The Advocacy Detective: Your New Mission

The Core Philosophy: Understanding Before Acting

In our Moral Reframing training, we realized that our strength isn’t just in the facts, but in the values-driven narrative we craft. This narrative is a strategy, and every good strategy needs data. The goal of this unit is to acknowledge and honor the reality that every Member of Congress has a unique set of political and policy pressures. We are not here to debate them or win the argument; we are here to understand their world and help make connections to the issue that we care about.

You will transition from advocating for climate in general to advocating for climate action built around their worldview and defined local needs. This is how we move from conversation to securing shared progress.

The primary motivation for members of Congress is ultimately driven by their strong conviction, what is politically safe and has undeniable support in their district/state (as we discussed in the previous training with CCL’s Theory of Change).

As a result, we’ll be using these three frames as we build out our blueprint below.

Activity 1: Building The Blueprint Worksheet (30 Minutes)

The Political & Policy Quick-Scan

This activity is the backbone of your Advocacy Detective work (building on prior CCL trainings). It provides the structural context your member of Congress (MOC) operates within—the committees that shape their influence, the industries that shape their incentives, and the political pressures that shape what they can say or do publicly.

Step 1: Congress.gov — Identify the MOC’s Committee Power

Visit Congress.gov and locate your MOC’s committee assignments (e.g., Energy & Commerce, Ways & Means, Agriculture, Armed Services, Appropriations).

Committees are where Members of Congress shape and influence the details of policy—and where they build identity, expertise, and influence. At the beginning of each Congress, Members submit requests to be seated on their preferred committees. This often means a Member’s Committees reflect topics particularly relevant to their constituents.

Each assignment tells you:

• Which issues they touch every day
• Where lobbyists and stakeholders approach them most frequently
• What policy topics they feel confident (or obligated) speaking about
• What policies they will have the most influence over

In addition to sitting on a particular committee, Members are placed on subcommittees within the larger committee. These subcommittees give you even more information on the exact policy area your Member of Congress works on most frequently and finds most important.

Examples

Why it matters for BRIDGE: Committee roles shape a Member’s identity. They signal what your MOC is expected to care about and where they already feel knowledgeable and responsible. When your ask aligns with their committee interests, it can feel more natural and credible—but it can also come with a higher bar. Because Members often have deeper experience and accountability in these areas, they may require more evidence or justification before offering support. At the same time, once they do engage, their support can carry greater influence in Congress. This doesn’t mean avoiding committee alignment—far from it. Instead, it’s an opportunity to connect your message thoughtfully, recognizing both the higher expectations and the potential for greater impact.

Action Step

Map Committee Connections

Before jumping into how a Member’s committees connect to climate, take a step back and ask: why are they on this committee in the first place?

 

Committee assignments are rarely random—they often reflect district priorities, local industries, personal background, or strategic goals for bringing resources home. To uncover this, look at how your Member of Congress talks about their committee work:

• How is it framed on their website or in their bio?
• What bills have they introduced that were referred to that committee?
• When they were first assigned, was there a press release—and how did they describe the opportunity?

Sometimes the connection is obvious (e.g., a rural district → Agriculture Committee). Other times it’s more subtle (e.g., a major infrastructure project → interest in Transportation to influence funding decisions). Understanding this context helps you see what really matters to them—and how climate solutions might connect.

Now, map the connection:

Record your MOC’s committees and write one sentence for each about how that lens could connect to CCL’s policy priorities.

Examples:

• Agriculture Committee: “As a member of the Agriculture Committee, Rep. ___ is focused on supporting farmers, so I can connect carbon pricing or conservation practices to soil health, crop resilience, and keeping family farms economically viable.”
• Agriculture Forestry Subcommittee: “Because Sen. ___ works on forestry issues, I can highlight how forest management and carbon removal policies help reduce wildfire risk and support rural economies.”
• Energy & Commerce (Energy Subcommittee): “Given Rep. ___’s role on the Energy Subcommittee, I can frame clean energy policy as a way to strengthen grid reliability, lower long-term energy costs, and boost American energy innovation.”

Step 2: OpenSecrets.org — Understand Financial & Political Pressures

Visit OpenSecrets.org and review your MOC’s top three donor sectors by industry (e.g., Defense, Tech, Healthcare, Oil & Gas, Electric Utilities, Agriculture, Real Estate).

This information is not about judgment—it’s about understanding their constraints and incentives.

Donor sectors reveal:

• Who is calling their office regularly
• Which stakeholders they meet with most often
• Which constituencies are most important to the Member of Congress
• Which economic interests they must balance
• Who may oppose—or support—certain climate solutions

Examples

Why it matters for BRIDGE: Donor sectors help show you what is politically safe for your Member of Congress, what feels risky, and where climate solutions could be framed as beneficial rather than threatening.

This understanding helps volunteers shape their asks so that they are ambitious and grounded in a member of Congress’s political reality so that they can move forward together.

Action Step

Identify Donor Opportunity Frames

Record the top three donor industries and write one possible opportunity frame for each (e.g., “Agriculture donors → emphasize soil health, water reliability, and protecting rural livelihoods”).

Step 3: Explore the MOC’s Official Website (About Page + Newsroom)

You can find your MOC’s website by following the logic: lastname.house.gov or lastname.senate.gov.

