become foreign aid voter
One of the most meaningful actions you can take as an individual to strengthen America’s role in the world is to become a foreign aid voter - a citizen who makes U.S. international assistance their top political priority.
In the last three decades, extreme poverty worldwide more than halved. Over 1.1 billion people have escaped extreme poverty since 1990, thanks in part to development and trade. Newfound economic prosperity in formerly impoverished communities has both improved local standards of living and created middle-income markets within the global economy.
Sign up to be a foreign aid voter here.
Conversely, turning inward has costs. When the U.S. recently halted key international assistance programs due to political gridlock, an estimated 50,000 American jobs were lost as contracts and supply chains dried up. A4AL advocates for open markets, diplomacy, and development as pillars of economic strength, a lesson proven by history.
Sign up to be a campaign volunteer here.
As a Political Action Committee, the Alliance for American Leadership endorses congressional candidates and sitting Members of Congress who demonstrate a strong and credible commitment to supporting international assistance. We fundraise for such members and encourage our team to volunteer on their campaigns.
Support Members of Congress who will fight to restore foreign aid at givebutter.com/A4AL
If you are interested in volunteering on a congressional campaign this cycle, please take the following steps:
1) Introduce yourself to the candidate or campaign manager.
2) Explain that international assistance is your top priority. Your engagement in this election is driven first and foremost by a candidate's dedication to restoring humanitarian and development aid programs. Explain why you care about international assistance.
3) Politely request that the candidate complete our endorsement questionnaire, which assesses their stance on international assistance
4) If appropriate, you may emphasize that your willingness to volunteer for them is directly tied to the candidate’s commitment to this issue. You may explain that you only volunteer for candidates who are endorsed by the Alliance for American Leadership. This is the same strategy that unions use to gain political leverage. Union members will volunteer for Members of Congress endorsed by the union.
Sign up to be a foreign aid voter here.
Support Members of Congress who will fight to restore foreign aid at givebutter.com/A4AL
Commonly asked question & our current guidance
Q: What if my Member of Congress opposes foreign aid?
If you live in a district where the sitting Member of Congress opposes foreign aid, consider going to a campaign event for that Member anyway or contacting their campaign staff. Explain to them that you are a nonpartisan international assistance voter and have decided to volunteer [X HOURS PER WEEK] for their campaign if they earn the endorsement of the Alliance for American Leadership. Ask them to fill out the endorsement questionnaire.
In all likelihood, the Member of Congress will not shift their position and we will not make an endorsement. However, this is an extraordinarily powerful way to make it clear to a Member that they are not only losing a vote but also a dedicated volunteer because of their position on foreign aid. Most Members of Congress only have 20 dedicated campaign volunteers on their team (people who dedicate 3 hours a week or more). The fact that they're losing a volunteer because of their stance on this issue is extraordinarily powerful. Think of this like a constituent meeting with ten times the impact.
Q: What if I can't get in touch with my Member of Congress' campaign staff?
Contact Michael Belitzky (michaelbelitzky@A4AL.org) if you are struggling to get in contact with the campaign staff of your Member of Congress. We will do our best to get you in touch with them.
