How to Get Your City to Issue a Proclamation for Your Cause

Proclamations are a great way to help spread the word within a city, state, or even nationally, about a specific cause. It is a legal-looking document that states this day is officially “XYZ Day” for the city and it is issued by the Mayor of that city. It is a small PR gesture, really, and they like to do it. Well, most Mayors like to do it. I mean, it is only for one day right?

So you are thinking, wouldn’t it be great to have the Mayor issue a proclamation announcing a certain day for your cause? Or, think bigger and see if the Governor will issue a proclamation for the state?

Note this really only works for non-profits causes, honors/remembrances or major celebrations. In other words, you need to be doing some major good for the city in order to get your cause to have its own day.

So how do you get your cause a day for itself with your local city? Simple. Just ask.

Research 

First, visit your Mayor’s webpage and look for anything to do with “proclamations.” Some cities will actually spell out how to ask for a proclamation and even give you a template to follow! Like this one from the City of Charlotte, NC or this one from Huntsville, Ala.

If you don’t see any guidance on your Mayor’s page, then next step is to call the office (DON’T EMAIL – too easy to ignore) and ask for the Communications Director. Tell that person who you are, your cause and that you’d like to get the Mayor to issue a proclamation for X date.

Sending Your Request 

At that time, you’ll receive instructions on where to send the details. Give them as many details as possible! Include stats on your event, such as: how many people will be fed, the number of years this event has gone on, the contributions of this event to society and so on. They might ask you to write it, if they do, you’ll find sample proclamations all over the internet, like this one here, or here. Note to include 3-5 “whereas” paragraphs with your stats and you are good to go!

Mayoral Attendance

If you also want the Mayor to attend your event, you next need to talk to (again, not email, phone) the scheduler. This person will check the date and ask you email them directly all the details.

And that’s it! Most Mayor offices are really good at returning requests, so you should know within a week if the Mayor is issuing a proclamation and/or attend your event.

Good Luck!