Strategy For Your Cause
Building Grassroots Efforts For A Cause
The Iowa Association of Councils of Governments (ICOG) represents the 17 councils of governments (COGs) that exist in Iowa who work to solve regional issues for cities and counties. One project many of the COGs work on is housing and they wanted to bring a project that existed in South Dakota to Iowa - prison-built affordable housing. This program brings
Iowa Prison Industries beginning
a program with
prisoners entering
an apprenticeship program to
build affordable housing for places (delete 'for places')
in rural Iowa.
The Challenge
Affordable housing is a becoming a critical need in Iowa and affects economic development especially in rural areas where there are key manufacturing facilities. Trying to build a house for around $120,000 is very difficult in rural areas where the private-sector does not serve.
What We Did
ICOG and it's members worked to bring on legislation and to bring advocacy on starting a program in Iowa that works with Iowa Prison Industries to have inmates at the Newton Correctional Facility to build affordable homes in Iowa. These inmates, under proper supervision enter into an apprenticeship program. Studies show in other states where this program exists that inmates who go through and complete the apprenticeship program have 40% less recidivism when released.
ICOG worked on a statewide grassroots strategy and marketing campaign centered around the benefits of this program. A grasstops campaign was created that included marketing flyers, sample letters of support and presentation that individual COGs could give to their cities, counties and stakeholder groups.
Key partnerships were formed with legislators, for-profit, non-profit and trade groups around Iowa. By finding a legislative champion, Senator Mark Lofgren, our work was multi-faceted with advocacy happening in the legislature, stakeholder groups and online through digital channels.
What We Achieved
Many legislative initiatives take many years to achieve if at all. After working for two years on this initiative, the Governor of Iowa, made public in her Condition of the State speech that our program was moving forward. The massive grassroots base our firm had helped build for ICOG along with the key legislative champion, Senator Mark Lofgren, was too big to ignore and to important compared to those few who opposed the initiative.
100+
LETTERS OF SUPPORT
2
YEARS TO GET OFF THE GROUND
1,850
INDIVIDUALS REACHED