Advocacy Toolkit

Contacting Government Officials

Write a letter to your Member of Congress

Writing letters to Members of Congress is a traditional way of communicating with your representatives. Emailing letters is an option, but because email is easily reproduced, many staffers place a priority on individually written letters, especially those that are hand-written. To circumvent this, you can call your Member of Congress' office, ask for the legislative aide handling the issue you are interested in, and notify him or her that a faxed letter will be coming from you. This will ensure that your Member of Congress will receive it quickly.

Tips for writing:

1. Clearly state the purpose of writing in the first sentence of the request. Also be sure to thank the Member of Congress for any support they have offered on this issue in the past.
2. State who you are and where you are from.
3. Provide some background information on the issue and your interest in writing. You can make this interesting by drawing on your experience, but avoid lengthy personal accounts.
4. Restate your purpose for writing in specific, concrete terms.
5. Thank the Member of Congress for their time and offer your services for further information.