The Clearinghouse and Toolkit

Purpose

The NCL Advocacy Clearinghouse and Toolkit is a one-stop collection of public policy advocacy resources designed to assist you in advocating for adult literacy at the federal level. Adult literacy advocates have previously lacked one central location where they can easily access advocacy resources from across the field. As an adult literacy advocate, you may already be part of an alert network; however, you must quickly locate the tools you need in order to act. In response to this need, the National Coalition for Literacy, with the generous support of the Dollar General Literacy Foundation, developed the online Advocacy Clearinghouse and Toolkit.

Development Process

The NCL asked advocates to complete a national needs survey, revealing their top advocacy resource needs. A Review Team from the NCL developed criteria for including resources in the Advocacy Clearinghouse and Toolkit that address these needs. Some NCL members submitted resources for the Review Team to consider including. The Review Team also reviewed resources found on NCL members’ web sites and with permission, linked to them within the Advocacy Clearinghouse and Toolkit. Organizations represented on the Review Team:

• Association of Adult Literacy Professional Developers (AALPD)
• Commission on Adult Basic Education (COABE)
• National Council of State Directors of Adult Education (NCSDAE)
• Teachers of Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL)
• Voice of Adult Learners United to Educate (VALUE)

Adult learners, teachers, and volunteers from D.C. Learns http://www.dclearns.org/ tested the toolkit during development and suggested improvements. The NCL then revised the site based on their feedback. NCL members later reviewed the online resource before launching. Advocates can continue to submit feedback for refining the site and submit resources they would like NCL to include. NCL will carefully consider all feedback and resources submitted as the site grows in response to advocates’ needs.

How the Site Is Organized

You will find resources organized into seven sections:

Advocacy Home
From the home page, you can learn about federal legislative issues and NCL’s position on these issues; sign up for alerts and act on them with the click of a mouse. Advocacy Home also spotlights advocacy efforts across the country. Advocates can submit photos, videos, and articles for the Spotlight on Advocacy.

Advocacy Toolkit
The Advocacy Toolkit shares the know-how from adult literacy advocates. It includes practical tools like sample letters and phone scripts, as well as high-impact strategies and answers to questions. Sections include:

• Advocacy Basics
• What You Can Legally Do
• Using Your Time Wisely
• Overcoming Barriers
• Glossary
• Contacting Legislators
• What to Say and How
• Who You Involve
• Creating Responsive Networks
• Advocacy Strategies

Legislative Updates
This Public Policy Corner provides monthly legislative updates to keep you up-to-speed on federal public policy issues that impact adult literacy.

Fact Finder
Members of Congress come from different backgrounds and have varying interests and priorities. If you know those interests, you can target your message. This Fact Finder provides facts on topics that intersect with adult literacy. Thus, you can hook into legislators’ interests by connecting adult literacy to their issues. If you need to find a fact fast, this is the section to visit.

Research and Reports
Find in-depth research and reports pertaining to issues listed in the Fact Finder. These documents are for anyone conducting research or seeking in-depth information on adult literacy and its intersection with various issues.

Your Advocacy Role
Find public policy advocacy resources specific to your role or to your organization’s role in advocacy: adult learners, teachers and tutors, administrators, businesses, faith based organizations, libraries, nonprofits, and publicly funded programs.

Press and Media
The Press and Media Room is for both press who seek timely adult literacy information and adult literacy advocates who seek tools to convey that information to the media. For the press, it contains media contacts from NCL, national adult literacy organizations, and governmental agencies that issue news releases and adult literacy reports. It also contains background about adult literacy. For adult literacy advocates, you will find links to media toolkits you can use to raise awareness of adult literacy.

About
Learn about NCL members and the role of each in the field of adult literacy.

Submit
Through the Submit section, contact NCL or submit:

• Feedback for refining the online Advocacy Clearinghouse and Toolkit.
• Resources you would like NCL to consider including.
• Articles, photos, and videos for Spotlight on Advocacy. NCL features efforts of adult literacy advocates across the nation.

National Coalition for Literacy Home