Our advocacy work is centered on creating positive change. We work with you to determine your internal and external advocacy goals, build a leadership team, build your base and develop a compelling message. From print to web to social media, branding your advocacy effort is essential to capturing the attention of your target audiences. Whether it’s protecting funding or moving an issue forward, we focus on your issue’s emotional trigger that will energize and engage your base to make sure those who hold the power hear your message and act.
Integral to our advocacy work is running the New York State Animal Protection Federation. Communication Services runs the Federation which represents all the humane societies, SPCAs, non-profit and municipal animal shelters across the state as well as a number of animal welfare organizations. We lobby on the Federation’s behalf in Albany and work with our members across the state to establish local animal welfare laws. In 2014, the Federation was instrumental in the passage of Albany County’s Puppy Mills Law.
In 2017, our advocacy work for the Fed established the Companion Animal Capital Fund–$5 million in the state budget to help offset the costs of shelter capital projects. We were also successful in passing important legislation that will pave the way for standardizing microchips in companion animals and that will result in all shelters and rescues in New York registering with the Department of Agriculture and Markets.
We have also developed an App for the Federation that compiles all the animal cruelty and control bills into a single place for ease of enforcement by dog/animal control officers, police and sheriffs’ departments.