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BLOG for ADVOCATES
We created this blog to share interesting advocacy related items that cross our desks. It can be anything from new research on funding for advocacy to examples of unusual advocacy strategies. If you have an item to share please send it to npaction@npaction.org.
Wednesday, May 14, 2008 Nonprofit Boot CampThe mission of the Craigslist Foundation — a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, operating foundation — is to help emerging nonprofit leaders succeed. One of the ways the foundation supports nonprofits leaders is by hosting Nonprofit Boot Camp — a day-long event focused on how to start and run a vibrant nonprofit. The aim is to connect attendees with valuable industry resources, peers and potential supporters. This year, Nonprofit Boot Camp is being held in both New York and San Francisco in August. The Craigslist Foundation also offers Nonprofit Boot Camp Online via podcasts, class notes, and other materials. Tuesday, May 13, 2008 Young Adults Voting at Record Levels this Primary SeasonAccording to Rock the Vote, more than six million voters under 30 have cast ballots in the 2008 primaries and caucuses so far. A very conservative estimate is that this more than 2.2 million more than voted in the most recent comparable primaries. To learn more, check out Rock the Vote's recently updated 2008 Primary Turnout Factsheet. Monday, May 12, 2008 TechCamp for Community OrganizersAre you a community organizer unsure of how technology can help you? Do computers make you nervous? If so, then the Progressive Technology Project’s TechCamp may be a valuable way to spend a few days this summer. Join other community organizers in learning basic computer and technology skills in a collaborative and fun environment. According to the Progressive Technology Project :This training is for community organizers, leaders, and supporters from grassroots, community-led organizations engaged in systemic social change. It is designed for people interested in building their basic computer skills. TechCamp is a training for organizers by trainers who understand organizing. TechCamp is built on PTP’s foundation of ten years of strategic technology training for community organizing. Missouri May Require Proof of Citizenship to Register According to a May 12, 2008 story in the New York Times— Voter ID Battle Shifts to Proof of Citizenship — lawmakers in Missouri are expected to support a constitutional amendment that would enable election officials to require proof of citizenship to register as a voter in the state. Sponsors of the amendment — which requires the approval of voters to go into effect— argue that it is necessary to prevent illegal immigrants from voting. Jon Greenbaum, a former voting rights official at the Department of Justice and now the director of the voting rights project at the Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, a liberal advocacy group, is quoted in the article, saying, "Everyone has been focusing on voter ID laws generally, but the most pernicious measures and the ones that really promise to prevent the most eligible voters from voting is what we see in Arizona and now in Missouri." The amendment pending in Missouri follows the recent Supreme Court decision in April in Crawford v. Marion County Election Board, in which the Court ruled that Indiana could require photo-ID of voters at the polls. Arizona is currently the only state that requires proof of citizenship to register to vote. Since the requirement was implemented in 2004, more than 38,000 voter registration applications have been rejected by Arizona election officials. For more on the repercussions of the recent Supreme Court voter ID decision, see OMB Watch's blog — Supreme Court Voter ID Consequences. Friday, May 09, 2008 New Government Transparency & Accountability Blog
Voterwatch’s Transparency Recap summarizes key updates on government transparency and accountability, from nearly twenty blogs. With regular updates on the most interesting and informative developments in these issue areas, this new resource can help you stay more informed and gain a better understanding of conflicting perspectives. To view the Transparency Recap , click here.
Wednesday, May 07, 2008 EAC Announces New College Poll Worker ProgramThe Election Assistance Commission (EAC) is awarding a total of $750,000 in grants for programs that encourage college students to serve as poll workers as part of it’s HAVA College Poll Worker Program. The program will award up to 50 grants of no less than $10,000 each. The College Program grants are authorized under the Help America Vote Act (HAVA) to encourage student participation as poll workers or assistants, to foster student interest in the elections process, and to encourage state and local governments to use students as poll workers. The grants also aim to relieve poll worker shortages. To fulfill is mandate of serving as a national clearinghouse of information about election administration, the EAC has issued several best practices guidebooks to help election officials recruit, train, and retain poll workers. The guidebooks include:
Read NPAction’s Poll Worker's Notes on Elections, Democracy, and Nonprofits to learn more about the experience of working the polls on Election Day, as described by an OMB Watch staffer. Tuesday, May 06, 2008 Online Voter Engagement Library
Nonprofit Vote's online voter engagement library streams together several different sources of useful information that can help your nonprofit design a strategic voter engagement plan. With increased access to information on voter turnout trends, voter registration, voter mobilization efforts and several other voter engagement topics, this library can heavily impact nonprofits and voters alike. To visit the library, click here.
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