New Year, New Website

Nonprofit VOTE is kicking off 2014 with a new look! Today we're debuting our redesigned website. The site is simple, clean, easy to navigate, and of course nonpartisan and nonprofit friendly! Although the design may be different, the quality content and helpful resources haven't changed.

Featured on the site is our new online voter engagement resource library. It's the web's most comprehensive collection of voter engagement resources and our filter makes it easier than ever to find what you're looking for. Use it to sort by topic, type, media, or language or browse the entire library.

Take a look! You can still find us at www.nonprofitvote.org.

Thank You for an Incredible 2013!

Before 2013 comes to a close, we want to a take a brief moment to thank our partners, our supporters, and nonprofits across the country for supporting voting.

2013 was an exciting year for Nonprofit VOTE:

• We debuted brand-new research on the impact of nonprofit voter engagement, including both turnout data and case studies. 
• The second annual National Voter Registration Day was once again endorsed by the National Association of Secretaries of State and embraced by secretaries of state across the country.
• We released the latest report in our America Goes to the Polls series as well as an accompanying report on voter turnout gaps. 
• We concluded another successful run of our annual webinar series, all of which can be watched anytime on our YouTube channel.

There will be plenty for nonprofits to do in 2014. In case you want to get a jump on things, you can register now for our January 23rd webinar on making a voter engagement plan.

Thank you for everything and Happy New Year from Nonprofit VOTE!

Special Web Event: Nonprofits Get Out the Vote!

Be prepared (and get excited!) about Election Day by joining Nonprofit VOTE for a special web event:

Nonprofits Get Out the Vote! Countdown to Election Day
Thursday, October 11th at 2:00pm Eastern
The final weeks leading up to an election are critical for voters, and during that time the potential to impact turnout is enormous.

Learn more during this exciting event featuring:

• National nonprofit leaders highlighting the sector's pivotal role, 
• Nonprofit-specific strategies for the final stages of an effective nonpartisan voter engagement campaign,
• Examples from local nonprofits on how to successfully incorporate voter engagement into programs and services, and
• Tips and tools tailored to the final weeks before Election Day and Election Day itself.

Guest presenters include:

• Michael Weekes, President and CEO, Providers' Council of Massachusetts and Board Chair, Nonprofit VOTE
• Daniel Hawkins, Senior Vice President for Public Policy and Research, National Association of Community Health Centers
• Maria Theresa Kumar, CEO/President, Voto Latino
• Lauren Forbes, Associate, Election Initiatives, Pew Center on the States
• Local nonprofit leaders

Register now for Nonprofits Get Out The Vote! Countdown to Election Day and join nonprofits across the country as we lift our voices and mobilize our communities to vote on November 6th!

Get Your "Vote November 6" Poster!

We're pleased to debut our "Vote November 6" poster design for 2012!

Order yours by signing up to support voting November 6th! You can choose to receive just the poster or a full "Vote November 6" kit which includes a poster, button, and stickers to help your nonprofit promote the election.

After ordering a copy, download the poster or additional 2012 designs, available through our partnership with AIGA. Browse AIGA's full get-out-the-vote design gallery.

Additional posters are available for purchase in bulk. Interested in other swag? Visit our online store and get 15% off your entire order when you use promo code VOTE2012--valid only through August 13.

Nonprofit Voter Registration Webinar Resources

Yesterday's webinar, Ready, Set, Register: Nonprofit Voter Registration, is now available. Thank you to Isela Gutiérrez-Gunter from Democracy North Carolina for joining us to discuss how your nonprofit can raise participation rates in 2012 by registering voters.

Watch the presentation on YouTube. If you subscribe to our channel, you'll be notified whenever new content is posted. You can also download the PowerPoint presentation and the audio portion of the presentation, or browse all of our nonprofit voter registration resources.

Visit the National Voter Registration Day website to learn how your organization can get involved on September 25th!

Learn about Nonprofit Voter Registration!

There's still time to register for Thursday's webinar!

