Grassroots Organizing in Targeted States and Congressional Districts

last updated July 27, 2006

Request for Proposals:

The grants program administered by MPP seeks proposals from organizations and individuals for comprehensive grassroots organizing for marijuana policy reform in targeted states and congressional districts. The areas of grassroots organizing that are eligible for such funding fall into four categories:

1. Organizing to pass medical marijuana legislation in key states. The MPP grants program is interested in proposals for such organizing in Iowa, Missouri, Tennessee, and Wisconsin.
2. Organizing in key states to pass legislation to regulate marijuana similarly to alcohol. The MPP grants program is interested in proposals for such organizing in Idaho.
3. Organizing in congressional districts to pressure targeted members of Congress to support the Hinchey-Rohrabacher amendment to de-fund the federal government's war on medical marijuana. The MPP grants program is interested in proposals for such organizing in congressional districts where the member of Congress wasn't present or voted "no" in June 2006 on the Hinchey-Rohrabacher amendment. For information on how to persuade House members to vote in favor of the Hinchey- Rohrabacher amendment, please contact MPP's Joe Haptas at 202-462-5747, ext. 114, or at joe@mpp.org.

Applicants should articulate their own strategy for "building a grassroots machine" in their area of focus, including a chronological list of escalating tactics to pressure lawmakers. Recommended tactics include but are not limited to:

• Building a coalition of local organizations and opinion leaders who will call on lawmakers to pass marijuana policy reform legislation;
• Organizing patients and doctors to support medical marijuana legislation;
• Identifying supporters of marijuana policy reform and keeping a database of such supporters;
• Organizing supporters to engage in grassroots activism, such as writing op-eds and letters-to-the-editor, attending protests, distributing leaflets and flyers, writing to lawmakers, and meeting with lawmakers in person;
• Earning favorable media coverage; and
• Examining the possibility of local legislation or local initiatives (see Local Marijuana Ballot Initiatives and Legislation for details) to demonstrate to state legislators that the public supports marijuana policy reform.

In some cases, a multi-year plan is advisable. For such plans, initial funding would be provided for the first year of activity. Applicants would need to reapply for funding annually.

Please click here for grant application guidelines. To begin the application process, please submit a concise letter of inquiry, giving an overview of your proposal, as described in MPP's grant guidelines. If you have any questions, please contact Stephanie Vogel, MPP's grants director, at 202-462-5747, ext. 126, or stephanie@mpp.org.