Being an effective national service advocate is essential in our collective efforts to increase funding for national service programming as well as remove other barriers to service.
Thanks to a generous grant from the Ballmer Group, America's Service Commissions and its States for Service initiative are launching the National Service Advocacy Academy which will allow S4S members to earn an official Certificate in National Service Advocacy!
This online training program is intended to give participants the tools they need to effectively and confidently interact with elected officials and their staff in support of national service priorities.
Best of all, the program is free to all S4S members! Service commissions who are S4S members can engage five commission staff and/or commissioners in this program per year for free. Programs who are S4S members can engage three program staff per year for free. Those with individual, young professional, or alum memberships are eligible to participate as well.
Not an S4S member? You will need to join S4S to gain access to the academy and its certification program.
The National Service Advocacy Academy is 100% online and is intended to take approximately six hours to complete. You can move through the short training videos at your own pace, as long as you complete the entire program within a three month period.
The academy, developed in coordination with our partners at the Congressional Management Foundation, will include training in the following areas.
- Introduction to Advocacy
- How to Build Relationships with Lawmakers
- Crafting Your Message
- Preparing for a Meeting with Policy Makers
- Conducting a Meeting with Policy Makers
- Advance Cities' Advocacy Strategies
- History of National Service
- Current Issues in Service Advocacy
Registration for the academy is now open! The first cohort of participants will be able to begin completing their courses on April 1.
Please contact Casey Reynolds, ASC State Policy Manager, with any questions.
