Advocacy Glossary
Leave-behind
A leave-behind is the one-page document an advocate hands to a legislator or staffer at the end of a meeting, summarizing the ask, the local stakes, and sources, so the argument keeps working after the meeting ends.
Legislative offices take many meetings a day, and what survives each one is usually a single piece of paper. A good leave-behind puts the ask in one sentence at the top, connects the issue to the member's own district, and cites sources a staffer can check.
The name is literal. You leave it behind. The staffer files it, photographs it, or passes it up to the legislative director, and it becomes the office's reference for what you wanted. Advocates who bring one page get remembered. Advocates who bring a binder get a polite nod.
Related terms
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