Guide for Organizing a "Stand for Health Care" Event with your MoveOn Council

	Materials and Resources Event registration page for your event ("Bob") How-to guides for specific tactics Pill bottle deliveries (recommended) Birddogging Canvassing District meeting Media materials Signs Public Option Now Don't Side With Big Insurance We're Counting on You! Event sign-in sheet One-stop-shop for health care campaign organizing materials Need help? Check with your Organizer or Regional Coordinator, or email Support Corps at: standforhealthcare@moveon.org

[Click here for a large-text version of this guide]

Thanks for taking the lead locally to organize an event with your MoveOn Council! Here's some background on this event:

• We've done powerful organizing over the last few months to support real health care reform with a strong public option.

• Now, with debate on the big health care reform bill expected to begin on the full Senate floor in late October or November, we're coming up on what is arguably the biggest health care moment of the year. After months of work, this vote could determine the future of the public health insurance option. We need to do everything we possibly can to pressure the Senate to pass a good bill. So we're launching Countdown to Change, a major organizing drive to make sure that our senators will either vote for a health care bill with a strong public option--or pay a political price if they won't.

• For most Councils, the best way to impact the big Senate floor vote is to organize a local "Stand for Health Care" event -- a local, strategic public action to influence your target senator's vote. One great idea is to plan a "pill-bottle delivery," so we're providing extra resources to do that in this guide.

• Actions should take place as soon as possible -- and at the latest, by November 4th. We'll also continue building momentum and organizing Stand for Health Care actions up until the big Senate floor vote.

• Remain rapid-response-ready. As the Senate heads towards the big floor vote, political circumstances will change quickly. We'll need to be ready, as a national network, to respond to breaking news as it comes up. 

This guide will help you plan your event, and it provides you the resources you'll need along the way. If you have questions, contact your Field Organizer or Regional Coordinator, or email Support Corps using the "help" email address at the top of this guide.

This guide is divided into a few simple sections:

1. Being strategic: How to choose and organize a strategic event to influence your target
2. How-to guides: Organizing Guides for different tactics your Council may choose
3. Key tips for all tactics
4. Pill bottle deliveries: Special tips on pill bottle deliveries
5. Frequently Asked Questions

1. Being strategic: How to choose and organize a strategic event to influence your target

You'll start to plan your Stand for Health Care event at your Organizing Meeting (check the One-Stop-Shop for Organizing Meeting agendas). The first decision your Council needs to make is, what kind of "Stand for Health Care" event is strategic for your target?

The most important thing is that you organize a public-facing, target-focused event that will accomplish one or both of these goals:

• Get earned media coverage for the action
• Get the target's attention (i.e. some kind of "contact" with them) where you put direct advocacy pressure on them

Your target should notice your Council's activity and message -- either because you see the target and talk with them directly; or because you get media coverage of your action; or because it's extremely likely that they will hear about it from their staff or friends and neighbors. In practice, this usually means the event follows these guidelines:

• It's in public -- not in a private home
• It has a creative or catchy "hook," like the pill bottles
• The media is invited, OR you are very sure that your activities will be directly noticed by the senator or his/her staff (i.e., if you're canvassing the senator's immediate neighborhood)

Some specific suggested tactics and organizing tips are below, in the "How-To" section.

When you're deciding: Think carefully about what public, target-focused event would be most strategic for your Council. What has your Council done in the past that was successful? What is the message that you want to get across to your target, whether directly or through local media -- and what's the best way you could send that message?

Recommended tactic: One visual that has been very powerful in Dawn Smith's trip to confront the CEO of CIGNA is the "messages in a bottle" that she brought with her. She gathered literally thousands of pill bottles stuffed with personal messages from MoveOn members around the country. It was a great visual for cameras and an interesting new twist in sharing personal stories from people suffering under our country's broken system. So one action idea that has a good chance of attracting media interest is to organize a Council-driven delivery of hundreds of pill bottles with messages from real members inside. (More on this below.)