Start by reading your MOC’s “About” tab. This is not just a biography—it is a carefully curated narrative about what aspects of their professional career, congressional roles, military or business background, and personal life they believe matter most to their constituents. These highlights are identity cues that signal what they find meaningful, what they are proud of, and what they are likely to defend or prioritize in policymaking.

Bonus activity: Look up your MOCs campaign website, which often has more about their family and personal interests. One note of caution is that policy there can change when they are in office.

Next, visit their Newsroom or Press Releases section. Find at least one press release that uses non-climate language (e.g., “rural broadband,” “water security,” “infrastructure,” “small business growth”). This reveals the tone, vocabulary, and local frames they rely on when communicating with their voters.

For ongoing insight, sign up for their newsletter and/or follow them on social media. Weekly updates often include photos of who they meet with—local leaders, civic groups, businesses, faith organizations, veterans, unions, or donors. Each photo is a clue to whom they consider influential or important, and thus what issues feel politically “safe” or high-priority.

Action Step

Decode Their Public Language

Objective: Illustrate that climate solutions align with the MOC’s existing local needs and voter values.

• Review your MOC’s public language, such as speeches, newsletters, social posts, town halls, or website messaging.
• Write down 5–10 recurring phrases, themes, or value words they use often.
• Look for patterns in how they talk about their district or state, including what problems they highlight and what they say matters most to constituents.
• Treat these recurring words and themes as tools you can use later to connect CCL’s policy priorities in a way that feels natural and familiar.
• Next, focus on bringing the climate issue close to home by identifying local concerns rather than starting with national climate messaging.
• Ask yourself: What issues feature undeniable support for this MOC’s constituents?
• Identify areas of common ground by noting the local needs, community concerns, and values that could connect with your climate ask.
• Use what you find to show that climate solutions are not separate from the MOC’s priorities—they can support the needs and values the MOC is already trying to address.

Step 4: Polling — Find Localized Public Will (Climate & Non-Climate Frames)

The economy is almost universally the top issue for voters across administrations, regardless of party. We should almost always start with the economy as our entry point. In addition, polling gives you a snapshot of what voters in your MOC’s district already care about—and often it’s not climate change on its face. Increasingly, Members of Congress show support for CCL’s policies because they are responsive to related concerns such as:

• Rising energy costs
• Local economic competitiveness
• Droughts or water shortages
• Infrastructure resilience
• Public health and air quality
• Extreme weather affecting insurance and agriculture

To gather this information, use:

Action Step

Gather District Polling Data

Record 3–5 data points from polling that reflect district concerns, not just climate ideology. Highlight trends that connect naturally to CCL’s policy actions (e.g., “58% of district residents support expanding clean energy” → use when discussing permitting reform).

Step 5: Targeted Internet News Search — Identify Real, Local Pain Points

This step helps you identify non-political, locally relevant problems your MOC’s community is facing—especially issues that climate solutions can help with without being framed as climate issues.

Try search strings such as:

Look for issues such as:

Step 6: Understanding Your District’s Cultural DNA

Optional but highly recommended tool for deeper district insight

Beyond political data and economic indicators, every congressional district is shaped by long-standing cultural, historical, and narrative forces. These forces help explain why an issue gains undeniable support, how people interpret new information, and what kinds of messages feel trustworthy or familiar.

Why This Step Matters for Advocacy

Your Member of Congress is not just responding to polling or donors. They are responding to the story their district tells about itself—its history, its heroes, its anxieties, and its core values. These cultural currents influence:

• The moral foundations that resonate locally
• How climate issues are framed or avoided
• What kind of leadership is celebrated (pragmatic? rebellious? traditional?)
• How quickly a district is willing to embrace change

Action Step

Map Cultural Traits

Use these insights to shape your relational approach—not to stereotype, but to anticipate what feels normal, trustworthy, or motivating in that region.

• Identify 3–5 cultural traits that may influence your MOC’s rhetoric or priorities.
• Consider how those traits shape:
  • what feels politically “safe,”
  • what kinds of stories resonate,
  • which moral foundations are strongest locally.
• Use these insights to guide your framing, tone, and relational approach.

Example

Suppose your MOC rarely talks about “climate” but frequently emphasizes “freedom for local communities,” “government overreach,” or “protecting working families from rising costs.” Understanding the cultural narrative helps you meet your MOC where they already live—emotionally, historically, and politically.

Brainstorm: Find an Authentic Connection Point

Now that you’ve gathered political, cultural, and local context, identify a genuine, non-political point of commonality you can use to open your first meeting.

This establishes relational trust—showing you see them as a person first, policymaker second.

Action Step

Identify Your Connection Point

Write down one authentic, non-political connection point and one local problem your group can constructively align with. We’ll use them both to help shape your opening approach as well as what you’ll ask for your next request that we explore more in the next training (BRIDGE Training 6).

Brainstorm: Based on your research, what is a genuine, non-political point of commonality you can use in your meeting? (e.g., a shared regional connection, a similar non-profit background, common interests (outdoors, sports, etc.)).

Looking Ahead

“What is the right next step for this MOC right now?” That is the work of the Support Scale.