How We Work

Grassroots Mobilization

In the United States and around the globe, millions of ONE members have come together to form a powerful grassroots network of people who care passionately about the fight against extreme poverty and preventable disease.

ONE members affect change through a broad range of actions, from educating and organizing others in their communities to urging their elected leaders to support the policies and programs making a concrete difference in the poorest parts of the world. During the 2008 U.S. presidential election, for example, ONE members engaged in an unprecedented effort to get the presidential candidates to go "On the Record" with their positions on fighting global poverty and disease. ONE members signed petitions, called offices and tracked the candidates down at coffee shops and town hall meetings to make their case. As a result, all of the major candidates from both parties shared their plans with ONE and some made impressive new commitments to fight global poverty and disease. ONE is part of a broad and vibrant movement of organizations who have spent decades fighting to lift people out of poverty.

Direct Engagement with Policy Makers

ONE works directly with politicians and policymakers at the top of government in the U.S. and across the G8, urging them to support effective, proven methods for tackling poverty and preventable disease in the world's poorest countries.

In the United States, ONE works with the White House and Congressional leaders on both sides of the aisle on the important bills guiding development and trade policies and funding the fight against global poverty. ONE staff in the United Kingdom and Germany also work closely with their respective governments to push for better policies and effective interventions. Just as important, ONE also works closely with African academics, activists and religious leaders who help shape and guide our agenda.

As an example of how direct engagement complements grassroots mobilization, during the 2008 presidential election, while grassroots activists were talking to the candidates on the stump, ONE's policy staff was sharing information with the candidates' staffs on the programs making a difference on the ground and what more would be needed to accelerate the pace of progress.