2. How-to guides for different tactics

Here are organizing guides for some suggested tactics to get your target's attention and spread your message in your local media:

• Pill bottle delivery (recommended -- tips below)

• Rallies & marches (Best if they take place at the senate office)

• Birddogging

• District meeting

• Canvassing (Canvassing alone usually won't get the attention of your target or the media, so we recommend doing it in the neighborhood of your senator or possibly key senate staff.)

• Flyering (Flyering usually won't get the attention of your target or the media, unless you have a special twist to make it newsworthy or noticed by the target -- for instance, flyering in the senator's home neighborhood, or outside the senate office.)

Secondary tactics (in most cases, this shouldn't be your primary tactic for Stand for Health Care):

**Be sure your Council plans something more public-facing before putting energy in to one of these secondary tactics**

• Call Party
  • Sample call party guide
  • Sample call party script
• Letter to the Editor Party

3. Key tips for all tactics

 

*** IMPORTANT: Your council must post your event online at least 5 days ahead of the intended event date. This is crucial in order to recruit other MoveOn members by email, and it's important to allow time to clear up any problems or challenges with organizing the event. Events posted within 5 days of your event cannot count on central recruitment, but can do local phone recruitment.***

a) Choose a location.

Councils with senate offices nearby should think about holding their event there. Most Councils' targets are senators, and senate offices aren't present in all communities. So if you're close to an actual senate office, Councils in other parts of the state are counting on you to take a message directly to the Senate office near you.

b) Pick a start-time that's appropriate for your tactic.

If you're holding an event to get the media's attention, your best bet is to hold it during business hours. The best time is usually around mid-day. That's a good time for reporters to come. And if you can have your event around the lunch-hour, there's a good chance that some members of the general public can participate by coming on their lunch break.

c) Register your event online.

Please make sure your event is registered in MoveOn's online system as soon as possible -- at least 5 days before your intended date. As long as you meet the vetting criteria (see the FAQ below for detailed vetting criteria), MoveOn will send an email to active MoveOn members in the area advertising your event. When you're ready, click here to register your event.

d) Figure out if you'll need a sound system or permit well in advance.

If you're holding a media event in a large city where you've had large crowds in the past, it's probably wise to arrange a sound system ahead of time. (If you do, make sure to check into getting a permit, since having a sound system is often the trigger that requires a permit.) If you're not sure, check with your Field Organizer or Regional Coordinator.

As for permits: In most communities, you don't need a permit to stand on public property, including public sidewalks. But depending on the location of your event, you may want to check with local authorities ahead of time. Many senate offices are in federal buildings that do require permits for "public sidewalks" outside (i.e., in Chicago, Seattle, NYC, and Rochester). If you're unsure, you should check with local authorities. If you have a sound system, you are more likely to need to arrange a permit. (In some communities, having a sound system is the trigger for requiring a permit.)

e) Recruit, recruit, recruit

If you have a recruitment team, before an event is a great time for it to shine! There are several major roles that you will need to fill to pull off a successful event. Although one person could potentially fill more than one of these roles, ideally the team would include at least one person for each:

• Location/target point: responsible for researching, scouting, and choosing the target and location for the event.
• Media point-person: responsible for pitching media in advance of the event, distributing press advisories, and greeting media at the event.
• Speaker point-person: in charge of recruiting and prepping speakers (if any).
• Member-greeter: in charge of greeting and signing in all the attendees and, if appropriate, giving them a sign (you may want a team at larger events).
• Sign coordinator: in charge of coordinating a group of folks who will make signs for the event.
• MC: master of ceremonies at the event. This person will be responsible for tasks such as speaking in front of the assembled crowd, introducing speakers, and keeping the program on time.
• Cheer-leader: leads chants and cheers at the event, if appropriate.

Hit the phones: The best thing to do is to have a recruitment call party -- or at least, to give out a list of names for your recruitment team to call. If you're a MoveOn Council member, you can now get a list of names to call through your Council Page -- just go to http://www.moveon.org/council, and click on "Event Recruitment - Make Calls." Calls are the best way to get people to your event.

