Maintain momentum after the election

While the election may be over, your campaign work is not. Hopefully some aspects of your work will continue for some time into the new term. In order to make the most of all your time and hard work leading up to Election Day, you need to continue your efforts with post-election follow-up to candidates, newly elected officials, media and the public.

Follow Up with Elected Officials

Once Election Day has passed, be sure to review public pronouncements, candidate surveys and other materials from the winning and losing campaigns. Understand the winning candidate’s position on afterschool and hold them to any afterschool related campaign statements. Look for opportunities to connect afterschool to other priorities of your newly elected officials. Remind them of your expertise and offer to provide information and research to help them better understand your issue.

For more ideas on how to educate officials once they’re in office, check out our Action Center.

Share these resources with officials!

A national poll released in January 2023 finds that vast majorities of the public – across gender, race, age, regional and party lines – consider afterschool programs to be important to their communities.

Read the Study Poll Results Blog
Follow Up Letter to Newly-Elected Officials

Dear [official]:

Congratulations on your campaign victory! Ensuring that our children are safe and engaged in learning opportunities after school is a priority for America. A majority of voters – 81 percent, according to a recent poll – agree that afterschool programs are "an absolute necessity" for their communities, and the same number want newly elected leaders at the local, state, and federal levels to provide more funding for them.

Despite this clear consensus, [insert number from your state map] young people in our state are alone after school. These children are not only at unsafe and at risk—they are also losing out on important opportunities to connect with caring adults and gain skills that will help them realize their full potential. I urge you to invest in afterschool and summer learning programs during your term in office. I’m not alone; two in three adults want their federal, state, and local leaders to provide funding for these programs..

I hope you will consider the [state afterschool network] as a resource to you in your new role. We would be delighted to connect you and your staff with local afterschool and summer learning programs to conduct site visits to see firsthand the critical roles that these programs are playing for our children, youth and families in our state.

As you consider ways in which you can invest in afterschool and summer learning programs in your newly elected position, we can provide you with any needed research on supply and demand and evidence of effectiveness. [State afterschool network] has a strong network of afterschool supporters across the state and we are looking forward to engaging our network to support any proposed policies that will keep children safe and learning in the hours after school and throughout the summer.

Again, congratulations on your victory! We look forward to working with you to ensure all children in [state] have the opportunities they need to realize their full potential.

Sincerely,

[your name]
[your phone number]
[your email address]

Follow Up with the Field

There are a number of things you can do to follow up with the field. Ideally, the end of the campaign is just the beginning of your outreach to the database that you’ve built.

  • Be sure to send acknowledgements to the field, thanking them for their effort and hard work.
  • Organize a post-election meeting with your partners and area campaign leaders, and share best practices: what worked, what didn’t.
  • Encourage the field to “keep the pressure on.”
  • Give field sample letters so they can follow up with the winning candidates.