Rapid Response Decoded
SOLVE created this rapid response guide to help its members with their ongoing communications needs. This guide is meant to provide a general overview of rapid response outreach and simplify the process. We hope you will find the content in this toolkit both informative and useful.
Rapid response is the strategic communication and organizing your organization deploys during a crisis or event that directly impacts your mission and community.
Knowing When and How to Respond
With the fast pace of important events in the voting rights space, it can be difficult to discern when your organization should add its voice to the conversation. Not all breaking news events warrant a response, and you may not be the best messenger on every issue. Before you draft an email blast or schedule a media briefing, take some time to think through the most effective ways to communicate.
Ask yourself:
- How does this issue impact my organization’s mission —directly, indirectly or not at all?
- How quickly can we respond effectively?
- Is there already an internal protocol for rapid response?
- Can we sustain follow-up efforts and ongoing messaging?
If the answers support engagement, your organization is ready to take action. Below is a four-step framework to guide your rapid response strategy.
STEP 1: Organizing in Crisis
You may be ready to respond to an issue but who’s amplifying it? Rapid response is a job best done with intention, support, and strategic coordination.
Before you think externally, determine who in your organization or coalition should have input.
- Legal & Policy Stakeholders – Can connect current events to previous or ongoing legislation, bills, litigation, or court decisions.
- Communications Stakeholders – Help shape messages, tone, and approach.
- Leadership Stakeholders – Need to give primary guidance, approvals, and sensitivity analysis for rapid response.
Once your internal team is aligned, you’re ready to engage external organizers like:
- Coalition Partners – Co-signers of statements, sharers of messaging, and co-creators of graphics and social media items.
- Community Leaders & Advocates – Trusted messengers who connect emotionally and locally with affected audiences.
- Media – Journalists and outlets who can amplify timely and accurate information to a broader audience.
What to Do Now
Create a partner contact list for rapid response situations. You should:
- Identify 3-5 key organizations or individuals for collaboration.
- Establish a system for quick coordination (e.g., Slack, GroupMe or Signal group chat, email threads, Google Meet or Zoom meeting rooms).
- Keep contact info updated and accessible.
Here's an Example!
In the wake of Hurricane Helene, Be The Ones issued a clear and timely public statement after the S.C. voter registration deadline was extended. There was a need to share information quickly, given the close timing of the election. Be the Ones decided upon a press release, and SOLVE helped with the creation of the document and sent it out to reporters.
STEP 2: Identifying How You Will Communicate
Selecting the right communication channel is critical for reaching your audience effectively. Your medium—the system you use to share information—should match the urgency and audience of your message.
Earned Media – News articles in print or online publications, radio spots, television reports or interviews, op-eds, and letters to the editors are all examples.
You can use press releases, public statements, media articles, media advisories, and interviews to “pitch” yourself for earned media, and reach a broader audience.
Owned Media/Community Outreach – Newsletters, blog posts, text alerts, community calls, website updates, and social media posts.
Great for reaching your primary or base audience in a direct manner and to drive action faster.
Paid Media – Advocacy goals are sometimes reached by using advertisements, from billboards to paid social media campaigns to get the word out about an issue.
This has a cost for organizations but can be an effective way to break through fragmented media habits and reach your targeted audiences.
How To Choose the Right Medium
Urgency – Pressed for time? A social media post or email blast may be faster than a formal release. If you can spare more time, consider drafting a press release and conducting media outreach.
Consider Your Audience – Are you speaking to your community, reporters, the public, or policymakers? Go where they are. Your main audience may be served best by newsletters or text blasts. Earned media like articles stemming from press releases or calls to friendly reporters can bring your take on an issue to a wider audience.
Multi-Channel Push – Use more than one medium for wider impact. You can pair a push for news coverage with social media posts, website updates, and text alerts.
Preference for Information Dissemination – Consider the content and platform you prefer to rely on. Both require coordination and preparation.
- Media relations-heavy: Best for earned media moments (e.g., articles, media interviews). This will require internal discussions ranging from talking points for interviews to focus areas when crafting messages to stay true to your organization’s voice.
- Community content-heavy: Ideal for sharing info in accessible ways to your network (e.g., newsletters/email blasts, graphics, community calls). This will also require internal discussions about cadence, platforms, and phrasing.
Here's an Example!
Be The Ones paired a formal statement on their website that was sent to reporters with social media to ensure South Carolinians were updated about the new voter registration deadline—especially those recovering from the hurricane.
What to Do Now
Try your hand at drafting content your organization can use in a rapid response scenario. When using SOLVE’s template press release or statement, consider the following:
- Keep language clear and adaptable for future updates.
- Use your existing voice, tone, and branding.
Step 3: Advocacy
Rapid response doesn’t end with getting your message out. That’s the beginning. Advocacy means taking continued, deliberate steps to shift outcomes, not just awareness.
How To Keep Momentum Going
Engaging the Public – Mobilize community members to take action through petitions, town halls, or direct outreach to decision-makers.
