Leaders Blog

Advocacy is central to what NAIFA does. It's an important reason why many financial professionals join NAIFA and those who are politically active and engaged are more likely to remain members throughout their careers. How can NAIFA leaders encourage members in their chapters to be more fully engaged?

Shown Above: U.S. House of Representative Victoria Spartz sits down with NAIFA-Indiana members for a coffee during August In-District Meetings in August 2022. In-District meetings are often set in relaxed environments where elected officials have more time to really get to know NAIFA (and you!).

NAIFA will host the 10^th annual Congressional Conference May 22-23 in Washington, D.C. The event will feature targeted advocacy training with briefings on legislative issues that affect members’ businesses and the clients they serve. Expert presenters will offer best practices for conducting Congressional meetings and tips for developing impactful long-term relationships with legislators.

Every NAIFA leader should attend our Congressional Conference, May 22-23, in Washington, D.C., and encourage other members to join you. The list of people planning to attend is on the Congressional Conference page of NAIFA's website. Take a look to see if anyone you know is missing and invite them to attend.

We are thrilled with how many Financial Security Advocate (FSA) badges that we have issued since we launched the program nearly two years ago. We are even more thrilled to announce that we have improved the program by partnering with the Congressional Management Foundation to bring you our own version of their highly successful advocacy training program! 

The new program is called the Financial Security Advocate Academy and will allow NAIFA members to complete the entire program in under two hours! Once you complete the program, you will receive your Financial Security Advocate badge from Credly to post to your social media accounts, as well as we will automatically place it on your profile on our consumer site at www.financialsecurity.org!

Participation by NAIFA members is key to our grassroots advocacy strength. NAIFA leaders can encourage members to learn how they can make a difference. Ask them to sign up to be a NAIFA Advocacy Ambassador. Ways to get involved include being a legislative contact, writing a letter to the editor or op-ed, testifying at a public hearing, visiting with your lawmaker, or hosting an event. Find out all of the ways NAIFA members can get involved.

Members who complete NAIFA's Grassroots Engagement Training Series are recognized as Financial Security Advocates and earn the FSA badge, which they can display on their NAIFA online profile, websites, emails, and in social media. We encourage NAIFA leaders to complete the training and urge members from your chapters to do the same.