Processing Constituent Letters

Going paperless for future outreach

CCL has gone paperless and encourages volunteers to use the online tools below for your tabling instead of using paper letters and signup sheets.

• cclusa.org/write - write Congress
• cclusa.org/call - call Congress
• cclusa.org/tweet - tweet Congress
• cclusa.org/join - join CCL

You can also put an iPad or laptop on the table, opened to cclusa.org/join, where people can type in their details directly right there at the table!

For more information, see the Paperless Grassroots Outreach training for recommendations on how to get started and the actions to feature. 

Share in the work together

• Consider holding a work party or delegating some of the following tasks while providing support to make sure the job gets done.
• If you haven't already, part of your work together can be giving a personal call to the new prospects that opted into finding out more about CCL. Thank them for taking the time to write their insightful comments to their Congressmember, and invite them to your next CCL meeting or to join our informational session.

Sorting, updating, and copying

• It’s best to have table visitors “Join” CCL on their own phones by going to cclusa.org/join in a browser. 
• If you decide to have your table visitors sign a paper “Join CCL” sheet, please enter the names and contact information into your Chapter Roster. 
• If they didn't provide it, look up any individual's congressional district at: https://www.house.gov/representatives/find-your-representative. Write the state and district (e.g. VA-11) in the lower right-hand corner to help with sorting. Discard any forms for which you can’t determine the district, as well as any that contain profanity or are otherwise inappropriate.
• For the people who checked the box to receive more info from CCL, enter their contact information into the database by going to your Chapter Roster and clicking on “Add member.” Follow the Using Your Chapter Roster training for more information. 
• If you have the resources, feel free to make two copies of each completed constituent letter form while keeping them in order. Separate the copies by state. One copy of each goes to each senator.
• Sort the forms by congressional district and write down the totals for each district.

Finishing up

• Use the action tracker for the outreach event as well as the total letters your group generated.
• Note: CCL HQ encourages paperless tabling and has discontinued support for delivering paper constituent letters to Congress.   
• If you decide to use paper constituent comment forms at your table, you have three options for delivering the completed letters to your Members of Congress after entering the letter authors in your Chapter Roster:
  • Put the letters in an envelope and mail them to your members of Congress, or
  • Deliver the letters to the local district congressional office, or
  • Give the letters to a volunteer who is going to the CCL National Conference in DC to drop off at the appropriate congressional office.
• If you collect letters from constituents outside of your district, you can either (1) deliver the letters to a CCL chapter that is in the district, or (2) put the letters in an envelope and mail them to the appropriate members of Congress. CCL has discontinued the letter exchange in DC. 
• Bask in the glow of a job well done! You deserve it!