Emails: You can also invite people over email from your host tools page. Make sure you at least invite every Council member and everyone who recently attended a Council event! Here's how:

• To send the invite email, log in to your host tools page. From there, you can easily send invitations using the "Invite Others" tool. (This will automatically add the details of your event and a link to RSVP.) Be sure to ask everyone to bring a cell phone.
• The personalized link to your host tools page was included in your confirmation email. If you can't find that email, click here: http://pol.moveon.org/event/events/forgot.html?action_id=194

f) Prepare a plan in case of right-wing protestors

• Defuse conflict. We want our events to be peaceful and respectful. Our message has a better chance of getting media coverage if we refrain from confrontation with any opposition. We will have the greatest success if, rather than engaging with protestors, we honor the serious tone of our events.
• Designate a spokesperson and make sure he/she talks to reporters. Some of these events will be super jam-packed, and it's important to make sure that reporters get a chance to talk to articulate people who can make the case for a strong public option. A great way to do this is by proactively seeking out members of the press (note people with cameras or notepads) and offering up designated spokespeople.
• Show that we want what is best for our country. There have been a few instances recently where protesters on either side of the aisle started singing "patriotic" songs such as "The Star-Spangled Banner" or "God Bless America." In one case, both sides were even singing together across the protest lines. Obviously, it's always great for us to show how much we care about our country. This is also a great way to defuse or avoid confrontation with the other side.

g) Reach out to the media, if appropriate.

The media is a really important part of many of our events. Use the media outreach resources linked in this guide to contact members of the media and invite them to come to your event. Then, be sure to make follow-up calls to reporters to make sure they received your invitation.

h) Hold a "run-through"-- or at least a final check-in call

It is a great idea to actually hold a dry-run day a few days before the event, to make sure everyone knows their part. Whether or not you can do a dry-run, though, you should definitely get all speakers and key volunteers to hold a final check-in call to go over what's going to happen.

If you have speakers, it's very important that you prepare them well. Make sure you've had a "prep call" or meeting with every single speaker who's appearing at your event.

i) Contact your senate or congressional target

In order to ensure that our events get maximum notice from our targets, it's often a good idea to let your target's office know we'll be holding this event. If your senator or rep is a champion, you may want to invite him/her to speak at the event -- but more likely, you just want to let them know that it's happening as a courtesy. Check with your Organizer or Regional Coordinator if you're not sure whether it's appropriate to invite him/her to attend.

j) Make final preparations, including reminder calls, and planning for your debrief

In the last 24 hours before your event, make sure you're ready! Read all your materials linked above, and re-read this guide once more. Also, be sure to check in with all local coalition partners the day before the event to finalize any logistics items and talk through any questions. Then make sure you talk to your Field Organizer or Regional Coordinator before the action for final tips and prep. If you don't know how to contact your Field Organizer or Regional Coordinator, you can email councilorganizer@moveon.org.

And your registered guests should hear from you in the 24 hours leading up to the event. This is by far the best way to help ensure that people show up so that you can build a strong Council. You can log in to your host tools page to send an e-mail to everyone who is signed up, reminding them what time you are starting and how to get to your event location. You should also give them a reminder call. If they listed their phone numbers, that information will show up on your host tools page.

Also make sure you have a debrief/next steps meeting planned before the event. It's also a great idea to announce the next meeting at the event -- either by making a spoken announcement or by handing out a flyer with the information.

k) After your event

Here are some great ways to follow up with folks who attended your event:

• Call through your sign-up sheets to thank people for coming and ask them to attend the debrief/next steps meeting
• Debrief with any members who took on leadership roles during the event
• Share any press hits with attendees
• Send any press clippings into your target office and share them with attendees

4. Pill Bottle Deliveries

The pill bottle delivery is a simple event that's anchored by a powerful visual -- a bunch of "messages in a bottle" with personal messages from MoveOn members explaining why they're standing with other victims of our broken health care system to call for real reform. This event should ideally take place outside of your local senate office because you'll be delivering the pill bottles with messages inside to your target senator or staff. You should invite the media. You don't need a huge crowd to have an effective event -- but the more the merrier! A crowd will help make the event more energetic and attractive to cameras.

The program is straight-forward: You'll make brief remarks to the press, deliver the pill bottles to your senator, and keep the crowd gathered for a "honk-and-wave" for as long as you like.

