Advocacy Guidelines

At times, AISGW serves as an advocate for its member schools, supporting their independence, general welfare and reputation before local governments, agencies, legislative bodies, the media and the public. The following Advocacy Guidelines were adopted by the AISGW Board of Trustees on March 12, 2002 in order to describe the scope and limits of these activities.

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FOCUS

  • Substantive issues which deal with problems that are common to most independent schools and/or which have the potential to affect large numbers of member schools
  • Local, not federal or state, issues, primarily at the county level or District level
  • Proactive initiatives: work to frame issues in a way that is most advantageous to area independent schools
  • Issues and concerns that, if they gain momentum, might spread disadvantages to member schools in other jurisdictions

METHODS

  • Form collaborations with other independent school organizations whenever possible
  • Join coalitions with organizations, especially other not-for-profit community groups and associations that share our common goals
  • Utilize the expertise, interest and information that reside in our member schools
  • Supplement staff, Board and member efforts with assistance from legal experts and political and/or public relations experts

AVOID

  • Issues and situations which, however compelling to individual schools or small groups of schools, do not represent the interests of area independent schools in general
  • Overcommitting AISGW on the number of range of issues that need attention at one time, or promoting AISGW as the “expert” on all government-related issues and concerns
  • “Issue Creep”: continued focus on one particular issue or jurisdiction should be monitored to assess its ongoing importance to the Association and its overall membership

OVERSIGHT

  • Advocacy efforts are, primarily, the responsibility of Executive Director
  • Ongoing input from related AISGW Board Committees and Task Forces
  • Regular monitoring by AISGW Executive Committee to refine priorities, review methods and expenditures, and scrutinize impact on total organization goals and purposes

COMPLIANCE

  • Where advocacy involves proposed legislation, AISGW ensures that all activities are permissible for a Section 501(c)(3) organization under the tax laws.
  • AISGW has no involvement in public electioneering.

Adopted by the AISGW Board of Trustees, 3/12/02

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