Be An Advocate Toolkit

Our voices are stronger together. Your voice and the stories you share can make all the difference in access to and funding for afterschool programs in Minnesota.

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Welcome to Ignite Afterschool’s advocacy toolkit!

You have already taken the most important step in the advocacy process: showing up. By visiting this toolkit, you’ve demonstrated a commitment to learn about and engage in advocacy for access to high-quality afterschool programs for all Minnesota students. We thank you.

Ignite’s advocacy toolkit is a compilation of research-based key messages and resources to help you build energy and engagement in your community, with your elected officials, and within your network. The resources in this toolkit were created to advocate for:

1. Increased funding for high-quality afterschool programs in Minnesota

2. Increased access to high-quality afterschool programs for underserved youth

Ignite Afterschool’s advocacy toolkit is comprised of 5 sections that separate resources by advocacy theme:

Background and Key Messaging
Equip yourself with the knowledge, data and research findings that you will need to engage in afterschool advocacy. If you are new to afterschool advocacy, start here!
Legislative Engagement
Do you want your legislator to support afterschool programming at the Capitol? If so, use the tools in this section to effectively reach out to and communicate with your elected officials.
Social Media
Inform your network about afterschool access in Minnesota and/or catch the attention of your elected official via the social media platform of your choice. It's a quick and easy way to engage in advocacy right now!
Community Awareness & Education
Building energy and engagement within your local community around afterschool access can be extremely effective and can be done in a variety of ways.
Additional Resources
Our local and national afterschool partners have supplemental resources that you can use to help take your advocacy to the next level.
Stay in the Loop

Get policy updates, professional development opportunities and more.