ACTION PLAYBOOK
Contact the White House
Urge the White House to act on a climate solution.
Step 1: Send a personalized email to the White House
It might be tempting to sign your name to the bottom of a completely prewritten email, but personalized emails are much more attention-grabbing. They also get processed individually, whereas mass-produced letters are batched. Our Slack #wins-shoutouts channel is packed with celebratory posts from changemakers who sent personalized emails to elected officials and received awesome personal responses. It’s always worth it!
Click the button below to send a personalized message to the President and Vice President about the featured policy priority, then return to this playbook. Keep this page open!
These buttons link to Climate Changemakers current featured advocacy campaign.
You can find email templates for all climate policies here.
Step 2: Make a call
The White House comment line is another great way to get through and advocate. Simply dial (202) 456-1111 and use your email from Step 1 as a rough call script. You’ll want to start by identifying your constituent status (hi, my name is ___, and I live in [city, state], then just be concise, specific, and authentic.
If someone does not pick up, don’t worry—your voicemail will be documented. And if you prefer to leave a voicemail rather than talk to a real person, call after hours.
Step 3: Amplify this action on social media
Public amplification can generate more awareness and even grab the attention of staffers and elicit a response. Turn your personalized message into a social post, being sure to preserve the specific ask.
Talking about civic engagement widely and frequently is a crucial step toward changing cultural norms, normalizing year-round civic engagement, and making real progress.
“The most important thing you can do to fight climate change is to talk about it.”
– Dr. Katharine Hayhoe, climate scientist and communicator
(PS. Climate Changemakers is @theclimatevote on all platforms and is active on LinkedIn, Instagram, and Threads).
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The most important thing to communicate is why you care and what you want to protect. Share your climate “why!” Share why your network might care. Typically, the top-level language of the campaign is typically enough, but you can borrow more facts from the blog post/Issue Briefing.
Whatever you share, end your post with a concrete call to action, such as “Please email the White House” or “check out this playbook: https://www.climatechangemakers.org/preview-white-house.” Then send it!
4. Receive a response? Report back!
If you receive a response from the White House, please share it with advocacy@climatechangemakers.org or message a staff member in the Climate Changemakers Slack. Whether it’s a reply to your email, a call acknowledgment, or feedback from your letter, your report helps us track our collective progress!
Positive responses? Don’t forget to celebrate them in the Climate Changemakers Slack #wins-shoutouts channel!
Sharing your success encourages others to take action and normalizes civic engagement for climate.
And that’s it, playbook complete! Feel accomplished.
Thank you for taking action.
🎉 CUE CONFETTI by clicking COMPLETE! 🎉
Want more action?
Go to the current Action Plan
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