Are You Giving Your Advocacy Volunteers the Silent Treatment?

Has it been 36 days since you communicated with your advocacy volunteers or members? While this might be a record-breaking day for a government shutdown, you shouldn’t be setting records for giving your volunteers the silent treatment.

Many organizations are going dark to avoid wading into the highly partisan nature of the shutdown. This is a mistake! It’s okay to avoid discussing the shutdown, but it’s important that you continue engaging your list.

There are plenty of things you can be talking about:

• Driving actions to push for bill sponsorships (congressional offices are still working)

• Educating volunteers on key issues that could be part of an EOY package

• Surveying members/volunteers about your 2026 priorities

• Conducting recruitment and petition drives to build your list

Inaction by Congress is never a reason to stop communicating with your list.