Established Advocacy Grant
States that qualify for the Established State Advocacy Grant have received more than two AADA advocacy grant awards and already have a robust advocacy program, but need extra financial support from the AADA to support their advocacy efforts.
Applicants for the Established State Advocacy Grant are encouraged to focus their application on one specific legislative priority, even if the society will be working on multiple priorities throughout the year. This is to demonstrate to the State Policy Committee how exactly the state will be using their grant to further a written plan on that one issue. To clarify, state societies are still encouraged to work on multiple legislative priorities throughout the year, but we are requesting detailed plans for one priority.
Application timeline: The Established State Advocacy Grant application opens on June 30, 2022, and closes on September 30, 2022.
The application is now closed.
States requesting funding must be able to participate in advocacy activities according to their tax status with the IRS and any applicable state regulations.
The grant application must be strictly for advocacy purposes — to influence legislation and/or regulatory issues or to develop such initiatives.
AADA will not approve any grant applications for proposals that are not aligned with the AADA’s state policy priorities.
Each grantee will be required to submit a final written report (PDF download) to the AADA outlining the status of its advocacy project and progress made to date. AADA staff will provide reminders to grantees of the reporting deadlines. Failure to submit a report could result in denial of future funding requests.
Applicants must be prepared to upload the following documents:
1. A two-to-four page narrative description of the proposed advocacy project and the amount of funding being requested. Please do not include a comprehensive report written solely by a lobbyist intended to be informational to the society. This is not helpful in our considerations. View a sample application (PDF download). The narrative should specifically address:
State society advocacy background – A complete background includes the history of the society’s advocacy efforts and related activities, and a description of both the level of involvement of the society’s leadership and the level of support from the general membership. Narratives should delineate such details as key society members dedicated to advocacy, state society’s political action committee activities, and attendance at grassroots and advocacy training sessions — through the AADA or other sources, and the state society executive director’s attendance at the State Society Executive Conference held in conjunction with the AAD Annual Meeting. Please include all other advocacy objectives for the upcoming legislative session.
Advocacy plan – An advocacy plan is a detailed explanation of the society’s specific goals and objectives, and the activities planned to meet those goals and objectives. This portion of the narrative should include such things as discussion of the project timeline, advocacy tools, collaborating/supportive organizations (i.e. state medical society), anticipated outcomes, anticipated challenges/difficulties, and political climate (e.g. strength of legislative sponsor, support from committee chair, partisan issues). If applicable, please also include any information on the qualifications of key personnel, including contract lobbyists. Please describe the likelihood of success if the grant is awarded.
Project budget – A strong projected budget for the advocacy project includes information on anticipated expenses and anticipated income, specifies how the grant funds will be used, and outlines available funds from the society to be dedicated to this project. Societies that show independent financial effort to support their own initiatives receive greater consideration.
2. List of current and upcoming society officers.
3. State society bylaws.
4. Completed W-9 form.
5. Completed form 990.
6. Financial audits (if available).
7. Copy of state society budget from current year and the proposed budget for the next year, showing income, expenses, and reserve accounts.
8. Optional supporting documents: Letters of support, lobbyist contract (if applicable), meeting minutes outlining discussion of proposed activities, advocacy communications from previous years, etc.
9. If your state received a grant in the immediate previous year, you are required to submit a report to the AADA outlining the status of your state’s advocacy project and progress made to date. Societies in states that remain in session during the application period must still submit a status report of the project. Failure to submit a report could result in denial of future funding requests.
