AFT affiliates around the country are engaging in a comprehensive campaign of local, state and national actions under the Fund Our Future banner. The campaign is about building a movement focusing on the belief that all students deserve a powerful, purposeful public education that gives them the tools and skills they need to reach their full potential.
State and local events kicked off on March 4. Events will continue in order to create a nationwide cascade of actions that amplify our demands and build the movement around the urgency to invest in students and public education.
Resources
Ideas, tips and resources for developing and launching your state and local campaign.
- Establish a coalition of parents, civic and religious organizations, business partners and other community members to join the movement.
- Hold a news conference. Work with community supporters and allies, to announce the goals and demands of your campaign. See Developing Your State and Local Demands for more.
- Write to state legislators. Make sure state legislators know about your campaign and what they can do to support public education funding. Here is a template you, supporters and allies can send to elected officials. Sample letter to state legislator.
- Conduct a town hall meeting. Public forums are an effective way to engage people and educate them about the need for public education funding. For information on how to organize a town hall meeting, download How to run a townhall.
- Organize a rally. Work with community groups and parents organizations to rally in support of investing in public education.
- Lobby your legislature. Have in-person meetings with your state or local representatives about your campaign and your goals. For tips on how to do that, go to Lobbying 101: How to advocate in legislature.
Reports and fact sheets about public education funding
- Revenue demand/Good Jobs report (coming soon)
- Specific information about your state and the long period of neglect in public education funding: State-by-state fact sheets
Social media toolkit
View our social media toolkit document with graphics, sample messaging and content to amplify state and local events. If you need affiliate-specific graphics, or custom logos, please contact production@aft.org.
State-by-state graphics for the Decade of Neglect report.
- Download the appropriate folder that contains your state. Note: These are ZIP compressed files, that will need to be downloaded and expanded.
Videos
External media
Use these templates for press coverage of your local campaign.