TOOLKIT: Advancing Policy and Community Engagement
Overview
Advancing local, state and national policy on behalf of our children’s wellbeing in order to improve lives requires both a shared vision and a multi-layered approach, including grassroots campaigns, fundraising, community engagement and legislative outreach. Get started now »
Toolkit Videos
Reauthorizing The Children’s Trust
Video
Watch this inspirational video that tells the story of The Children’s Trust’s successful reauthorization campaign of 2008 (video opens in new window).
Video: The Children's Trust Reauthorization Campaign
Featured Blog
A Life’s Purpose: Affordable Care and Education for All Children
by Dave Lawrence
Measurable success, enduring success is particularly difficult when you are trying to build a “movement” for all children. Niccolo Machiavelli, wrote in “The Prince” a half-millennium ago: “There is nothing more difficult to conduct, or more uncertain of success, than to take the lead in the introduction of the new order of things.” For me “the new order of things” means…
Resources
The Children’s Trust Book
The Children’s Trust
This inspirational booklet tells the story of The Children’s Trust’s successful reauthorization campaign of 2008 from beginning to end. The comprehensive document evaluates key components of the campaign including lessons learned, strategies, managing budgets and overcoming opposition (pdf opens in new window).
What You'll Learn
- How to build community support for early learning
- What it takes to launch a grassroots campaign
- How to choose an effective champion for your cause
- How to address and overcome unexpected problems
- How to engage a culturally and ethnically diverse community to support a common goal
- What are efficient ways to maximize fundraising efforts
Guiding Voice
Dave Lawrence
The former publisher of The Miami Herald, Dave currently serves as the president of The Early Childhood Initiative Foundation. In addition to his work in Florida, Dave also serves on the board of the Foundation for Child Development in New York and the Executive Advisory Board for the Frank Porter Graham Child Development Institute of the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill. In 2002, he was a key figure in passing a statewide constitutional amendment in Florida to provide pre-K for all four-year-olds. He is a board member and former chair of the Early Learning Coalition of Miami-Dade and Monroe. The David Lawrence Jr. K-8 Public School opened in 2006 across from the north campus of Florida International University. A fully endowed chair in early childhood studies is established in his name at the University of Florida College of Education.