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Thursday, January 31, 2008 Tools & Resources from the Western States CenterTips on organizational development, fundraising, board development, public relations/communications and much more can be found in the Resources section of the Western States Center website. These resources have been compiled by staff, trainers and consultants at the Center, whose mission is to build a progressive movement for social, economic, racial and environmental justice. Not only does this site provide access to various portions of the extensive curricula and training tools provided through the Western States Center, but it also provides links to several time-saving resources such as electronic newsletters and online activist training guides. Posted by Andrea Wilson Wednesday, January 30, 2008 Toolbox for the OrganizerIf you've been looking for additional advocacy tools, then a community organizing toolbox from Virginia Organizing Project may provide just the tools you need. With articles detailing how to get people involved in the voting process to articles providing more general advocacy tips such as: how to build public relationships with elected officials, how to choose effective advocacy strategies and how to chair meetings--this toolbox is chug full of useful articles for both experienced and not so experienced advocates. Posted by Andrea Wilson Friday, January 25, 2008 Social Responsibility for NonprofitsSocial responsibility is, of course, not just for corporate America. Third Sector New England has a collection of online articles detailing the organizational efforts of nonprofits whom pro-actively engage in projects that improve communities across the globe. These projects include tips on going green, information about how to encourage divestment in Darfur, as well as several other initiatives aimed at making our world a better place. To view these articles, click here. Posted by Andrea Wilson Tuesday, January 22, 2008 A New Army of VolunteersAt the stroke of midnight on December 31, 2007 more than 76 million baby boomers became eligible for Social Security. These estimates, according to briefs released by the Urban Institute’s Retirement Project, may very well foreshadow the emergence of a new army of older volunteers whose efforts just might begin boosting the overall manpower of organizations across the nation. With a 76% increase in the number of Americans aged 55 to 64 by 2020, nonprofits should anticipate how recruitment efforts will tap into this pool of potential volunteers. For more detailed information about the specific research findings and projections of this project, please see the links listed below. Will Retiring Boomers Form a New Army of Volunteers? Retaining Older Volunteers Is Key to Meeting Future Volunteer Needs
Are We Taking Full Advantage of Older Adults’ Potential?
Thursday, January 17, 2008 Tennessee Government Works to Improve ElectionsIn December 2007, the Tennessee Advisory Commission on Intergovernmental Relations (TACIR) published Trust But Verify: Progress Report on Election Study . In 2006, TACIR voted to review the entire election process, including an examination of the advantages and disadvantages of voting machines currently used in Tennessee. The “Trust But Verify” report is the first publication on the results of that review and focuses on issues related to voting machines. After reviewing what is known about voting machines, as well as practices in Tennessee and other states, suggestions by the TACIR staff on possible changes to the state’s election practices include the following:
Posted by Katie Clabby Wednesday, January 16, 2008 Foundations Award $2.5 Million to Improve ElectionsThe Pew Center on the States’ Making Voting Work Initiative and the JEHT Foundation announced today that they are jointly awarding $2.5 million in grants to fund 16 projects in an effort to find and advance innovative solutions to critical flaws in our elections system and improve accuracy, convenience, efficiency and security for voters. The grants focus on five distinct areas of election administration where major failings have been identified and improvements are being debated and implemented by election officials, but where additional expertise is desired and necessary to shape and evaluate these efforts. These 5 areas are:
Posted by Katie Clabby What's Going On In Congress? What happens when technology and politics come together? More citizens are able to take part in democracy. My OpenCongress, the first ever social network dedicated to providing detailed information on both legislation and elected officials, fuses technology and politics together to grant citizens even more access to the inner workings of Congress. Launched by the Sunlight Foundation and the Participatory Politics Foundation, this online social networking application allows users to: vote "aye" or "nay" on every bill, access the latest blog entries on members of Congress and track legislation on over 4,000 issues. To find out more about MyOpen Congress or to create your very own profile, click here. Posted by Andrea Wilson Monday, January 14, 2008 Poll working- new extracurricular for Ohio college students?A recent proposal in Ohio would lift the residency requirement for the state’s poll workers in order to enable local college students to serve on Election Day. By doing so, proponents of the proposal argue that the state could tap into a huge supply of potential poll workers. Ohio State University, for example, has 50,000 students, a significant percentage of which are not Ohio residents. Ohio has struggled to recruit and retain poll workers in recent years. According to Doug Chapin, of the Pew Charitable Trust's electionline.org, “Lifting residency restrictions for student poll workers is likely to be a national trend as states contend with an aging legion of poll workers who average over 70 years old.” Read more here. Posted by Katie Clabby Saturday, January 12, 2008 Improving PerformanceHow well is your nonprofit performing? If you'd like to improve your organization's performance, a recent report published by the Urban Institute could help. This report outlines key performance measures via "outcome sequence charts" for 14 different types of nonprofits. If nonprofits can gather a better understanding of which outcomes matter most, then similar organizations can share their most promising practices and make operations even more efficient. If you're wondering what to measure and how to measure, click here. Posted by Andrea Wilson Wednesday, January 09, 2008 No Vote, No VoiceGetting out the vote is important. When more people vote, more voices can be heard. With several presidential primaries right around the corner, a new website sponsored by Harvard University's Institute of Politics provides increased access to useful voting information. Novotenovoice.com. serves as a one stop voter information center that challenges young voters to get registered and get involved. By providing links to sites with state specific voter registration requirements as well as links to sites that compare candidates and provide poll locations, novotenovoice.com grants voters both old and new the opportunity to positively affect voter turn out--one click at a time. Posted by Andrea Wilson Monday, January 07, 2008 Candidates successfully bird-dog in NH on nonprofit issuesAn article in the Chronicle of Philanthropy reports that voters have successfully "bird-dogged" presidential candidates on issues facing the nonprofit sector. Bird-dogging is a tactic used to directly engage policy makers when they make public appearances at campaign events, town meetings, or speeches. The aim is to put tough questions to elected officials or candidates and force them to answer when they are in front of their constituents, voters, and the media. In New Hampshire, according to the Chronicle of Philanthropy article, a voter successfully bird-dogged Senator Hillary Clinton, asking at a packed campaign rally, "What would Mrs. Clinton do to promote the nonprofit sector as a whole, which makes up a big segment of the economy?" Senator Clinton responded, “It is essential that I as president do everything I can to expand the nonprofit sector." She promised to draw attention to the work of charities, and also said she was looking for suggestions as to what else was needed to ensure the vitality of the sector. See NP Action's recent article on bird-dogging, for more information on the value of the technique and how its done. Posted by Katie Clabby Friday, January 04, 2008 Voter TechKit Offers Valuable Insight on Voter EngagementThe Progressive Technology Project has developed a new Voter Tech Kit website for community organizers, technology support people, and funders who are interested in learning more about how to increase and sustain civic participation. The Voter TechKit has been designed to give visitors information on all the aspects of a voter engagement or voter education campaign, with particular emphasis on the the data management piece. The website also includes videos of long-time community organizers describing the value of voter engagement to strengthening their organizations and describing their secrets to success. The website is divided into the following sections:
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