Catherine Renault, Office of Innovation
Take Action!
Contact Your Legislators
The next step to achieving our goal of creating the Innovation Finance Program is to educate lawmakers about the economic benefits that will be created by this legislation.
Contacting your legislator is vital
On most issues, legislators and other elected officials receive very little input from their constituents. This seems to be especially true of technological issues. Being contacted by even just a few voters is often enough to mold or shift a legislator's stance on an issue, especially if they have not had much voter contact on that issue before. Every e-mail and call is important!
To Find Your Representative
Email Your Legislators
Call Your Legislators
E-maill Your Legislators
Get involved in the support for the Innovation Finance Program by sending an email to your legislators and the governor urging them to pass the legislation. We’ve provided a template message below that you can customize. Provide a brief summary of your company and let them know how the legislation will impact your business, your clients, your employees and Maine's economy.
Webform campaign messages tend to get filtered out; we suggest sending a message from your own mail account. Please feel free to copy and paste the content below and send a message to your Representative, Senator and especially to Governor Baldacci.
Please mention your personal information and your district when emailing your legislators and the governor. It is very important that you enter your information accurately in order to verify that you are a constituent. If you’re unsure of which district you belong to, you will find the links below a valuable asset.
Subject: Pass LD 1 - An Act To Stimulate Capital Investment for Innovative Businesses in Maine
Message:
From (your name, title, company, phone, email address)
Dear Representative / Senator ________________
I am a constituent [my business is located/ I live in your district] and I want to encourage you to support LD 1 - An Act To Stimulate Capital Investment for Innovative Businesses in Maine.
[A few lines about your experience as a leader or employee of a Maine tech company and the importance of venture capital or the LACK of venture capital in your experience]
Industry statistics from Arizona show that their economy receives $6.54 revenue return over a five-year period for every $1.00 of venture capital investment. In addition, for every $1 million in venture capital, 27.6 jobs are created in the state. Maine’s young companies have seen available venture capital disappear, falling from a high of $27 million invested in Maine firms in the first quarter of 2001, to being labeled recently as one of the five worst states in the country for technology start-ups based on a report by PricewaterhouseCoopers.
I urge you to support LD 1 in order to boost our high growth economy and help our citizens recover from our current economic difficulties.
[Here are some additional points you may want to include in your message.]
This initiative:
- Stimulates the availability of funding for innovative companies
- Increases the State’s venture capital (VC) culture and infrastructure
- Increases the number of jobs in high-growth, knowledge businesses
- Elevates the profile of innovative Maine companies
- Creates a competitive investment market in the state
- Leverages investment funds through syndication
- Supports commercialization of R&D efforts
If you would like to discuss this further, please contact me at the contact information below:
Call Your Legislators
Call your legislators and urge them to pass the Innovation Finance Program Legislation. Legislators will reference this bill as: LD 1 - An Act To Stimulate Capital Investment for Innovative Businesses in Maine. Use the phone numbers below to contact your legislators. When you call, be sure to tell give their office your address so they know you are a constituent.
Many Legislators may not check their e-mail as frequently as we do, so the fastest way to reach your representative may be by telephone, you may have to leave a message:
House
The House Clerk's Office (207) 287-1400
in-state toll-free (800) 423-2900
TTY (207) 287-4469
Senate
The Senate Office (207) 287-1540
Governor Baldacci
The Governor's Office (207) 287-3531
TTY (207) 287-6548
Conversation Introduction:
I am a constituent [my business is located/ I live in your district] and I want to encourage you to support LD 1 - An Act To Stimulate Capital Investment for Innovative Businesses in Maine.
[Be Personal; explain how the issue affects you and your business. Tell them about your company. Say a few words about your experience as a leader or employee of a Maine tech company and the importance of venture capital or the LACK of venture capital in your experience.]
Industry statistics from Arizona show that their economy receives $6.54 revenue return over a five-year period for every $1.00 of venture capital investment. In addition, for every $1 million in venture capital, 27.6 jobs are created in the state. Maine’s young companies have seen available venture capital disappear, falling from a high of $27 million invested in Maine firms in the first quarter of 2001, to being labeled recently as one of the five worst states in the country for technology start-ups based on a report by PricewaterhouseCoopers.
I urge you to support LD 1 in order to boost our high growth economy and help our citizens recover from our current economic difficulties.
If you have to leave a message, suggest how the legislator can contact you for additional input.
Talking Points:
This initiative:
- Stimulates the availability of funding for innovative companies
- Increases the State’s venture capital (VC) culture and infrastructure
- Increases the number of jobs in high-growth, knowledge businesses
- Elevates the profile of innovative Maine companies
- Creates a competitive investment market in the state
- Leverages investment funds through syndication
- Supports commercialization of R&D efforts
Send to friend