“Technology is quickly changing the way we reach out to members of Congress and our own constituents. This class helped me decide when (and when not) to use new technologies in my advocacy. I would recommend the Online Advocacy session for anyone who wants to help their grassroots efforts.”
-Robert Hay, Jr.

Email blasts … blogs … Twitter … Facebook … MySpace … YouTube … Powerful new vehicles that can carry your message directly out to the public and into Congressional offices and committee rooms on Capitol Hill.

But which online vehicles make sense for your grassroots or issue campaign? What technology, content, effort and know-how does it take to make them work? What legal and public relations pitfalls exist? And how do you integrate online advocacy with your overall messaging and communications strategy?

Here's how to get all the right answers for your organization.

Register now for Online Advocacy: Best Practices, Cost-Effective Tools and Guidance to Meet the Challenge

This newest session in the Lobbyist Certificate Program gets you up to speed on every aspect of online advocacy, including how to choose and use tactics and craft relevant messaging for email, blogs and social networks. GR and online advocacy experts also offer practical guidance on how to mesh new media with traditional efforts, avoid compliance and public relations nightmares, and leverage these inexpensive platforms to achieve the greatest visibility—and influence.

This session counts toward Lobbyist Certificate Program certification.

What You'll Learn:

1. How to run an effective online advocacy operation in lean, competitive times
2. Real-world insights from Congressional office personnel: what works, what gets ignored
3. Lessons learned from successful online advocacy campaigns
4. Secrets for clearing email filters so your messages arrive - and get read
5. Best practices for crafting relevant online messages
6. Design considerations—and tips—for online tools, including the advocacy portion of your Website
7. Practical guidance on how to assess and choose strong outsourcing vendors and technologies and keep costs and administrative burdens to a minimum
8. Troubleshooting advice on how to keep online advocacy activities from inadvertently triggering legal and compliance problems specific to the Government relations environment and the general business environment

Register now to improve the ROI of lobbying efforts throughout 2010!

Meet Your Training Team

	Alan Rosenblatt, Ph.D. is the Associate Director for Online Advocacy at CAPAF. He is a frequent speaker and author on digital media, advocacy, and politics, including social networking, blogging, grassroots, and mobile advocacy strategies. He is the founder of the Internet Advocacy Center and the Internet Advocacy Roundtable; an adjunct professor at Georgetown, Johns Hopkins, and American Universities, where he teaches Media and Politics in the Digital Age, Internet Politics, Digital Political Strategies, and Internet Advocacy Communications; a blogger at the Huffington Post, TechPresident.com and DrDigiPol.com, and a former fellow at George Washington University's Institute for Politics, Democracy, & the Internet. Alan is also a founding team member of Media Bureau Networks, a pioneer in streaming media services; a contributing editor to PoliticsOnline.com; serves on the editorial boards of several scholarly journals dedicated to the study of the Internet, politics, and government; and is a member of the Board of Directors for E-Democracy.org. He taught Political Science at George Mason University for nine years, where, in 1995, he launched the first-ever cyberpolitics course. With MBN, he webcasted live coverage of the 2000 presidential conventions. In 2001, he served as Vice President for the Online Advocacy Services division at Stateside Associates. From 2003 to 2005 he served as Director of Training Programs at e-advocates. Alan has a Ph.D. in Political Science from American University, an M.A. in Political Science from Boston College, and a B.A. in Political Science and Philosophy from Tufts University.
	Ronald Jacobs, a partner in Venable's regulatory group, leads Venable’s political law practice. He counsels corporations, trade associations, advocacy organizations, and individuals on all aspects of state and federal campaign finance, lobbying disclosure, pay-to-play, and gift and ethics laws. In addition, he counsels clients on the tax implications of their political and lobbying activities. Mr. Jacobs recently defended a large national association in a Congressional investigation into its grassroots lobbying activities. In addition, he has advised a number of clients on the legal issues surrounding their online advocacy efforts, including privacy, defamation, tax, and lobbying disclosure issues.
	Howard Fienberg, PLC is Director of Government Affairs for the Marketing Research Association. As such, he serves as the lobbyist for MRA, a rade association representing survey researchers, focusing on consumer and data privacy, IT and telecommunications issues. He also serves as coordinator of ALL’s social media networking, having established our presence on both FaceBook and LinkedIn. He has written articles and op-eds for major newspapers including the Chicago Tribune, The San Francisco Chronicle, The Philadelphia Inquirer and others. He has written regular columns for TechCntralStation.com, a daily public policy web site. Howard holds an MA in International Relations from the University of Essex (Colchester, England) and a BA in Political Studies from Trent University in Ontario, Canada. He has also studied in Scotland and Russia.
	Eric Dell, Chief of Staff, Rep. Joe Wilson

Who Will Benefit

• Government relations professionals
• Lobbying firms involved directly or indirectly with Agencies, Departments or the White House
• Law firms engaged in lobbying
• Association/Not-for-Profit lobbyists
• Corporate Government Relations professionals

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Last updated: January 15, 2010