Humanities Advocacy Day

About Hill Meetings

Participants in Humanities Advocacy Day advocate for federal funding for several key agencies. Our Policy Priorities Booklet offers an overview of each of these priorities while our Member Profiles offer information on each Member of Congress’s record of support for the humanities. Our Advocacy Guide and Mock Meeting Scripts, meanwhile, offer new advocates a sense of how to navigate the Hill and conduct a meeting. All of these resources are updated on a yearly basis.

Case-Making Resources

 

One of the keys to a successful meeting is learning about the impact of federal funding for the humanities in your state and congressional district ahead of time. We have developed the NEHforAll.org website to aggregate our research on the NEH’s national and local impact. The databases of NEH and Title VI grants, meanwhile, will help you bolster your argument with examples from your district.

Following Up After the Meeting

Post on Social Media

After the meeting, post on Twitter, Facebook, and/or Instagram tagging the Member and thanking them for taking the time to meet with you. If possible, ask to take a picture with the Member or staffer you met with to post as well.

See an example tweet

Follow-Up Email

After the meeting, we encourage advocates to follow up with the staffers to thank them and to reiterate the requests you’ve made. There is no need to follow these templates exactly. They are meant only as an example of the range of topics you may want to cover in your follow up.

Template messages

Post-Visit Worksheet

We also ask that one advocate from each state group fill out a post-visit worksheet for each of the group's meetings. This helps us determine who we might approach as new champions for our policy priorities and who we might need to follow up with.

Post-visit worksheet

Appropriations Request Form

Offices will often ask you to complete an appropriator request form. We’ve developed tips for filling those out and are also happy to help.

Appropriations request form tips

Join Us

Visit the event page to learn more about our upcoming NHA Annual Meeting and Humanities Advocacy Day!

Learn more