The following post is a reprint of a guest post I did for XYZ University in September 2012. A special thanks to Sarah Sladek for allowing me to participate!
Go to virtually any association’s website and you will find advocacy listed as a membership benefit. Is it really a benefit? Which of your members would rank advocacy among their top five reasons for joining your association? For a young professional, their reasons for becoming a member may be different. Some want to develop a network. Others want to learn more about their chosen field and seek out job opportunities. And yet others are interested in advocacy.
Before we assume that democracy is dead, associations need to figure out a way to engage all members across generations in their advocacy efforts in order to be successful. What you do to promote advocacy to your Baby Boomer members may be significantly different to your Gen X and Gen Y members.
So, how do you get your younger professionals, Generation Y especially, involved?
From the ground up
There’s no excuse for excluding your younger members from your grassroots advocacy. Some of the best Hill visits I’ve ever sat in on were with our students and new professionals. They brought a passion to their meetings with congressional staff that some of our veterans can’t match. Get them involved now and you’ll have an advocate for life.
Don’t assume
Just because your younger members may not know who their Member of Congress is, don’t write them off as disinterested. Truth be known, most people don’t! Just like your long-time members, many younger members just need to be informed and educated on the key legislative issues your association is facing.
Meet them where they are
If your younger professionals are all over social media, use this medium to give them the information they need to be advocates for the association. Direct them to the Facebook pages or Twitter handles of Members of Congress who are champions for your issues. Consider having a blog to report on your legislative activities.
Let them be visible
Who’s featured in your government relations communications? Who serves on your GR committee? Do your GR activities reflect the cross-section of your association? If not, your younger professionals may not feel that advocacy is for them. Utilize the potential of great leaders within your Gen Y membership base.
Be considerate
Your younger members may not have $250 to contribute to your PAC. However, they may be able to do $25 or $50. As you plan PAC events, please keep this group in mind. If you get your younger members into the PAC early, you will develop a regular contributor who will encourage others to do the same.
Don’t forget the students
Young professionals should be engaged in advocacy even before they graduate. Student members are eager to learn and participate. Organize a Hill day just for them that includes advocacy training and a networking reception.
Generation Y holds strong values and strong intent. They are willing to be a part of your movement, your advocacy, so long as they see the benefit to society and the benefit to them. Engage your younger members by engaging with them through their interests, their passions and their causes. Show what you truly mean as advocacy as your member benefit.
Association Advocacy Chick 
This is a great post. I think it applies to all areas of association management, not just advocacy. I still hear my membership colleagues and others complain about Gen Y instead of truly finding ways to “speak their language and connect with them”. So, I say way to go, Stef, for this post, and I strongly encourage all of us to find ways to connect with the younger professionals in our industry and membership. I have a couple of youth mentors who keep me hip and connected. If you don’t have one, get one! Ask lots of questions; open your mind to what they have to say; and most importantly, embrace their differences and diverse backgrounds.