NNA Legislative Day allows our members to take their message to the halls of Congress.  Last year's first in-person after a few years of virtual advocacy was an incredible success.  We want to build on that foundation as we hit the Hill again in person; a process of proven success in making the case to Congress for increased financial resources and policy change.  Join our network of excellence in voicing our needs to policymakers to deliver affordable housing and community development in our communities.

The 2024 NNA Legislative Day will be held on April 10, 2024.    

April seems far away, but now is the time to plan near to engage Congress to make the magic happen for FY25.  The FY24 core appropriation for NeighborWorks America is still in play while Congress continues to kick the can down the road.  We have a target of $185 million for our request of an FY24 appropriation for NeighborWorks America.  We are confident we can deliver our message to the Hill for this crucial increase in funding, but we can't do this without you.

NNA continues to advocate for the NeighborWorks America appropriation through our Dear Colleague letter campaigns, as well as NNA’s individual and small group meetings both virtually and in-person on the Hill.  Continuing this engagement will lead to success when paired with your continued local outreach to your Congressional members keeping those in DC aware of your challenges, impacts, and accomplishments.

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact our Executive Director, Lou Tisler or 202.713.8720.

NNA will work to provide a robust and effective advocacy experience for you and your colleagues to engage with our members of Congress. 

Thank you for your preparation and engagement!

NNA Members meet with Representative Andrea Salinas (OR-06)

New This Year:  Are you new to the network or is this your first time participating in the NNA Legislative Day or the NeighborWorks Executive Symposium?  Perhaps you are still deciding whether to attend?  NNA will be hosting a webinar before the close of registration to provide an overview of the 3 days, what to expect, and how to make the most of your time amongst your peers.

NNA has invited peer presenters who have a long history of attending these events, as well as some who participated for the first time last year.

Open to all NNA members who are or are considering attending the NNA Day and/or the NeighborWorks Executive Symposium.  This is not the same as the more detailed advocacy training webinars.

To view slides or recording of webinar:

• Overview – NNA Legislative Day – NeighborWorks Executive Symposium Slide Deck
• Overview - NNA Legislative Day - NeighborWorks Symposium Webinar Recording

Registration

Registration is closed

Click below to view the final list of your colleagues who are participating in the 2023 NNA Legislative Day, sorted by state and then by participant last name.  2024 NNA Legislative Day Participant List

Schedule of Events 

• Fly into DC
• 5:00pm - 7:00pm

NNA will be hosting a very casual welcome reception at Open City, less than 500 feet from the Omni Shoreham Hotel.  Enjoy drinks, apps, and the company of your colleagues as we get ready to hit the Hill.  We will have the entire restaurant, lots of space, lots of seating, lots of fun!  Open City is located at 2331 Calvert St NW.

• 7:00am - 8:00am
  NNA Office Hours - Omni Shoreham Hotel.  Open for individual discussion and questions on all things NNA and Legislative Day.  
  
  
• 8:00am - 9:00am
  Briefing Breakfast - Omni Shoreham Hotel, Diplomat Ballroom, West Promenade.  Briefing on the day, review on talking points, special guest presenters, final instructions, and of course, breakfast.  Participants will then start their Hill visits.
  
  
• 10:00am - 1:00pm

• 1:30pm - 4:00pm

• 4:45pm - 7:00pm

• 8:00am - 9:15am

NNA Membership Breakfast

• 5:00pm - 8:00pm

NNA and NeighborWorks America Awards Dinner

April 12th:  Day 2 of NeighborWorks Executive Symposium

• No NNA Events - Safe Travels Home
  
  Scroll down for more information.

NNA has been hosting a set of three webinars to prepare you for your Hill visits with insights, directions, and drawing on past experiences.  The tactics and strategies we will discuss will be beneficial on the Hill or in your office on zoom.  Advocacy 101 and 201 have been presented with links below to slides and recordings.  Advocacy 301 will be driven by your peers, sharing experiences and lessons learned while being on the Hill.  The goal of our advocacy training is to ensure that your 2024 NNA Legislative Day is as productive, effective, and comfortable as possible.

• Register for Advocacy 301 April 4, 3pm Eastern

NeighborWorks CEO/EDs leading the discussion:

• Elizabeth Alonzo-Villarreal
  NeighborWorks Laredo
• Carrie Davis
  Wealth Watchers, Inc.
• Dana Hanchin
  HDC MidAtlantic
• Kara Hay
  Penquis
• Chris Krehmeyer
  Beyond Housing
• Reina Miyamoto
  Hawaii HomeOwnership Center

NNA Advocacy 101 - Building the Foundation for Success

The environment continues to evolve on the Hill; it's time to lay a new foundation for your federal advocacy efforts - including the annual NeighborWorks America appropriation. We will include what, whys, and how, and more...let's build the foundation for your advocacy success this year.

