Stories of Grassroots Advocacy

That question was put to the test in June 2015, when FCNL launched seven Advocacy Teams to lobby for the Iran Nuclear Deal. In two months, these teams held dozens of lobby visits and published numerous letters to the editor. Their efforts contributed to the deal’s success.

The Diaspora Organizer Gathering this year, lasting only four days, was jam packed with programming to prepare advocates to lobby and develop year-long advocacy plans. I immediately found that the experience in the room was staggering. Each organizer presented a unique and necessary skill set; we were met with entrepreneurs, feminist activists, academics, and community organizers.

In October 2023, I had the pleasure of attending the inaugural diaspora organizer gathering with FCNL. Hosted at Friends Place on Capitol Hill, the program offered four days of learning about community organizing, congressional advocacy, and effective storytelling. Organizers from across the U.S. and the world came together to build connections and exchange wisdom. On the final day, we lobbied on issues ranging from a ceasefire in Gaza to support for the Banyamulenge people in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

There was no “spring break” for FCNL advocates this year. From April 14-28, the recent congressional recess, hundreds of citizen advocates carried out more than 100 lobby visits with over 80 different congressional offices across 35 states on several of the most urgent issues before Congress. If you recently visited a congressional office, please file a lobby report! 

Advocacy Teams have historically worked on only one legislative campaign every year, which allows the program to be both strategic and effective as 135+ teams in 48 states all coordinate their efforts. However, as the program celebrates its 10th anniversary, and our network has grown in size, expertise, and capacity, we’ve seen an opportunity to expand our work.

2025 is a special year for FCNL’s Advocacy Teams as we celebrate our 10th anniversary. Over the past decade, FCNL has grown its Advocacy Teams network to 135 teams across 48 states and D.C. Each year, Advocacy Teams work on one foreign policy issue and, this year for the first time, a domestic issue as well. In 2025, Advocacy Teams will advocate under the theme, Aid, Not Arms: Opening the Way to Peace in the Middle East.  

Tomorrow, January 11, 2002, 23 years ago, Guantánamo was opened as a prison for the War on Terror. Its history has been marked by abuse, torture, and indefinite detention.

This year, 675 Advocacy Team members lobbied 342 times and published 103 times in the media, urging Congress to rein in wasteful Pentagon spending. We also launched new Advocacy Teams in Maryland, Virginia, and Oklahoma, expanding our power to 48 states plus D.C.  

“This weekend transformed my life.” Heads nodded in agreement as Deogratias Kawunde, a Ugandan organizer from Maryland, shared how he felt after FCNL’s Second Diaspora Organizer Gathering.

From Saturday, September 21 through Monday, September 23, eleven organizers from different diaspora country backgrounds across the United States gathered at Friends Place in Washington D.C. for an important convening.

Recently, I interviewed grassroots activists from organizations that work to deliver transformational advocacy to their members. Lisa Jordan, an associate teaching professor at Drew University, joined her local chapter of the Friends Committee on National Legislation during Covid. After numerous Zoom meetings with congressional offices, she went to D.C. for the first time. “That was a total thrill,” she told me.