[vip_committees] Congress.org - News : Six lessons from MADD
- From: Blaine Clark <thelight9@xxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: Hank Bloomberg Chapter List <vip_committees@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Mon, 27 Sep 2010 23:23:39 -0400
http://www.congress.org/news/2010/09/24/six_lessons_from_madd
Mothers Against Drunk Driving began as an idea being tossed around at a
kitchen table. Three decades later, it is one of the country's most
recognized and effective advocacy organizations.
MADD quickly built a broad grassroots network that helped set the
minimum drinking age at 21. It then fought alcohol trade groups to
impose a .08 blood alcohol content limit on drivers.
Since MADD's inception, drunken-driving deaths have fallen dramatically
from 22,000 in 1980 to 10,800 in 2009.
The group celebrated its 30th year with a national conference on Capitol
Hill this week. Hundreds of activists lobbied lawmakers to require that
offenders use ignition interlock devices and to fund research into auto
technology that can recognize whether the driver is drunk.
"Our goal is to get out of the business of drunk driving prevention
through the elimination of drunk driving, and we can see that on the
horizon," Laura Dean-Mooney, MADD's national president, said.
She offered these lessons to other activists:
1. Have a story to tell. Dean-Mooney said that the group's ability to
put a face on the cause has propelled it to success. Activists often
have compelling reasons for joining a cause; being able to share them is
critical to success.
"I think that is what has made MADD so successful over the last 30 years
is victim-survivors telling their story so that the public understands
that we're not statistics," Dean-Mooney said.
2. Bring the story to Washington. Once you have that story, it's time to
make it work for you. In the 2000 campaign for a blood alcohol content
limit, MADD facilitated meetings between victims and lawmakers so
Congress could hear the personal stories of loss and grief associated
with drunk driving.
"It is impossible to hear a victim-survivor's story and not want to pass
legislation to stop that from happening to anyone else," Dean-Mooney
added. "The voice of the victim has been the thing that has helped us
the most."
3. Explain why your cause is relevant. Many of MADD's supporters have
not been personally affected by drunk driving. Rather, as Dean-Mooney
puts it, they are "people who don't want to become one of us."
MADD's message resonates because driving is so common, and drunk driving
affects one-third of the population in some way. Make it clear to others
why your message should resonate with them.
4. Use facts to back your position. "MADD does not do anything that's
not data driven," Dean-Mooney said. The group relies on independent,
peer-reviewed data from groups like the National Highway Traffic Safety
Administration and the Center for Disease Control to back its policy
positions.
"It shows accurately and without our influence what the problem really
is," she added.
5. Be transparent. MADD's wide base of supporters earned it the title,
"America's most popular charity," by the Chronicle of Philanthropy in 2000.
One way the group has maintained that support is by openly sharing where
every dollar is spent. They share financial information on their web
sites and keep members updated with regular e-mails.
"We want them to know we are good stewards of what they are giving us,"
6. Focus on the achievable, but remain persistent. MADD works at the
state level in many places where the activists know they will not be
able to pass stricter driving legislation. That's why they are targeting
federal lawmakers to get a sweeping law that applies to all states.
But that doesn't mean they won't continue to push in places where there
is resistance.
"The power of MADD is that we always come back," Dean-Mooney said.
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