Where the letter still reigns supreme
If someone told you the old-fashioned letter is dead, they lied. In fact, the letter holds significant power in one space in particular: public policy.
Submitting a letter to your elected and government officials concerning the changes they aim to make can be a promising strategy to grab their attention, and in some circumstances, prompt a request to speak with you directly to learn more about your concerns, or even delay their plan to move forward with their proposed policy. However, not just any old letter can trigger this kind of effect.
A powerful letter to a government official must:
1. Be strategically timed.
Many policy-making bodies have specific processes for receiving public opinion, and often that requires submitting letters in advance (with a specific deadline) of a committee or full-body meeting. Following these protocols and deadlines is important because it (should) guarantees that your letter makes it into the public record, is included in meeting materials, and is read by a staff member or chairperson in advance of the meeting. Depending on your strategy, you may want to send it further in advance to invite a conversation or allow time for changes to be made to the policy proposal. However, you may want to have a surprise effect that doesn’t allow the policymaker enough time to change the narrative or retaliate, in which case you should submit just before the deadline.
2. Grab attention and apply pressure.
One effective practice to apply pressure with your letter of concern or opposition regarding a policy matter is to not only send it to the lead official behind the proposal, but to make sure you CC their colleagues on the policymaking body, as well as other critical stakeholders that will have a stake in the success of the policy’s passage or implementation, or better yet, have a stake in that policymakers success in their role. For example, if you’re submitting a letter to your local school board, it may behoove you to also CC the district superintendent. Or, in another example, if you’re writing a letter to a state legislator about a local issue, CC the party leadership, your mayor, and district representatives.
3. And, be well-written.
Your credibility is on the line when it comes to the quality of your letter. It should be proofread or checked by free software tools such as grammarly.com at a minimum. However, the structure of your letter matters a great deal as well. Here is a sure-fire recipe for a strong letter of concern, opposition, or support to a policymaker:
Paragraph 1 - State who/what organization you are writing on behalf of, why you are writing (to express concern, opposition, or support) of what specific policy proposal (if it has a name, a name, a bill/policy number, include that here) and half-sentence explanation for why (such as: It will further harm our unhoused youth).
Paragraph 2 - Describe your organization, its mission, and why this measure is important to your work and/or the communities you serve.
Paragraph 3 - Explain in further detail your reasoning for your concern, opposition, or support. Make sure to be concise, direct, and professional.
Paragraph 4 - Provide further reasoning, separate from the previous paragraph, for your concern, opposition, or support. If you have statistics or research to include to support your argument, you can include it here (make sure to provide your source(s)).
Paragraph 5 - Conclude your letter by reiterating your position on the policy measure, expressing gratitude for their consideration, and offering or requesting to have a direct conversation about your position. Make sure to provide reliable contact information in the event they want to get a hold of you to discuss more (...you would be surprised!).
So, remember, the letter may be endangered but it is not extinct. A well-crafted, timely letter may be the missing piece of the puzzle in your organization’s work to impact systemic-level change.
