Informing Policymakers

We found the practice of placing ads in the Sacramento Bee in mid-January to be strategic for a number of reasons: the California legislature is in session, which addresses our objective of reaching policymakers, and it coincides with the flurry of human interest stories in the media about “heroes” that surround the remembrance of Martin Luther King, Jr. Another strategy used to reach key policymakers is the mailing of a poster of the California Peace Prize advertisement, accompanied by a cover letter from the Foundation’s CEO, the news release and biographies of the honorees, to the California governor’s office, the entire California delegation of elected officials, and to local elected officials in the counties where the honorees reside. Additional recipients include appointed officials and department heads at the state, city and county levels who are concerned with health, juvenile justice and domestic violence. The objective of this mailing is twofold: to reinforce the message that violence is a preventable public health issue and to call attention to the accomplishments of the honorees.

Over the past decade, the Foundation has received congratulatory letters about the work of California Peace Prize recipients from elected officials, including the president of the United States, the governor of California, county Boards of Supervisors and city council members. Honorees have also received official commendations and have been included in official ceremonies across California.

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