Resources to advocate for policy change

Change My Community

Turn an issue you care about into a clear plan for change. Developed by the National Democratic Institute with the University of Kansas, this toolbox walks you through preparation, campaign strategy, implementation, and evaluation. It includes guidance on managing volunteers, communicating with your team, and adapting when circumstances change.

Start by defining the problem, the change you want, and who has the authority to make it happen. Set achievable goals, assign responsibilities, plan your timeline and access needs, and decide how you will measure progress.

AAPD’s REV UP Campaign Guide

The American Association of People with Disabilities (AAPD) offers a disability-centered approach to organizing. Its REV UP guide focuses on voting and civic engagement, with a broader advocacy planning section on pages 15–17 that covers building a coalition, setting goals, choosing actions, and reviewing your impact. Use that section to think through your own policy campaign and how people with disabilities can lead it.

USA.gov’s elected officials directory

Find your federal, state, and local elected officials through this official government directory. It connects you with U.S. senators and representatives, state legislatures, governors, and local government contacts.

Identify which level of government can address your issue. A federal law, a state budget decision, and a local policy may require different contacts. Use the directory to reach the office responsible for the change you want.

LegiScan

Search state and federal legislation and return to the bills that matter to you. LegiScan’s free OneVote account provides a personal monitoring list for up to 50 bills, saved searches, and email alerts. Additional tracking features are available through paid plans.

Follow the bill’s text, amendments, committee activity, and votes so you can time your advocacy. Confirm the latest text, deadlines, and status with Congress.gov or the relevant state legislature before taking action.

AAPD Advocacy Guide

Learn practical ways to advocate at the local, state, and federal levels. AAPD’s guide explains how to request a meeting, prepare a one-page summary, share your story, and follow up. It also discusses meeting in your district or virtually when travel is difficult.

Focus on a specific issue and a clear request. Explain how it affects your life or community, and ask about communication accommodations or other access needs when arranging a meeting.

American Bar Association’s Guide to Effective Messaging

Write a focused email or letter that introduces you as a constituent, explains the issue and its impact, and asks for a specific action. This guide includes a message structure, a sample letter, and tips for keeping your writing clear, respectful, and personal. Its examples concern federal public defense funding, but you can adapt the structure to disability policy issues.

If you use a campaign tool such as New/Mode, personalize the message with your own experience and local context. Include the relevant bill number when available, check your facts, and provide the information the legislator’s office needs to respond.

Regulations.gov

Federal agencies invite public comments on proposed rules that can affect disability access, services, and other areas of daily life. Regulations.gov lets you find proposals, review supporting documents, and submit a comment. Its commenting guidance explains how to provide useful feedback.

Read the proposal and submission instructions, check the deadline, and explain the change you recommend with relevant experience or evidence. This process concerns federal agency rules. To testify on a state bill, follow the relevant legislature’s committee instructions and request accommodations in advance.

New/Mode

Give supporters a clear way to take action. New/Mode provides tools for petitions, email campaigns to representatives, and social media advocacy. Its Individual plan includes core advocacy tools, with additional capabilities available through paid plans.

Build your campaign around a specific decision-maker and request. Encourage supporters to add their own experiences, then track participation and follow up. Before launching, review current plan limits, donation settings, and how supporter information and communications are handled.

Muck Rack’s Guide to Media Pitching

Learn to recognize a story’s news value and explain why it matters now. Muck Rack’s guide covers timing, community impact, local relevance, and human interest, along with choosing the right journalist, writing a concise pitch, and following up. The guide is publicly available to read.

Connect your policy issue to a clear story: who is affected, what is changing, and why the audience should care. Offer credible facts and people who can speak from experience, and tailor your pitch to the journalist’s coverage.

Adobe’s eight basic design principles

Learn how to make your message stand out through layout, visual hierarchy, contrast, alignment, balance, and empty space. This illustrated introduction also explains using color to support a design’s mood and message, including a brief introduction to color psychology.

Keep the graphic focused on one main message and a clear action. Choose readable text and strong contrast, and use colors consistently. Color associations can vary by audience and context, so consider the people you want to reach.

Adobe’s AI prompts for graphic designers

Learn how to describe the visual you want and refine it with AI. This guide explains specifying the intended use, style, colors, shapes, and composition, with examples of prompts and ways to improve the results.

Describe your campaign’s purpose and the graphic you need, then refine one element at a time. Review generated visuals and any text for accuracy, readability, and respectful disability representation before sharing. AI-generated content still needs a human review for accessibility.

Rooted in Rights’ Access That

Make sure people with disabilities can access your campaign’s message. Rooted in Rights provides practical resources for accessible graphics, images, videos, and written content, including alternative text, captions, audio description, and transcripts.

Pair visual content with an accessible text version. Put essential information in the post or page text as well as the graphic, and check that your message can be understood without relying on color alone.