Retirement Insecurity

Savi

ngs -

IRAs

hav

e be

en d

ecim

ated

by re

cess

ion

Loss of Home equity – speculative

mortgages, hom

e equity lines of credit &

reverse mortgages

Pensions – Eliminated thanks

to corporate restructuring

Soci

al S

ecur

ity –

pro

pose

d

cuts

to b

enefi

ts

We need to Expand Not Cut Social

Security

Social Security Social Security

CCC & Retirement Security

There was a fight in Washington with all the usual suspects: Liberal and Conservative think tanks, Labor unions & corporate lobbyists. CCC was asked to engage organizations that have deep relationships in communities and could bring everyday Americans into the debate – real people .

First we picked states & groups for a set of varied reasons:

• States that factor large in Presidential politics: IA, NH, (early primaries ), OH – key battleground

• We wanted states where Senators were in ( or will be in ) tough races and would need to take a stand: ( 2012) ME, MO, MT, VA, FL, ( 2014 ) MI, NC

• We wanted a few places with key Congressional champions IL ( Schakowsky), MN, ( Ellison) WA, ( Murray), OH ( Brown), IA ( Harkin)

• We wanted to bring in some states and communities that

other national groups were not adequately engaging: AL, LA and Manufactured Home Park Communities

2011 -2012: 445 events. , 12,900 directly engaged

221,000 people have received multiple emails, phone calls and hard

copy newsletters with information about Social Security.

Roughly 3,177,000 people have on multiple occasions listened to,

read, or seen on TV media coverage from our perspective or

covering events organized by our partners.

An additional 20 million or more have read, watched or heard

media coverage of a few breakthrough events conducted by our field

partners. 

Lots of Activity in 2012

Michigan, North CarolinaWashington State all added in 2013

Our Theory of Change Good information isn’t enough – Think Tanks Never

Change Policy on their own, We need to educate, mobilize and organize real people to build power to make change.

Stories are powerful - Lift up people’s real experiences

Defense is a losing plan – We need an offense: Social Security Can and Should be Improved

Action Is Essential & Making People in Government Uncomfortable is Usually Necessary

Change is not made over night – we need a committed cadre of grassroots leaders who will own & carry the fight

• With few exceptions, the real local leaders are completely unknown outside of the community.

• Many people may know the names of the top local labor leader or banker or businessman, but rarely do we know the names of the many natural leaders who possess a following of twenty or thirty people.

Saul Alinsky

Why Grassroots Ambassadors ?

Why Grassroots Ambassadors ?

Well Intentioned Policy People Can Not Make Change On Their own, We need peer Organizers and Educators to Get Out the Word and the Information, To Excite and Mobilize Their Families, Neighbors, and Networks – Real People Make Change

Stories are powerful - Lift up our own stories and each others – see our experiences in other people’s lives

Change is not made over night – we need a committed cadre of grassroots leaders who will own & carry the fight

Grassroots Ambassadors

Peer Organizing: Tabling , speaking at community meetings to recruit & inform other people, informally recruiting other people through social networks, and structured outreach such as phone banking list, canvassing neighborhoods

Advocacy: Persuading & Motivating local institutional leaders, mayors, state representatives to make them agents of change for our cause – getting them pointed at our targets

Spokespeople: Get our message & the policy content out in the media to shift the public and the politician’s idea of what is possible

More Change Requires More Action

Michigan,

North Carolina

Washington State

all added in 2013

Grassroots Ambassadors Allow Us To: Reduce Dependence On Staff, Get More Done, Reach More People Change the Public’s Idea of What Is Possible