When there is political turmoil or gridlock at the federal level, many organizations focus on local government advocacy to make change happen. Local government officials are often more accessible, responsive, and influential in shaping policies that directly affect communities than their state and federal counterparts. They can also be powerful allies.
“If you get local officials on your side, they can be your champion on issues [at the state or federal level],” says David Lusk, founder and CEO of Key Advocacy.
Since local governments often have limited support staff, many advocacy techniques commonly used at the state and federal levels can be ineffective at the local level. Some counties or townships don’t even allow advocates who live outside their borders to speak at public hearings.
To find out the most effective advocacy techniques, we spoke with three local government affairs experts to learn where they’re focusing in 2025. Here are five best practices they recommend.
1. Focus on One-on-One Relationships
The increasing popularity of CRM tools, grassroots advocacy software, and generative AI tools have all made it easier to activate supporters to flood local elected officials’ inboxes with messages in support or opposition of a particular policy. But George Eklund, director of education and advocacy at the Coalition for the Homeless in Louisville, Kentucky, says mass email campaigns alone aren’t enough for local advocacy.
“I need more people to make phone calls than just send email,” he says. “I need people to call their lawmaker and say, ‘I want to talk about housing, can we go get lunch or coffee?’ and have a deeper conversation.”
Lusk agrees that organizations shouldn’t focus on email campaigns at the expense of building authentic relationships with local officials.
Lusk, who trains organizations on effective advocacy techniques, says a common mistake organizations make with local advocacy is encouraging their supporters to jump too quickly to ask local officials without first developing a relationship. “Remember the value of showing up, being seen at things as a constituent,” he says. “You don’t always have to say hello and jump into a 20-minute conversation. There’s power in being seen but not having an ask.”
2. Use In-Person Events to Build Community Among Supporters
Local officials aren’t the only ones getting tired of receiving emails. Eklund shares that many of his organization’s supporters have gotten burned out by recent campaigns primarily focused on digital advocacy. To keep supporters engaged, his organization is turning to in-person events. They hosted their first rally in several years last year. In the next few months, many in-person engagements are coming up, including a four-session series of educational events and a weeklong advocacy push uniting multiple housing-focused organizations. “It’s all about rallying our people and keeping them engaged,” Eklund says.
At the Wisconsin Farm Bureau, director of local government Nate Zimdars says he is also looking into doing more in-person events to engage a younger demographic of supporters. Before the pandemic, the Wisconsin Farm Bureau hosted a statewide conference with a policy track that was well attended. Zimdars hopes to build on that event’s success by hosting more conferences focusing on regionally specific policy topics.
3. Build Coalitions to Amplify Your Message
One of the most effective ways to sway local leaders is to find common ground with other stakeholders in your community and unite your voices as a coalition. “It’s always better to have a choir than a soloist,” Lusk says. “An individual needs a microphone, but a choir doesn’t.”
The Coalition for the Homeless is partnering with over a dozen housing groups to define the city’s housing needs and report to the council. The report will determine how much funding and housing units are required to resolve the city’s housing crisis. Eklund says his organization is prioritizing this work in 2025 and all coalition members must align on the message for this strategy to succeed.
4. Use Technology With Care
Technological advancements such as generative AI chatbots, video marketing tools, and government advocacy software can help organizations engage more efficiently with advocates and elected officials.
According to FiscalNote’s 2025 State of Government Affairs Industry Report, many organizations are interested in using AI to streamline their workflows. In this year’s survey, 57 percent of respondents said they are open to adopting AI solutions and are actively seeking or using this technology, a significant jump from only 13 percent of respondents in 2024.
Lusk urges advocacy organizations to be careful with generative AI and to make sure they don’t lose authenticity in their campaigns or their ability to articulate their positions without the help of AI. “If you rely too much on AI, you might show up to a town hall meeting and get asked a question by a public official, but you don’t know how to respond because you let AI do it all the time,” he says.
5. Leverage Local Media Coverage to Amplify Your Voice
Many advocacy organizations struggle to reach new supporters with their campaigns. One tactic that can help attract new supporters to your cause and amplify your message is to secure media coverage of your events or policy positions.
Lusk shares that one trick for doing this at the local level is to submit letters to the editor of local news publications that mention specific local lawmakers. He recommends sending a copy of the letter to the named public official since local officials don’t always have staff members monitoring their media mentions.
Take Your Local Advocacy to the Next Level
Local government advocacy can be a powerful strategy for driving real policy change. It requires thoughtful engagement of your supporters and local elected officials, and persistent efforts are rewarded. As Lusk says, advocacy is like exercise: “Doing advocacy once is better than never, but you’re better off doing a little bit each day or each week.”
Government affairs software can help you stay consistent in your local advocacy efforts. Grassroots advocacy tools like VoterVoice can help you engage and activate supporters. Local policy tracking tools like Curate can help you stay ahead of policy developments in cities, counties, school boards, and more. You can cut through the noise with the right tools and make your voice heard.
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