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Capwiz·XC: Empowering Your Members to Take Action
ISVMA successfully utilized Action Alerts to encourage member participation in important legislative advocacy efforts.
Organization: Illinois State Veterinary Medical Association
Web site: www.isvma.org
Favorite Capwiz·XC tool: Action Alerts
The Illinois State Veterinary Medical Association (ISVMA) predicts, monitors, and confronts issues that affect the professional practice and licenses of Illinois veterinarians. More than 1,800 ISVMA member veterinarians depend upon the representation and services provided by the ISVMA. Their participation ensures the continued strength of the veterinary profession in Illinois.
ISVMA had been looking for a few years at ways to get local veterinarians engaged in advocacy efforts. They knew that using an online advocacy tool would be an effective way to get their issues elevated to high priority status in the eyes of legislators and found out about Capwiz·XC through their Legislative Committee chairperson. When AVMA, the American Veterinary Medical Association, coordinated a special group purchase for their state associations, Capwiz·XC became part of ISVMA’s advocacy efforts in 2006.
Creating Ownership of Issues among Members
The Department Of Revenue was ‘dragging its feet’ in issuing a policy letter that would formalize a law that would eliminate the requirement for veterinary practices to hold retailer certificates if they were transferring tangible personal property incident to service.
ISVMA knew that they needed to make this issue stand out from the rest. They got started with Capwiz·XC right away and created two Action Alerts on their Web site, urging their members to email an Illinois senator and a member of the House of Representatives, encouraging them to stand with ISVMA and help resolve the issue. Within 24 hours, almost 200 veterinarians had sent emails to the two legislators.
Peter Weber, Executive Director of ISVMA had this to say about the results of using the Capwiz·XC Action Alerts, “We had legislators sign on as co-sponsors of our bill just because they were contacted by their veterinarian! The feedback I got from ISVMA members was overwhelmingly positive. I was told that it was, ‘...easy to use’ and ‘...a good idea.’ Most importantly, I'm now building a list of ISVMA Activists that will be useful as we tackle bigger ‘gorillas’ at the Capitol!” He found that members felt satisfied because they were part of something that yielded practical results.
“It brought a sense of ownership to our members,” Weber says. “Ownership in the sense that they could feel engaged and directly involved with an issue, and this helps build long-term member commitments as well. So for us, using Capwiz·XC was not just about accomplishing a legislative goal, but getting members to see the value of investing time and thought to our organization.”
‘Teaching a Man to Fish’—Empowering Members to Learn for Themselves
Peter Weber believes there is a conscious choice involved in being an active association member. By providing their members with Capwiz·XC, ISVMA was mobilizing an enthusiastic member base. Weber believes that using Capwiz·XC can have far-reaching effects. He says, “Members that have a positive experience using Capwiz·XC to make a difference may be more inclined to register for one of our Association meetings in the future. Or they may use the Bills and Votes feature to research bills that ISVMA is monitoring.”
Weber concludes, “The great part about Capwiz·XC is that we’re not telling our members what to do or taking action for them. They are learning how to use online advocacy for themselves.”
Whether it’s looking up issues in the Bill Summary section, responding to an Action Alert, or researching legislators, ISVMA found that Capwiz·XC worked for them.
About Capwiz·XC
Why choose Capwiz·XC? Quite simply, it offers the most comprehensive and easy-to-use service on the market! Utilized by more than 1,500 associations, corporations, coalitions, and nonprofits across the political spectrum, Capwiz·XC gives your organization the power to inform, engage, and activate your members and supporters. Designed with the non-technical user in mind, Capwiz·XC can be installed easily and quickly on your Web site. Thousands of pages of political information are seamlessly integrated into the existing information on your site; you then customize the content so that your site accurately reflects your organization’s legislative agenda. The user-friendly, password-protected Site Control Center allows your organization’s administrator to easily add and change content as needed, as well as control access to Capwiz·XC’s many features. You’ll have at your fingertips a range of online advocacy tools, from creating campaigns, to influencing key elected officials, to tracking your membership involvement. Maximize the impact of your Government Relation advocacy efforts – add Capwiz·XC to your organization’s Web site today.
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