2024 Calendar of Opportunities: 118th Congress, 2nd Session

Send a happy new year note to your elected officials and introduce yourself. Remember that most Congressional district boundaries changed last year, so your Representative is likely still becoming familiar with constituent organizations. This is a great opportunity to preview what your orchestra is planning for the year, flagging any special community events your elected officials might find of interest.

Planning a special President’s Day concert or event? Do any past U.S. presidents hail from your state? If your orchestra is celebrating in some way, invite your elected officials to participate and consider giving them a brief speaking role. (Remember remarks can also be recorded ahead of time!)

March is Music in Our Schools Month! Consider coordinating activities and social media to be part of a groundswell of support for music instruction in schools. Prepare stories that demonstrate how vital the arts are in engaging students and the role your orchestra plays to support music within schools.

Invite officials to visit with you whether in person or virtually, and to check out any education or community programming behind the scenes. These are prime photo opportunities for both you and your officials. You can also go to your officials’ district offices to let them know what you’re up to and ask what they could use from you to help inform their work.

Memorial Day events are an ideal time to show officials how orchestras are part of local celebrations and observances. Again, remember to plan ahead and consider inviting officials to speak at special events you may be holding, and post photo or video if they attend!

The League of American Orchestras’ National Conference takes place in Houston, TX from June 6-8, 2024. Join us and let people know you’re attending, what you’re learning, and how your orchestra is part of a vibrant field dedicated to enriching communities through the power of music!

Nearly every orchestra participates in a 4^th of July celebration. Your elected officials will be looking for opportunities to be part of civic events – make sure they know well in advance, so they can join yours. Again, these types of community-wide celebrations make for ideal moments to provide a brief speaking opportunity to policymakers to welcome the audience and kick off your local celebration of our nation’s independence. Also, remember to plan well ahead if you hope to meet during your officials’ August recess next month.

The August recess is often the longest stretch of time when members of Congress go home, but this year August and October are both long stretches at home since it’s an election year. Plan ahead so you can be part of your officials’ plans. If you don’t have any programming to show them, collect your best stories from the year to date, and ask to meet your officials so you can have a catch-up chat to learn how each other’s year is going and where your interests and activities may line up. And of course, you can have this conversation via phone/video as well! (And remember that for 501(c)3 organizations, issue advocacy is always permitted but electioneering is not!)

National Arts in Education Week takes place 9/8-9/14 this year. Queue up testimonials, photos, and video demonstrating your orchestra’s support of in-school music education – share with your patrons, friends, and most definitely your elected officials. If you do anything with local schools during that week, this would be a great time to invite your U.S. Representative to see your orchestra in action and document the visit in your newsletter or social media.

October is National Arts and Humanities Month. If you partner with any humanities/literacy organizations, this is an opportune time to feature your joint efforts and support those partners. The best advocates are third party – do your fellow nonprofits a favor and use your platform to celebrate them, thanking them for the work they do and for being great partners!

Are you helping to honor local veterans for Veteran’s Day on the 11^th? Do you have anyone in your orchestra family – on stage, behind stage, or in the administration – who has served in the military? This is an excellent time to thank them for their service, past or present. If you are involved in any arts and military efforts, let your community know, and invite your elected officials to learn about them firsthand.

Don’t forget to include your elected officials in any holiday cards you send. Thank them for their year of public service—especially any who have supported the arts—and let them know what you would do with increased support in the future. If you’re planning a festive event or participating in a community-wide celebration marking the end of the year, make sure your officials are invited, and if appropriate, find a speaking role for them.