t.
• Encourage the field to “keep the pressure on.”
• Give field sample letters so they can follow up with the winning candidates.

[Date]

Letters-to-the-Editor
[Organization contact information]
Anytown, USA 12345

To the Editor:

Just in time for the new school year, [your school/organization name] has answered the pleas of local families by providing an affordable, quality afterschool program for students in grades six to eight. The demand for supervised afterschool programs is great. More than 30 million school-age children have both parents working outside the home. Furthermore, 11.3 million “latchkey children” go home after school each day to a house with no adult supervision, and without the opportunities to learn that afterschool programs can provide. 

The juvenile crime rate triples between the hours of 3 and 8 p.m., with violent crimes by juveniles peaking between 3 and 4 p.m.—the hour at the end of the school day. Why? In part because an increasing number of our children are on their own during these late afternoon hours while parents are at work. What these children need are engaging activities that will keep them safe and out of trouble.

Afterschool programs provide that needed alternative while helping children with their studies and providing a range of enrichment activities. [insert examples of how your afterschool program is helping your community. Example: Just For Kids provides three hours of supervised afterschool activities, including homework assistance, arts and crafts, and recreation. Rivertowne Student Success is proud to take a leadership role in the burgeoning afterschool movement and excited about the chance to provide our children with a positive afternoon alternative to the streets.]

Sincerely,
 

[your signature]
[title, school/organization name]
[phone]

Questions for parents, teachers, community members and voters:

1. Do you think there needs to be some type of organized activity or place where children can go after school every day that provides opportunities to learn?
2. Which is the most important element for an afterschool program to have (pick one):
   1. Homework and tutoring time
   2. Physical activity
   3. Arts activity—music, dance, drama, etc.
   4. Healthy snack
   5. Community service
   6. Social and emotional supports
   7. Other (specify)
3. Do you have children? How old are they? Do they participate in an afterschool program?
4. Why do your children participate in an afterschool program? Why not?
5. If an afterschool program is not available in your area, would you support the creation of one? Why or why not?
6. Which afterschool program outcome is most important to you (pick one):
   1. Increasing test scores
   2. Keeping kids safe
   3. Healthier kids (through fitness and nutrition activities)
   4. Providing kids with hands-on opportunities to learn science, math, engineering and computing skills
   5. Building and developing kids’ social and emotional skills
   6. Development of creative and artistic skills
   7. Other (specify)
7. Do you think money for afterschool programs should come primarily from federal, state or local government?
8. If your children are in an afterschool program, do you think it makes you a more productive member of the workforce? Why or why not?

Other suggestions:

Don’t limit yourself to the above questions; those are just ideas. You know what the issues are concerning afterschool programs and your community. For example, is your program in danger of closing? Even if it isn’t, ask people how they would feel if it did close. What would their biggest concern be? 

What to do when you’re done:

Once you’ve polled enough people—and enough depends on the size of your program, school or community—you’ll need to decide how you want to present your data. For example, would the data make more sense as a bar graph, or as text? The final report should only be about one page long, maybe two, depending on how big your poll was. You could include your final report in the Candidate’s Guide to Afterschool or send it to a local newspaper to get them to write a story about it.

Dear [official]:

Congratulations on your campaign victory. My fellow [state citizens, i.e. Virginians] and I have signaled our support for you and your views on what our children need. Ensuring that our children are safe and engaged in learning opportunities after school is a priority for America. A September 2018 national public opinion survey found that an overwhelming majority of adults in America—nearly nine out of ten—consider afterschool programs important to their communities.

Despite this clear consensus, [insert number from www.afterschoolalliance.org/policyStateMap.cfm] young people in our state are alone after school. These children are not only at unsafe and at risk—they 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] 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] 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]