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C05 Track: Advocacy and Social Change

Advocacy and Social Change

Accountability and the U.S. Congress: Dialogue on Recent Developments

Friday, July 15, 2:15pm - 3:45pm

Presenters: Audrey Alvarado, National Council of Nonprofit Associations, Jon Pratt, Minnesota Council of Nonprofits; Sam Singh, Michigan Nonprofit Association

The Senate Finance Committee is considering sweeping changes to regulations governing nonprofit organizations, largely as a result of wide-spread media coverage of financial impropriety in nonprofit organizations. The Panel on the Nonprofit Sector has led an effort to provide input into the legislative process. NCNA through its public policy committee has engaged its membership on an accountability campaign for issues of concern to small and mid-sized organizations. This session will provide an update on the latest developments and implications for nonprofit organizations.

Building Advocacy Campaigns: Beyond the Usual Strategies

Friday, July 15, 4:15pm - 5:30pm

Presenters: Erica Greeley, National Council of Nonprofit Associations; Mauricio Vivero, The Vivero Group

From the civil rights movement and membership drives to environmental battles, nonprofits regularly take the lead in all kinds of campaigns. While each cause has its own characteristics, they’re tried and true strategies that can be used to enhance almost any campaign. Drawing from political campaigns and a social marketing framework, this session will provide tools and strategies that nonprofits often overlook in their campaign planning. These lessons are relevant to anyone working with nonprofits on fundraising, public education, community organizing, marketing, legislative, or other issue-driven campaigns.

Building Capacity for Social Change

Saturday, July 16, 4:15pm - 5:30pm

Presenter: Omowale Satterwhite, National Community Development Institute (NCDI)

The National Community Development Institute (NCDI) will describe its paradigm and approach to "Building Capacity for Social Change" (BCSC) in communities of color. Participants will learn about the BCSC model utilized by NCDI: (1) our culturally-based capacity-building approach, and (2) our capacity-building framework (including goals, focal transformation areas, and core phases of the capacity-building process).

Building Organizational Collaborative Relationships to Increase Social Justice

Friday, July 15, 2:15pm - 3:45pm

Presenters: Inca Mohamed, Robin Katcher and Mark Leach, Management Assistance Group

This interactive workshop will explore some of the challenges organizational development (OD) practitioners face as they work with social justice advocacy organizations that wish to increase their impact by working collaboratively with other organizations. Increasingly individual social justice advocacy organizations recognize that they alone do not have the capacity required to create lasting social change. They desire more effective ways of working with other organizations (in strategic alliances, partnerships, networks, coalitions, etc.) in order to deepen their impact. Utilizing an analysis of cases, a review of existing literature, and the experiences of the participants and workshop facilitators, this session will explore what roles OD practitioners might play in these situations and the skills and capacity needed to play these roles well.

Evaluating Advocacy Impact and Building Organizational Capacity

Friday, July 15, 2:15pm - 3:45pm

Presenters: Gita Gulati-Partee and Nancy Kopf, Center for Lobbying in the Public Interest; Sheri Brady, W.K. Kellogg Foundation

How do nonprofits — and the funders and consultants who support them — know if their advocacy efforts are paying off? Looking only at what happens to a specific piece of legislation is overly simplistic and misses other — perhaps more important — "fringe benefits" that advance an organization's public policy goals and overall capacity. This interactive session — designed for nonprofit capacity builders of all experience levels — will explore practical strategies and tools for evaluating and leveraging the full impact of advocacy efforts.

Get Involved: Increase Nonprofit Participation in Nonpartisan Election Activity

Saturday, July 16, 4:15pm - 5:30pm

Presenters: Marcia Avner, Minnesota Council of Nonprofits; George Pillsbury, Center for Nonprofits and Voting

Nonprofits often have unique and trusting relationships with people who are non-voters or infrequent voters, and may be able to get them engaged in new ways. This session will highlight strategies for helping nonprofits get involved in voter registration, voter education, and get-out-the-vote (GOTV) activity.

Meeting Mission Through Advocacy: A Toolbox for Incorporating Public Policy Work into Organizational Development

Friday, July 15, 11:00am - 12:30pm

Presented by CLPI Training Fellows: Katherine Long, Vermont Alliance of Nonprofit Organizations (VANPO); Julia Fabris McBride, Community Collaborations; Erin Skene, Michigan Nonprofit Association

You can give a man a fish, or you can buy him a fishing rod and teach him to fish. Better yet, you can help him change the public policy affecting the fishing supply in his lake. Nonprofit organizations excel at providing direct services, but how do we begin to address the root causes of such issues of homelessness, hunger, and crime? In this interactive workshop, learn how to make advocacy a key element of organizational planning and go home with some concrete exercises for teaching effective advocacy.

Stakeholder Analysis and Engagement in Social Change Efforts

Saturday, July 16, 2:15pm - 3:45pm

Presenters: Courtney Bourns and Bruce Truitt, Interaction Institute for Social Change

This workshop will provide practical tools and strategies for determining who should be involved in any change initiative (applies to organizational, community or issue-wide level), and then how manage that stakeholder involvement in a way that is meaningful for those individuals or groups who are affected and still effective at moving the change agenda forward.

The Budget Deficit and You: How Government Red Ink Affects Nonprofits and What to Do about It

Saturday, July 16, 2:15pm - 3:45pm

Presenters: Alan Abramson, Nonprofit Sector and Philanthropy Program, The Aspen Institute; Adam Hoffman, National Council of Nonprofit Associations

Nonprofit organizations are involved in nearly every facet of American life, from educating children and caring for the elderly, to strengthening civic life, promoting public health and safety, and protecting the environment. Today, many of these activities are threatened as government — one of the major sources of nonprofit revenue — faces record deficits and fiscal uncertainties. Several forecasts predict cumulative federal budget deficits of approximately $5 trillion over the next ten years. This session will explore what capacity builders can do to help.

What's Age Got to Do With It? Generational Changes and the Impact on Capacity Building for Social Change

Friday, July 15, 11:00am - 12:30pm

Presenters: Frances Kunreuther, Building Movement Project; Helen Kim, Consultant

Baby Boomers, many of whom have spent their work life building nonprofit organizations for social change, are nearing the age of retirement, raising many questions about the future. This session will address the generational transfer of leadership and its impact on building organizational capacity for social change in the US. Findings from a study of generational differences in leadership, results from focus groups held with young leaders across the country, and three case studies of generational change will be presented followed by an in-depth discussion with participants. Participants will be encouraged to explore (1) challenges and opportunities facing the next generation of nonprofit leaders interested in social change, (2) how the Baby Boom cohort can support the next generations, and (3) the role capacity builders can play.