What is grassroots advocacy?

LIVESTRONG defines grassroots advocacy as building and maintaining a permanent network that unites people affected by cancer as voices for change to develop grassroots skills, cultivate local leadership around cancer issues and empower individuals for collective action.

Put simply, grassroots advocacy is a way to systematically connect all of us who care about cancer and create mechanisms for us to work together to make a difference.

Whether you are raising money to support research, educating your community about issues, creating new services or advocating with elected officials to increase funding for cancer programs, you are a grassroots advocate. Your grassroots network can act to create change in policy or practice around cancer issues in the healthcare, public policy, research and community arenas.

Building power by organizing a strong base of grassroots advocates will demonstrate that there are many people who care about an issue, and those people are taking action to create change. The more people that actively support your work, the more influence you will have on decision-makers whose support you need.

Who can your network influence?

• The media
• Elected officials
• Opinion leaders
• Healthcare providers in your community
• Members of your family or community

Your personal stories can illuminate problems and point to solutions in a way that no statistic can match.

1. Resource

LIVESTRONG: Grassroots and Advocacy support www.LIVESTRONG.org