Editable Letter Template For Trusted Messengers
Especially respected by their Members of Congress (MOC), a trusted messenger is a community leader who represents the views of many constituents and is connected to the MOC in some way, for example they might belong to the same political party, live in the same city or have similar career backgrounds.
The CCL Government Affairs team recommends that all chapters work with a local liaison to get at least one policy support letter from a trusted messenger to their MOC and deliver the letter in a June lobby meeting.
To identify a local trusted messenger, work with liaisons and other chapter members who know local elected officials, large local employers, business owners and other prominent and influential community leaders who are trusted messengers to their MOCs. Once you are connected to a trusted messenger, ask them to edit the template letter below. They are welcome to swap out carbon pricing for another of the policies in CCL’s policy agenda.
If the trusted messenger would like to write a personal support letter, be sure it describes:
- how climate change has, or will, impact their city and organization
- their desire for the U.S. Congress to prioritize more policy to address climate change
- which of the policies in CCL’s policy agenda they support
You are welcome to help draft the letter, but the letter should be signed only by trusted messenger(s). Ask the trusted messenger to print the letter on their own letterhead if possible. And be sure to log your meetings with community leaders under grasstops in the Action Tracker and submit an endorsement on behalf of the trusted messenger at cclusa.org/endorse.
For more training on this approach see CCL's Trusted Messenger Training Page.
