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Wednesday, January 07, 2009 "Change" Is All EncompassingIn mid Dec. 2008 an editorial in the Washington Post charged that "Obama's ambitions for more expansive government will promote special pleading," and therefore an increase in special interest corporate lobbying. In response Larry Ottinger, President of Center for Lobbying in the Public Interest, wrote a letter to the editor, redirecting this argument. The Enron, Halliburton and mortgage lending scandals, to name just a few, are evidence of a systemic problem that urgently needs to be solved through reforms of campaign finance, conflict-of-interest laws and other facets of democracy. By prioritizing the "general welfare" over a financial bottom line, public-interest lobbyists of all stripes play a distinct role in our democracy. Now more than ever, charities and their constituents need to be embraced as equal partners with government and business at the policy table. Ottinger delved into this subject more targeting nonprofits in Alliance Magazine, calling on those in the sector to become "change agents," recognizing that our country's history "demonstrates that transformational changes require grass-roots organizing, public education and direct lobbying." As we organize, let us remember that nonprofits are the best vehicles for civic engagement and that civic engagement includes nonpartisan organizing, education, policy and voting by our constituents and the public at large. If we think of service and advocacy as the two wheels of our high-performing bicycle, we know that we won't get far without one of our wheels. "We have a precious opportunity today to leverage federal resources to greatly expand national service programs and build the capacity of charitable organizations. It will take increased, effective grass-roots organizing and direct lobbying efforts to make this a priority and to make it so." Posted by Amanda Adams Case Foundation Launches Change Begins With Me Campaign The Case Foundation has launched an online civic engagement campaign to "galvanize Americans to work for positive change in their communities and around the world," according to the Philanthropy News Digest. As part of the Change Begins With Me campaign, one individual will win a trip to President-elect Barack Obama's inauguration and participate in the MLK day of service. To participate, individuals must describe how they are part of the change and how they will commit to changing their neighborhoods, communities, and the nation as a whole. To participate, click here. Posted by Lateefah Williams Monday, December 15, 2008 Webinar on How to Avoid Revocation of Tax-Exempt StatusThe Knowledge Congress is hosting a live webinar on How to Avoid Revocation of Tax-Exempt Status on Dec. 15 from 1-3 p.m. The panelists will discuss Treasury Decision 9390, which includes provisions on "the final regulations that enumerate substantive requirements for tax exemption of organizations, including measures [that] organizations should adopt in order to maintain their tax exempt status." A copy of the webinar can be ordered by clicking here. Posted by Lateefah Williams Friday, December 12, 2008 Evaluating Community OrganizingTo help highlight the importance of community organizing as a change strategy, the Alliance for Justice has developed Resources for Evaluating Community Organizing (RECO). RECO includes detailed summaries of resources so users can find what is most useful for their evaluation needs. The resources include case studies, tools and methodologies, and theoretical approaches to evaluation. The RECO site states; "To create RECO we scanned a large field of resources and included those we found to be most useful. Our goal in compiling this listing of resources was not to rate or rank them, and, while we have included dozens of references there are undoubtedly some that we have missed and more that will be available in the future. We invite you to share stories of how you have used specific resources and offer your feedback on their usefulness." Posted by Amanda Adams ABC's for Exempt Organizations The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) published the "ABC's for Exempt Organizations" on its website. The article features links to resources from the IRS on various subjects including :
Posted by Amanda Adams Monday, December 08, 2008 Supporting Advocacy; an Effective Strategy to Affect PolicyAccording to a press release from the National Committee for Responsive Philanthropy (NCRP), "foundations should turn to the underutilized strategy of supporting advocacy, organizing and civic engagement to be more effective at addressing social issues, recession or no recession." A new report from NCRP "Strengthening Democracy, Increasing Opportunities," found that "for every dollar invested in the 14 advocacy and organizing groups studied, New Mexico’s residents reaped more than $157 in benefits." "By providing financial support to those advocacy nonprofits involved in the effort to increase our state's minimum wage, foundations went beyond using a Band Aid to address poverty in New Mexico," said Terry Odendahl, president of the New Mexico Association of Grantmakers (NMAG), a partner in the study. "They realize how policy change is critical in addressing social problems." The report details how New Mexico's economy has benefited from policy changes advocated for by local nonprofits and some successful efforts by the fourteen New Mexico nonprofits on various issues. It also describes the benefits of community building and enhanced civic participation. You can read the report, "Strengthening Democracy, Increasing Opportunities" here. Posted by Amanda Adams Supporting Advocacy; an Effective Strategy to Effect Policy According to a
A new report from NCRP "Strengthening Democracy, Increasing Opportunities," found that "for every dollar invested in the 14 advocacy and organizing groups studied, New Mexico’s residents reaped more than $157 in benefits." The report details how New Mexico's economy has benefited from policy changes advocated for by local nonprofits and some successful efforts by the fourteen New Mexico nonprofits on various issues. It also describes the benefits of community building and enhanced civic participation. You can read the report, "Strengthening Democracy, Increasing Opportunities" here. Posted by Amanda Adams Wednesday, December 03, 2008 Group Issues Call to Action for Universal Voter RegistrationThe National Campaign for Fair Elections, a project of the Lawyer's Committee for Civil Rights, has launched an effort encouraging people to contact their congressional representatives to express their desire for universal voter registration. Under the desired proposal, voter registration would be automatic and permanent. To learn more about the campaign's efforts and to view or sign the campaign's computer generated form, click here. Posted by Lateefah Williams Tuesday, November 18, 2008 Nonprofit Economic Vitality CenterThe National Council of Nonprofits launched a new Nonprofit Economic Vitality Center yesterday. The center was created because the most frequently asked question lately is: How is the economic downturn affecting America's nonprofits? The Economic Vitality Center is a free online clearinghouse of resources designed to help nonprofits understand and deal with the challenges created by the faltering economy. The center has three focus areas:
The center is updated continuously with new resources and helps nonprofits to adapt to changes in the economy as they happen. Posted by Kelly Doherty Monday, November 10, 2008 ACS Hosts Post-Election Voting Issues CallThe American Constitution Society hosted a call on Nov. 6 in which voting rights experts discussed voting issues that occurred before and during the election, as well as what happens now that the election is over. The panelists were Allison Hayward, a George Mason Law Professor and former Chief of Staff and Counsel for Federal Election Commissioner Bradley Smith, Pamela Karlan, a Stanford Law Professor and voting expert, and Daniel Tokaji, an Ohio State Law Professor and Associate Director of OSU's Election Law Project. Tokaji discussed election administration issues, such as voter registration and voter suppression. Tokaji said that the big issue surrounding voter registration is not voter fraud, but rather the amount of voters who omitted from voter lists. He also discussed the role that Election Day voter registration has in the reduction of the use of provisional ballots. Tokaji said that he would like to see more Election Day registration because it increases turnout and decreases the use of provisional ballots. He added that there is no proof that Election Day registration results in voter fraud. Haywood discussed various topics including how this election illustrated that a well-designed website can raise money and how the election will impact the possibility of new rules surrounding publicly and privately funded campaigns. In responding to a question about how the role of the Justice Department and Federal Election Commission will change under a new administration, she said that Justice Department will probably be more aggressive in voter registration at DMV and social service agencies. Karlan, responding to a question about how the role of the Justice Department and Federal Election Commission will change under a new administration, said that the Inspector General is still investigating voter fraud and there has been little effort to help those who have been erroneously excluded from voting. She said that a new administration would probably focus more on those excluded from voting. She also discussed the impact that small donations may have on federal election law. Posted by Lateefah Williams |
