State Advocacy Toolkit
NASFAA developed this State Advocacy Toolkit to provide resources and materials to support state-level advocacy for regions, states, institutions, and individuals interested in becoming more engaged in state-level student aid policy. The State Advocacy Toolkit features detailed steps, materials, and tips to assist NASFAA members in developing and implementing an advocacy strategy and communicating with their state legislators.
The toolkit features the following resources:
- *NEW* Getting Started Presentation highlights this toolkit and other useful tools and resources, as well as tips and strategies on how to successfully advocate and communicate with lawmakers at the state level.
- User Guide that includes advocacy tips, instructions on how to contact your state representatives, and more!
- Letter and email templates that can be customized with your information before sending to your state lawmakers.
- Talking points that outline and give examples of the importance of state financial aid programs.
- Student Advocacy Manual that provides resources for students to support their advocacy efforts.
- The State Legislation Activity Form is for you to share any proposed, pending or recently passed legislation that could impact the financial aid community in your state, or to simply update us on percolating issues.
- The Education Commission of the States (ECS) State Education Policy Watch List is a resource to track postsecondary education bills that have been introduced at the state level. The tool allows users to search legislation by state, issue area, or bill status.
In addition, the toolkit includes several existing NASFAA Resources that are helpful to advocacy efforts: