In terms of advancing the cause and reaching our legislative and policy goals, the next step that we need to take is building a large and active grassroots network that can contact elected officials and other decision-makers when called upon, is willing donate money and/or time, and can recruit others to join them in the cause.

We already have very dedicated individuals and groups around the country willing to pour their passion and energy into the cause, but passion and energy have limits.  Even myself and the members of our staff here at ZERO have limits to the amount that we as individuals or even as a team can accomplish.  For example, in terms of outreach, awareness and education of our issues on Capitol Hill this year, by all accounts it was a highly successful year.  Certainly, we wanted to accomplish more, but our sheer numbers of Members on Capitol Hill who either signed letters, co-sponsored legislation or even reached out to ask us questions about prostate cancer increased by about 33% this year.  In 2008, we visited over 150 Congressional offices between January and September – add to that the 90 or so visits by advocates during this year’s Summit and we reached out to over 200 Members of Congress and their staffs.

However, the contacts that we made directly or indirectly this year do not account for even half of the 535 Members in Washington, DC.

So, where does that leave us?  It leaves us at the point where we either have to work at reaching out and bringing more people that will answer our calls for help, or we will continue to make small scale successes.

Now, the real question once you accept this challenge, is how do we build our networks?

The answer is not as hard as you might think because it has to start with those that are closest to you.  For starters, your friends and family are easy targets – asking friends and family members to write letters is an easy request not only to ask, but also to fulfill.  Your next targets are your extended network of business contacts or professional relationships you might have.

It’s important to remember that most of the people you are talking to at this point have varying levels of knowledge about prostate cancer and this is not a fundraising request.  This is simply a request for people to join your cause and learn more about prostate cancer to help you spread the word about the importance of screening and early detection, and why we fight so hard to increase funding for research.  It’s kind of like dating – you probably want to get to know the person your going out with before you ask them to marry you.  If you ask them to marry you on the first date, it will also probably be your last date.

You probably have opportunities to build your network on a daily or at least weekly basis whether you realize it or not.  For instance, the light chatter that sparks up while your waiting for your drink at the bar or even the coffee shop, or the question that comes from the girl checking you out at the grocery store because they noticed your ribbon pin or ZERO pin, which (shameless promotion) you can buy in the ZERO store.

In addition, holiday season is coming up with parties and gatherings which are all opportunities to talk about your cause.  This is not to say that you fill conversations about prostate cancer and the work you do to raise awareness and advocate – instead, prepare an “elevator speech”.  Your elevator speech should be no more than a minute long (so about a paragraph worth of writing), that covers the main points about what you do and why you do it.  Be prepared to leave a card and follow up with people.

I take advantage of as many networking events as I can fit into my schedule – they may be political events, professional events with other lobbyists, or the ones I enjoy the most cross-profession events where I tend to meet a lot of public relations and marketing professionals.

The most important part of building your list is making it active.  A list is just a list, but an active list is a movement.  Keep your members active through regular contact.  The fact of the matter is that you will only have a few opportunities each year to get you members to write a letter or make a phone call, and it is those few opportunities that you must be able to count on them to do so.  Between those moments, be sure to keep them up to date with news, legislative updates or even small gatherings or other events that keep them engaged and interested.

These are only a few ideas and I hope that you will share ideas, successes or other stories that can help us all in our networking endeavors.  Please feel free to contact me with question, comments, complaints or praise.  AND, have a Happy Halloween.

Ostensibly, this is the new version of my PCA Inside the Beltway blog, but I hope to take a broader view issues and news as they present themselves, and my hope is that we can generate some discussion and action that will help our advocacy for prostate cancer issues at the federal and state level.

One of the first things I want to cover is building our network.  State legislatures are going to be starting up in a couple of months and we’ve already heard from a number of people interested in ramping up State prostate cancer initiatives.  It is important in all campaigns to have a strong core of dedicated advocates (if you’re reading this, you probably already are one of these).  However, if you are only one person, it can be very difficult – you need help.  There should always be at least two others that can help to strategize, recruit and advocate on a regular basis.  From this group, the network should reach out like an oak tree with branches sprouting from the trunk and smaller stems attached to the many branches and leading out to the great number of leaves ready to fall when the weather tells them to.

This takes time, but it is important to think about how to water your tree when you drop the kids off at school, talk to your neighbors while you wash your car, attend sporting and social events where you inevitably end up meeting new people, or whatever setting brings you to expanding your network.  Your network is the beginning of a movement that will initially bring change in your State, but when added to the collection of networks nationally will help us to affect change at the federal level.

I have plans for the next three entries that I will post in the coming days and I hope that it will spark some interest, feedback and input about how we take the next steps.  The first entry I will post is going to talk about building the network and it’s going to be important to keep in mind that it’s more than just names on a list – the network and the list have to be active on a regular basis, people have to answer the call to let their voice be heard and share concerns with elected officials and decision makers at all levels of government.

The next two articles will discuss what has happened so far and MY view of the current state of grassroots advocacy, and then where we’re going and how we are going to get there with the help of new advocates and more involved grassroots network.

I hope that you will share your thoughts with me and others here on our community pages and together we will work to achieve our goals legislatively, but more importantly scientifically and medically as we fight prostate cancer.