Grassroots Toolkit: How to Schedule a Meeting With Your Member of Congress

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Based on our experience with past efforts to set up meetings, we’ve outlined some steps that will help increase the chance that you will get a meeting:

1. Call your senators’ and representative’s local office(s). Ask for the scheduler’s name and his or her fax number. Even if you know someone else in the office, get the name of the scheduler as well (they may be in Washington, DC, or in your state) and how to contact him or her.

2. Put together a written request for a meeting with the senator or representative. Nearly all verbal requests are rejected. Send the written request to the scheduler and copy anyone else you know in the office (the original must go to the scheduler). The request should be less than a page long and should include

• Who is in your delegation, with their titles or affiliations
• What you want: a 30-minute meeting with the senator/representative
• When you want to meet: specify the days and times your delegation can meet
• Where you want to meet: give the location of the district office closest to you
• Why you want to meet: to talk about next steps to end the occupation in Iraq

Tip: Check FCNL’s online congressional directory for your members’ contact information, as well as background information, committee assignments, and voting records. You will also find their declared religious affiliations, which can be useful for an interfaith delegation.

3. Send in the written request as soon as you can, even if you don’t have the full delegation.

4. Follow up with a phone call to the scheduler one day after you send in the written request. Don’t ask if they have an answer; just ask if they received the request.

5. Follow up again two to three days later to see if there is an answer.

Reviewed: 01/04/2006

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