In addition to the tips above, here are some special tips about organizing a pill bottle delivery:

	Special Materials for Pill Bottle Deliveries Stories to print, for pill bottles There are over 11,000 messages from MoveOn members around the country saying why they stand with victims of our broken health care system for real reform now. Print as many as you need for your delivery! Media materials Signs Public Option Now Don't Side With Big Insurance We're Counting on You!

• If possible, collect local messages to include in your pill bottle delivery. You can work with your Council to solicit hand-written messages in advance of the event. You could gather written messages at a farmer's market, in front of a supermarket, or at other public venues. (If you don't have time for that, you can also just download and print the messages that we've collected from members around the country.) Another great idea is to write down shocking facts and include them among the messages -- i.e., x% in STATE are uninsured. You can also download some of the over 11,000 messages from MoveOn members around the country saying why they stand with victims of our broken health care system for real reform now.

• Get as many pill bottles as you can find. You can buy them online or try calling around to local drug stores. You can also ask people to bring their old pill bottles to use. You'll want to bring as many pill bottles as possible -- 100 or more if you can.

• Think about how you can most dramatically present the pill bottles. You can collect them in a wheelbarrow, giant trash bag, box, or in some other way. It's best if your presentation is as visually appealing as possible, since the pill bottles are one thing that reporters and cameras will want to show.

• Be prepared to read a few of the stories out loud. You'll want a few speakers to read aloud from a few of the messages that you're delivering. It doesn't have to be the same person who submitted the message.

Here's a sample agenda for your Pill Bottle Delivery, assuming a 12 noon start:

• Starting at 11:15: As the crowd arrives, sign in all attendees (click here for sign-in sheets). It's best if one person is tasked with this responsibility, and if you expect more than 40-50 people you will want several people circulating with sign in sheets.
• Starting at 11:45: Greet reporters as they arrive. You can usually identify reporters as people with notebooks who aren't participating in the rally. TV reporters usually arrive in vans with TV station logos on them and will have large cameras. Radio reporters often have visible recording equipment also. Again, it's best if someone is set up to do just this task and nothing else.
• 11:45-12:10: [Optional] Lead the crowd in cheers and chants. Again, it's best if someone is set up with a megaphone or other sound projection system to do just this task and nothing else.
• 12:09: Announce to the crowd that the spoken presentation is about to begin.
• 12:10: Welcome, introductory statement from MoveOn speaker (1-2 min.)
• 12:12: Read a few of the stories that you're delivering in the pill bottles (2-3 min)
• 12:15: Speaker #1 (3 min.)
• 12:18: Speaker #2, introduced by MoveOn rep (3 min.)
• 12:21: Speaker #3, introduced by MoveOn rep (3 min.)
• 12:24: MoveOn rep wraps up prepared statements and takes questions from media; someone goes in to deliver the pill bottles to the target senator (4 min.)
• 12:28-12:45: Continued chanting and cheering (~20 min.)

5. Frequently Asked Questions

Q: What do you do to figure out your target?
A: Check with your Regional Coordinator or Field Organizer if you don't know who your target is.

Q: What should our message and "ask" be for our target?

A: Our basic message is simple: We want the Senate to pass health care reform this year that includes a robust public health insurance option, which is the key to keep down costs and expand coverage to millions of Americans. So we need every senator to support a bill that includes a public option -- and we need our supporters and champions to fight as hard as they can to make that a reality.

To find out more on where your senator stands, check out these resources before your event, and talk with your Field Organizer or Regional Coordinator if you need help on adapting a more specific message for your target:

• Legislative map -- or, how the health care bill moves through Congress
• State-by-state reports comparing different senate health bills
• Health care "reform tracker"

If you make contact directly with your senator or their staff, it is often useful to make an "ask" -- to try to get them on the record on our key priorities. Here are some sample "asks" you could make of your target. Note: You should work with your Field Organizer or Regional Coordinator to make sure you are making an appropriate ask for your specific target. And remember: you don't need to include an "ask" in every single event. Here are some suggested "asks" you could make at your event:

For champions and supporters:

• Will you or your staff appear at a MoveOn event sometime in the next few weeks to explain why you are fighting for a public option, and why it's a crucial part of health care reform?
• [If not:] Will you speak out publicly to declare why you are fighting for a public option, and why it's a crucial part of health care reform?
• [If not:] Will you keep fighting for a bill that includes a robust public health insurance option?

