Advocacy Resources

Last updated September 5, 2022 at 1:00 p.m.

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Initiatives and Campaigns | Resources
Guide to Giving City Council Testimony | How to Register to Give City Council Testimony | How City Council Reviews Testimony

 

Get Started with this Advocacy 101 iNFO Sheet

 

Find Your Representatives with Common Cause

 

Initiatives and Campaigns

• Americans for the Arts: Arts Action Fund
  • COVID-19 Resource and Response Center
  • Economic Impact of COVID-19 on the Arts and Culture Sector
• Asian Americans Advancing Justice (AAJC)
• Be An #ArtsHero
  • Follow and Amplify Be an #ArtsHero on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.
  • Download and share Be an #ArtsHero’s social media images
  • Be An #ArtsHero Advocacy Toolkit and Lobby Guide

  • Dance Industry Unite! Sign on to support relief, recovery, and representation for the dance industry.

• Citizen Action 2022 Justice Agenda
• Center for an Urban Future Re: New York City report: a blueprint to revive NYC’s economy, spark good jobs, and build a more equitable city
• Get to Work - equity and accessibility in the Broadway community
• Housing Justice For All
• Nonprofit New York Declaration of Nonprofit Rights
• NYC Arts in Education Roundtable is calling on all New Yorkers to push for increased funding to support universal arts education in City schools. 
  • Use Arts in Education Roundtable’s social media toolkit to spread the word to your council member and community.
• NYC NOWC #ShareMyCheck Campaign
• Put Creative Workers To Work
• Strengthening State and Local Economies in Partnership with Nonprofits: Principles, Recommendations, and Models for Investing Coronavirus State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds
• Track philanthropic response to coronavirus and share your grants data here.

 

Resources

• 4 Ways to Contact Elected Officials to Make a Change
• American Immigration Council: Sanctuary Policies Fact Sheet
• Americans for the Arts Advocacy Resources
  • Social Impact Explorer
  • Arts and Economic Prosperity Report
  • Arts Education Policy and Funding
  • Congressional Arts Handbook
  • Advocacy Toolkit
• Artists’ Literacies Institute Data Findings from Artists, Culture Workers, Freelancers, Gig Event Economy Losses Due to Covid-19 Cancellations
• Arts Are Education: Action Center
• Bolder Advocacy | How to Fund a 501(c)(4): What Nonprofits and Foundations Need to Know
• Broadway Advocacy Coalition
  • WHAT NOW Part II: From Ally to Action
  • Community Forum
  • Action Steps Resource Guide
• Citizen's Guide to the State Budget
• Dance/USA: Informational Papers from the Task Force on Dancer Health
• Dance Artists’ National Collective’s information session on the PRO Act is available on YouTube, featuring DANC members and guests from American Guild of Musical Artists and Music Workers Alliance. 
• Lawyers Alliance resources: Lobbying Compliance FAQs for NY Nonprofit Organizations and recorded webinar: Am I Lobbying? Understanding Which Activities New York Nonprofits Should Track for Lobbying Reporting Purposes
• National Council of Nonprofits: Using the Advocacy Tools You Have
• Nonprofit New York State Legislative Tracker
• Nonprofit Vote: Nonprofit Power: Engaging Voters in a More Inclusive Democracy Report
• NYC Artist Coalition: Advocacy Toolkit
• NY4CA Impact Survey Findings
• National Council of Nonprofits report on Strengthening State and Local Economies in Partnership with Nonprofits
• On the Move Resource on COVID-19 and Cultural Mobility

 

Guide to Giving City Council Testimony

Members of the public can sign up to testify at virtual public hearings via Zoom Web and/or via Phone at least 24 hours in advance of hearing. Written testimony may be submitted up to 72 hours after the hearing has been adjourned.

For questions about accessibility or to request additional accommodations please contact EEO Officer at EEOOfficer@council.nyc.gov or call (212) 788-6936 at least three (3) business days before the hearing.

If you need non-English language interpretation, please email translationservice@council.nyc.gov, at least five (5) business days before the hearing. Please include the following information in your email:

• Name and date of the hearing
• Your full name, telephone number, and email address

For all other questions about hearings, email hearings@council.nyc.gov.
 

Download this template from Nonprofit New York to build your testimony

 

How to Register to Give City Council Testimony

• Visit https://council.nyc.gov/testify/ to register 
• Choose a required field on how you chose to give testimony 

• A contact information form will appear including options to select which hearing you plan to testify at, subject of the hearing and whether you are representing an organization or yourself. 

 

• Uploading written testimony. You do not have to upload written testimony to register. You can leave this blank. You can upload written testimony at a later time (up to 72 hours after the hearing. Only DOC, DOCX or PDF Files are accepted. 

 

• Hit Send Button to Submit 

 

 

 

How City Council Reviews Testimony

• The Council meticulously reviews all oral and written testimony and often reviews the hearing video. 
• Testimony is also public and can be reviewed by anyone for any hearing.
• For future reference, if you search on the hearing site (https://legistar.council.nyc.gov/Calendar.aspx), you can choose a committee by choosing "Committee on Cultural Affairs (...)" from the drop down box in the upper-middle part of the page.

 

• You'll find a list of dates and topics pop up. If you click on blue text that says "Meeting Details" for a specific date, such as 4/20, it'll bring you to the hearing materials. Sometimes you need to click on a link with a code that will look like T2020 [and has 4 digits] to get to the final hearing page, but there you'll find links (in blue, in the middle of the page) leading to the committee report, testimony, transcript and video from each hearing.