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How campaigning makes a difference

Signing a petition or sending a letter to a decision maker can sometimes feel like a small action. But it can have big impacts in the fight for global change. Here’s how.

Why voices are powerful

Campaigns and petitions demonstrate public support for an issue. They put pressure on our elected officials to act. When thousands of voices demand change, it’s hard to ignore.

When you sign a petition on ONE.org, share one of our blogs or videos with your friends on social media, or sign up to learn more about one of our campaigns, you make a difference. Every voice counts.

Online actions + Local activism + Policy Research = World leaders taking action

But we don’t just rely on online campaigns. ONE brings together several lines of attack.

At the same time, we present expert policy research to the people making decisions. We show politicians hard evidence of the positive impact of the policy we’re proposing, backed up by huge amounts of public support (that’s where your voice comes in).

We also work with local activists and community groups to help them raise awareness of the issue and take action where they live.

Your voice helps us make a compelling rational and emotional case for passing legislation that will help defeat extreme poverty. And that’s when the people in power take action.

Your voices helped secure billions of dollars of investment for Africa

An example: ONE successfully campaigned for the BUILD act, a bill to help boost private investment in developing African countries that could improve millions of lives.

Nearly 80,000 ONE supporters like you signed petitions in support of the act and thousands more wrote to decision-makers, while our team worked with Republicans and Democrats across the political divide.

We hand-delivered the huge petition to government offices in all 50 states. And we brought ONE student leaders to Washington, D.C., where they held 54 lobby meetings to discuss the importance of the bill with their members of Congress.

The effect of all these voices? Government passed the bill. The BUILD act now allows billions of private sector dollars to flow into Africa by making it easier for American entrepreneurs to do business there. This is going to help build vital infrastructure, give more people access to electricity for the first time, and create jobs – all part of eradicating extreme poverty.

So, will my voice make a difference?

As you can see from the example above – yes it will! Together we can use the power of the people to influence the people in power. This is how we’ll build a better world by 2030.