- Petitions: Consider platforms like Change.org or Action Network.
- Town Halls & Events: Promote events on platforms like Mobilize, Eventbrite, Zoom, LinkedIn Events, or Facebook Events (even if you don’t use this platform regularly, it can help you host).
- Direct Outreach: Use platforms like 5 Calls or Resistbot.
Providing Updates – Keep journalists, partners, and stakeholders informed with new developments, follow-up statements, or briefings.
Leveraging Storytelling – Consider sharing personal stories in the form of photos, quotes, or even short audio clips from those directly connected to the issue to drive an emotional connection to the issue.
Monitoring & Responding – Track what’s being said in the media, on social platforms, and by opposing voices. Use that intel to:
- Spot misinformation and correct it.
- Adjust your messaging to meet people where they are.
- Lift up new voices or stories that help clarify the narrative.
Here's an Example!
In response to Harry T. and Harriette V. Moore Florida Voting Rights Act (or FLVRA) (SB 1582 and HB 1409), Common Cause Florida, Equal Ground Florida, and additional partners across the state organized a letter to the editor campaign to center community voices.
They kept the momentum going with:
- A virtual Zoom call to detail the importance of a Florida VRA.
- A call-to-action to their audience to draft their own letter-to-the-editor.
- A consistent presence on social media to inform their following.
What to Do Now
Develop a long-term advocacy plan for your issue. What’s the next step?
- A follow-up event?
- A newsletter segment dedicated to updates?
- Mobilizing your base for a specific action?
STEP 4: Following Up
Rapid response requires ongoing engagement, and you should plan on continuing conversations. Following up keeps your issue alive, builds long-term credibility, and strengthens relationships.
Why Does It Matter?
- Keeps the Issue Relevant – Follow-up keeps your message in the mix and retains support and interest.
- Strengthens Relationships – Regular check-ins with journalists, partners, and stakeholders builds credibility and sets the stage for future collaboration.
- Measures Impact – Reviewing your process or system helps refine future rapid response efforts.
Best Practices for Following Up
Send Updates – Share new developments, key wins or challenges, or next steps to sustain momentum.
- Plan on writing a follow-up piece that reflects on how the issue evolved (e.g., “100 days into the administration” or “6 months after legislation passed”).
- Create a section in your newsletter dedicated to updates or create a series of social posts summarizing ongoing developments.
- Keep in contact with journalists who cover the issue.
Express Gratitude – Thank media partners, supporters, and advocates for their role in amplifying the message.
- Send thank-you messages to those who took action via email or text.
- Publicly acknowledge support in newsletters or briefings.
- Tag and thank partners in follow-up content.
- Repost TV clips and news articles from your organization’s accounts and follow up with reporters to let them know you are available for follow-ups.
Debrief Internally – Take the time to reflect on the following:
- What landed well? What didn’t?
- What did we learn from this moment?
- What surprised you about the response?
- What could be improved for the next round of action?
Hot tip: Develop a system to track how you approached this, including photos and materials and the reach you had. This is a gamechanger when filling out grant reports and to determine what works when reaching out to supporters in the future.
Plan Next Steps – Explore what your next steps are as a team.
- Host a follow-up town hall or briefing.
- Consider a long-term storytelling or advocacy plan.
Here's an Example!
With the harmful impacts of the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) Act, voting rights groups nationwide quickly mobilized to educate the public about the bill and its consequences.
Declaration for American Democracy and the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights (and many other groups) developed a strong rapid response strategy—using social media strategies, email blasts, press releases, briefings, messaging guides, and a coordinated “SAVE Act Social Media Storm,” supported by partners across their network. Their collective action accomplished the following:
- Provided legal and community context.
- Offered bite-sized content and resources for public engagement and education.
- Encouraged community members to contact their elected officials.
What to Do Now
Create a follow-up action plan with your team.
Assign who will:
- Check in with media and offer story updates.
- Create thank‑you notes and public acknowledgements.
- Track ongoing developments.
How SOLVE can help you
Excited to get started or need communications support? SOLVE can help you. Review the list of support areas we can assist your organization with.
- Messaging Guidance and Toolkits: Leaning on tested messaging research, we can help you come up with the right talking points and resources to help speak about complicated issues impacting your state.
- Op-eds & Letters to the Editor: We can help you craft an op-ed, including editing and placement help as well as letter to the editor strategy to amplify your voice and that of your supporters.
- Press support: Planning a rally? Have concerns about a pending bill? SOLVE can help you with media strategy by sharing templates, thoughts on approaches and help guide you through drafts, edits and sending out to media (dependent on capacity).
- Communications Trainings and Workshops: Looking to strengthen your communication skills? Want to prepare for an interview with media? We offer regular training sessions to empower you and your organization.
- Content Strategy: Want to create engaging content for future programming? We can guide you through ways to develop —and maintain — a strategy that resonates.
Contact information: Contact solve@scsj.org to schedule a time to discuss communications support needs.