One of the ways that Unitarian Universalists “give life the shape of justice” is by contacting, calling, talking with, writing, and emailing state and federal lawmakers and government officials either directly (person to person) or indirectly (through petitions, letters to the editor, etc.) about important political, social, environmental, and economic issues.

That’s why UU Forward Together’s mission and work includes building the capacity of UU congregations and individual UUs to engage in legislative and political advocacy through grassroots and direct lobbying and mobilizing, organizing, and coordinating the voices, presence, influence, and power of Unitarian Universalists and their justice partners to impact pending legislation and public policies through lobbying and advocacy with the NC General Assembly, the US Congress, and federal, state, and local government officials.

To do this, UU Forward Together

• publishes a bi-monthly Legislative Update;
• develops an annual Legislative Agenda outlining its legislative and policy goals;
• posts Legislative Tracking Information with details about the current status of proposed legislation;
• issues Action Alerts encouraging UUs to speak out, take action, and contact lawmakers about important issues;
• organizes the annual “Justice on Jones Street” Advocacy Day of citizen lobbying at the NC General Assembly;
• provides information about how citizens can contact federal and state lawmakers;
• provides “citizen lobbyist” resources; and
• organizes statewide “justice action teams” to plan, organize, and lead UU Forward Together’s advocacy with respect to specific issues.

Note: As a section 501c3 organization, UU Forward Together is prohibited from engaging in political campaigns or partisan activities and endorsing or opposing particular candidates or political parties. But state and federal law do not prohibit UU Forward Together from engaging in issue advocacy or grassroots or direct lobbying as long as it complies with applicable state laws regarding lobbying and devotes less than 20% of its total expenditures for lobbying activities.