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In 2005, many Michigan nonprofits working for social justice in their communities were feeling discouraged and beleaguered. Not only were their issues were being ignored by policymakers in Michigan, but they also saw themselves on the defensive, fighting bills and policies that hurt the constituencies they represent. To fight back and get social justice issues back on the state agenda, several dozen 501(c)(3) organizations decided they needed a more cohesive voice for social justice in Michigan. Out of this desire, Michigan Voice was born. This year they have launched a cooperative project to share voter files, in order to target voter registration drives more effectively.

To institutionalize their new cooperative spirit, they formed Michigan Voice as a new state-based coalition. According to Michigan Voice Executive Director Ryan Friedrichs, "The vision was for the groups to have a formal space to build to scale and be more efficient." Michigan Voice today represents a broad cross-section of the state’s charitable organizations including faith, civil rights, choice, youth, labor, disability, environmental, civic, LGBT, women's rights, and education communities.

The groups defined the mission of Michigan Voice as a nonpartisan effort to engage underrepresented or socially responsible voters in the democratic process and to establish collective action around a common issue agenda. Michigan Voice organizations, today about fifty-five strong, meet monthly. Their primary activities include coordinated voter registration and get-out-the-vote activities, polling and research, and voter protection and election reform efforts.

Data on voters identified as key need

As part of their initial strategic planning in 2005, the Michigan Voice members identified a shared voter file as their top priority. Many of the groups were frustrated with their inability to effectively save and make use of the data they had gathered through their work on the 2004 election. Prior to forming Michigan Voice, the nonprofits had essentially two options in terms of voter data: they could either obtain very low-quality data from the state, or purchase a high-quality voter file from a private vendor. For the great majority of nonprofits, the latter option was just too expensive. In Michigan, the estimated cost for a single organization to buy the file is about $50,000. Consequently, most community nonprofits struggled to target or track their voter engagement efforts in a comprehensive way.

Data on voters enables nonprofits to target their civic engagement activities more effectively and to better track their results. With a robust data file, a nonprofit working to get-out-the-vote can target citizens who had voted previously, but not in the last election. The nonprofit can then follow-up after the election to see if the voters they contacted actually voted. Voter files can also be combined with data gathered by the nonprofits, such as information on what issues citizens care about. Michigan Voice groups have also started to integrate the voter files with their fundraising records.

But once the Michigan Voice members joined together as a group, the purchase of a voter file became a feasible goal. Michigan Voice contracted with Catalist, a data vendor, for obtaining and managing its voter file system. Thirty four groups agreed to use the file collectively. Buying a shared central data file as a group saved the nonprofits an estimated $1.7 million collectively. To use the data, Michigan Voice groups use a voter file interface. Catalist is responsible for updating and maintaining the data, essentially functioning as a data "utility" service. To ensure the groups can productively use the data, Michigan Voice's Technology Director equipped the groups with technology and training.

The shared voter file has enabled the Michigan Voice members to work together in unprecedented ways. Last year, several Michigan Voice nonprofits serving diverse constituencies partnered on a joint mailing. The partnership included a group serving Arab Americans, a congregation-centered community organization in Detroit, and nonprofit focused on environmental conservation. Their joint mailing included images of Arab Americans, African Americans, and whites cleaning and enjoying the natural environment together. The nonpartisan message of the mailer was to vote: "Your vote is your chance to put your values into action." By using the enhanced data file, the groups effectively targeted their mailing to an audience likely to be receptive to their message and by working together, the groups saved significant money.

To date, the Michigan Voice groups have used the central voter file for:

• 144,071 mail pieces sent from file records;
• 85,166 volunteer call contacts from file records;
• 79,950 door-to-door contacts from file records; and
• Over 190,000 membership records enhanced by the file records

Other Michigan Voice activities

According to Friedrichs, the long-term goal of Michigan Voice is to build the capacity of Michigan nonprofits to engage and mobilize voters. In order to achieve this goal, Michigan Voice is also investing in a shared communication infrastructure to support and complement voter issue ID and outreach work on the ground. This year, the groups are looking to proactively engage the public through the media, including television, print, and online media, on the issues Michigan Voice members care about.

Michigan Voice also helped establish the first statewide nonprofit Policy Summit last September. Given the tremendous success of the event, Friedrichs is already looking forward to this year’s follow-up event.

Encouraging more nonprofits to participate in voter engagement work

Friedrichs believes passionately that all nonprofits should include voter empowerment part of their core activities. Unfortunately, Friedrichs noted that many groups do not participate in elections. While he acknowledges that part of the reason is that many groups are overstretched and there is a lack of funding for this work, Friedrichs also believes confusion about the law plays a role. According to Friedrichs, "Many nonprofits simply aren't aware that they can engage voters and talk to them about the issues. They haven't had the basic training. They don’t know they can do range of nonpartisan activities during an election that ensure the issues they care about are resonating with voters and politicians."

For nonprofits interested in forming a Michigan Voice in their state, Friedrichs has some advice. According to Friedrichs, the key to success for mobilizing a statewide coalition like Michigan Voice is "to ensure a neutral organization or person serves as the convener to make sure the agenda is truly shared and not connected to a particular group." Every state is different, however, says Friedrichs, so the structure and activities of a statewide coalition should seek to be as responsive as possible to the needs in your community and state.

Organizations participating in Michigan Voice include:
A. Philip Randolph Institute Education Fund; ACCESS; ACLU Fund; ACORN; APIA Vote — MI; Black Youth Vote; Catholics for the Common Good; Center for Progressive Leadership; Clean Water Fund; Ecology Center; Environment Michigan; Gamaliel of Michigan; Grassroots Alliance; International Union of Operating Engineers; MARAL Foundation; Mary Church Terrell Council for Community Empowerment; Michigan Education Association; Michigan AFL-CIO; Michigan Campaign Finance Network; Michigan Citizens Education Fund; Michigan Environmental Council; Michigan Equality Education Fund; Michigan League of Conservation Voters Education Fund; Michigan League for Human Services; Michigan League of Women Voters Education Fund Michigan Legal Services; Michigan National Organization for Women Foundation; Michigan Pride at Work; Michigan Prospect; Michigan State Conference NAACP; Michigan United; Michigan Unitarian Universalist Social Justice Network; Michigan Universal Health Care Access Network; MOSES; Native Vote; Project Vote; PIRGIM Planned Parenthood Affiliates of Michigan; Rosa and Raymond Parks Institute for Self Development; SEIU Michigan State Council; Sierra Club; Triangle Foundation; TransGender Michigan; UNITE HERE; United States Student Association; Voice Your Vote; Wellstone Action; and Young People for the American Way