To view the slide deck or webinar recording for Advocacy 101:

• Advocacy 101 Slide Deck
• Advocacy 101 Webinar Recording

NNA Advocacy 201 - Take a Deep Dive

Geared to those who have completed Advocacy 101 or have intermediate federal advocacy experience. This is where we will dive into the FY24 appropriations ask, the Dear Colleague letters, go over talking points and best practices for engaging with Congressional staffers, how to get the most out of the NNA Capitol Hill reception, and how to put it all together to have a successful experience. This is the one you don’t want to miss.

Register for only one of these dates (unless you want to experience it twice):

• Advocacy 201 Slide Deck
• Advocacy 201 Webinar Recording

More Resources:

National Aggregated NeighborWorks Infographic:
This is the document that you want to lead with showing the average leverage of all NeighborWorks organizations of federal funds.

To download the FY23 National Impact Infographic click on the picture here:

State Impact Sheets and Infographics - NNA has put every NeighborWorks organization's state infographics and impact sheets in one location. 

Have at your fingertips your state infographic combined with your impact sheets.  We will also have these available at registration.  Feel free to send them when you make your House appointments too. 

To access your state's infographic and impact sheets click here:  FY23 State Infographics and Impact Sheets. 

One Page of Talking Points - know the what and the why regarding NeighborWorks America appropriation on one page. 

For 2024 NNA Legislative Day One-Page Talking Points click here:  2024 Legislative Day Talking Points

Glossary of Appropriations Terms - NNA took over 200 pages of terms from various sources and condensed it to 3 pages of important terms to know, or to keep handy during your prep and/or discussion.

Download NNA Appropriations Terms

Find out when your House member or Senator will be back in their district/state so that they can attend your events (click link for pdf of the calendar):

2024 Congressional Calendar

Scroll down for more information.

House Meetings:  each NWO should schedule their own House Meetings.

Please schedule your House appointments on April 10th between 10:00am and 1:00pm eastern standard time.  Constituents receive a much quicker response to appointment requests than DC-based advocates.  Call your Representatives office (click here to look up) and ask to make an appointment to see the Congressperson and housing staffer.

Note! After you have made your House appointments, please click here to send NNA an email with your confirmed House appointments - that way NNA can coordinate your Senate visits and not conflict.

The President's Budget Request was released with a requested amount of $168 million for NeighborWorks America.  Due to the elongated FY24 budget process, we are in the process of securing Dear Colleague letters from our Congressional supporters.  We anticipate that the deadline for the letters will be before we hit the Hill.  This year, ask each office to support NeighborWorks America by:

If the deadline for Dear Colleague letters is AFTER April 10th:

1. Signing onto the Dear Colleague letter for FY25 when released and include NeighborWorks America in their Individual Member Request.
   
   
2. If they don't sign onto the Dear Colleague for some reason, please ask them to include support for NeighborWorks America in their Individual Member Request.

We will post the Dear Colleague letters when available and share a list of all signatories in the House. 

Telling the Your Story

The Corporate Strategy and Impact division of NeighborWorks® America has many tools and research/consulting services, all FREE, that can help you create the visual story you need to tell your local story.  This service is available to all network members for many different uses; grant applications, annual reports, mapping service delivery, etc.  NNA would suggest that using these visuals could enhance your local story in a national conversation.  Visit the NWA Business Intelligence Services webpage on the NWA Business Intelligence Tableau Site to see how to make the magic happen, or e-mail them at businessintelligence@nw.org to start the conversation. 

NNA Members from Florida with Congressman Mario Díaz-Balart.

NNA will schedule these appointments by state.  There are times when organizations schedule these themselves for all the NWOs in the state or are scheduled by a statewide coordinator. 

We anticipate that the deadline for the letters will be before we hit the Hill.  This year, ask each office to support NeighborWorks America by:

1. Signing onto the Dear Colleague letter for FY25 when released and include NeighborWorks America in their Individual Member Request.
   
   
2. If they don't sign onto the Dear Colleague for some reason, please ask them to include support for NeighborWorks America in their Individual Member Request.

We will post the Dear Colleague letters when available and share a list of all signatories in the Senate.

Advocacy Priorities and Talking Points:

As in previous years, the NNA External Policy Committee and the NNA Board of Directors have agreed that our first priority for NNA Legislative Day is the NeighborWorks America "core" appropriation.  The second priority will be left to you to address local needs, whether that is CDBG, HOME, Rural Funding, NHTF, etc.

Priority 1:  NeighborWorks America FY25 Core Appropriation

• FY 2025 Funding Request: $185 million in appropriated funding to NeighborWorks America for core operating support.

Priority 2:  Next Most Important Funding Source that impacts you the most.  We will have a list of priorities and talking points from our colleagues/partners/collaborators to support some of your second priorities.

What Should You Bring to Hill Visits

Items you should have available at your fingertips during your Hill meetings:  National Infographic, State Impact Sheets, talking points, and Glossary of Appropriations Terms.  All these will be provided upon your on-site check-in on the morning of March 28th.

Give To Congressional Staff:

• NeighborWorks America National FY23 Infographic 
  
• Individual State Infographics and Data Sheets access them here: FY23 State Infographics and Impact Sheets
  
• Your specific organizational material - less is better

Keep With You Throughout The Day:

• One Page of Talking Points
  
• Glossary of Appropriations Terms