For swings and opponents:

• Will you vote for a bill that includes a robust public health insurance option?
• Will you vote for a public health insurance option amendment in the senate?
• [If not:] Will you promise to vote for cloture if some senators try to filibuster the health care bill?

Q: What do I need to know to get central recruitment for my event?

A: Your Field Organizer or Regional Coordinator will work with you to make sure your event is able to get central recruitment, if needed. (Remember, not every event you organize necessarily needs central recruitment -- sometimes, for instance for a small district meeting, it's better NOT to recruit other MoveOn members!)

The Golden Rule: Get your event posted online early -- at least 5 days before the event date.

Here are some other important rules you should know when posting your event in order to get central email recruitment:

• The EVENT DESCRIPTION should be clear, straight-forward, and understandable; NOT weird, confusing, or offensive -- remember, other members can see the event description, and that's how they choose whether to attend this event! The Event Description and Meetup Description fields must be grammatical and clear -- these will go into the recruit email that nearby members receive.
• TOPIC: Events should be centered around our national campaign focus: health care reform and the public option.
• DATE of this event is flexible, but for this round of organizing your event should take place by November 4th.
• TIME: the event must start between 8:00am and 8:00pm local time. We normally can't centrally recruit to anything outside of those hours. (Note that if you're trying to get media coverage, it's best to start between 8:30am and 4:30pm.)
• LOCATION: For Stand for Health Care, the location is flexible, but make sure it's strategic and accurate.
• TARGET: Make sure the "Target" is correct for this event.
• MAX CAPACITY should be higher than 20. If you're getting central recruitment, you don't want it to fill up too quickly and have people be turned away.
• Double check the ZIP CODE is correct. This is what we use to know which MoveOn members live nearby, including if we're sending out a central email for your event. So make sure the zip code is accurate.
• CREATIVE VISUAL: If you're using a creative visual, make sure you've discussed it with your Organizer. We strongly discourage anything that is "gimmicky" or Halloweeny -- like a skeleton or ghoulish casket.
• Special note for Call Parties: If you're organizing a Call Party (reminder: this shouldn't be your primary event), please make sure your event_description mentions what you're doing at the party to influence your own target. For instance, you should say if you'll be calling or writing a letter to your own senate target before you start calling members in other states.

Q: What's the date of the Stand for Health Care events? How much flexibility is there on the date?
A: We encourage all Councils to hold events as soon as possible before November 4th, or until the senate floor vote takes place. (Note that Friday is generally a bad day for media. And the weekends are bad for both senate offices being open AND media coverage.)

Q: Should we get permits for this event?
A: In most communities, you don't need a permit to stand on public property, including public sidewalks. But depending on the location of your event, you may want to check with local authorities ahead of time. Many senate offices are in federal buildings that do require permits for "public sidewalks" outside (i.e., in Chicago, Seattle, NYC, and Rochester). If you're unsure, you should check with local authorities. If you have a sound system, you are more likely to need to arrange a permit. (In some communities, having a sound system is the trigger for requiring a permit.)

Q: Should we get a sound system?
A: If you're in a large city where you've had large crowds in the past, it's probably wise to arrange a sound system ahead of time. (And if you do, make sure to check into getting a permit, since having a sound system is often the trigger that requires a permit.) If you're not sure, check with your Field Organizer or Regional Coordinator.

Q: What visuals are appropriate to help us make this event even bigger and more visible?
A: We'll post signs you can use at your event. You can use the boxing gloves image from our last rallies. You can also get creative and use other visual objects that you think would be strategic to get your message across. But make sure you're talking with your Field Organizer or Regional Coordinator.

One important note of caution: If your Council is choosing a creative visual, be careful with death imagery. Death imagery can be a powerful way to get your point across, but it could also backfire. We strongly discourage anything that is "gimmicky" or Halloweeny -- like a skeleton or ghoulish casket. Check with your Field Organizer or Regional Coordinator if you are considering anything with a death theme.