Ready, Set, Register: Nonprofit Voter Registration 
Thursday August 2nd, 2:00-3:00pm Eastern

Registering to vote is the first step to becoming an active and engaged voter. In 2008, nine out of ten registered voters cast a ballot; among those who did not vote, many reported that they encountered problems with their registration. Join us for more on how your nonprofit can ensure that your clients and constituents are registered to vote and able to participate in this year's election! We'll help you create a voter registration plan, develop strategies and tactics for registering community members, ensure you remain nonpartisan, and more.

Featured Presenter: Isela Gutiérrez-Gunter is the Nonprofit Outreach Coordinator at Democracy North Carolina. She has previously worked as an advocate for statewide juvenile justice policy reform in Austin, TX, and on local drug policy reform efforts in Seattle, WA. She has a BA in History from Scripps College, and will receive her MSW with an emphasis on Community, Management, and Policy Practice from UNC Chapel Hill in August 2012. 

Election Protection Webinar Materials

Yesterday's webinar, Nonprofits and Election Protection: Our role in helping our communities vote November 6, is now available. Thank you to Eric Marshall from the Lawyers' Committee for joining us to discuss how your nonprofit can help ensure that your community members have the information and resources they need to successfully cast a ballot in 2012.

Watch the presentation on YouTube. If you subscribe to our channel, you'll be notified whenever new content is posted. You can also download the PowerPoint presentation and the audio portion of the presentation, or browse all of our nonprofit voter engagement resources.

Learn how your nonprofit can register voters during next week's webinar. Join us on August 2nd for Ready, Set, Register: Nonprofit Voter Registration. RSVP today!

Upcoming Nonprofit Voter Registration Webinar

November is only a few months away! Help register your clients and community members to vote and ensure that their voices are heard in 2012! Register to learn more:

Ready, Set, Register: Nonprofit Voter Registration 
Thursday August 2nd, 2:00-3:00pm Eastern

Registering to vote is the first step to becoming an active and engaged voter. In 2008, nine out of ten registered voters cast a ballot; among those who did not vote, many reported that they encountered problems with their registration. Join us for more on how your nonprofit can ensure that your clients and constituents are registered to vote and able to participate in this year's election! We'll help you create a voter registration plan, develop strategies and tactics for registering community members, ensure you remain nonpartisan, and more.

Featured Presenter: Isela Gutiérrez-Gunter is the Nonprofit Outreach Coordinator at Democracy North Carolina. She has previously worked as an advocate for statewide juvenile justice policy reform in Austin, TX, and on local drug policy reform efforts in Seattle, WA. She has a BA in History from Scripps College, and will receive her MSW with an emphasis on Community, Management, and Policy Practice from UNC Chapel Hill in August 2012. 

Upcoming Webinar: Nonprofits & Election Protection

In addition to helping clients register to vote, nonprofits can play a critical role in ensuring our communities can actually cast a ballot.

Nonprofits and Election Protection
Thursday July 26th, 2:00-3:00pm Eastern

Your nonprofit can help ensure that your clients, constituents, and community members have the information and resources they need to successfully cast a ballot this year. We'll discuss tools like the 866-OUR-VOTE hotline and a new mobile phone app from the Lawyers' Committee. Learn how your nonprofit can direct voters to these and other resources for comprehensive voter information and advice on making sure their vote is counted. Other topics will include voter education and empowerment in this year's changing election law landscape, and how to become a poll worker or poll monitor.

Featured Presenter: As manager of legal mobilization, Eric Marshall is the chief organizer for the Lawyers' Committee and is responsible for creating and managing the infrastructure necessary to direct large scale pro bono resources to address modern civil rights issues.

Endorse Voting November 6!

Endorse voting November 6 and get your free poster, buttons, and stickers!

As 501(c)(3) nonprofits we can't endorse candidates, but we can endorse voting.

Join Nonprofit VOTE's 2012 "Vote November 6" campaign by endorsing voting! The nonprofit sector can spread a simple yet effective message: Vote November 6. Together we can ensure our communities make their voices heard in 2012 by registering and voting!

Every organization that signs on will receive a "Vote November 6" kit with a poster, stickers, and buttons to help get-out-the-vote. Visit our online store to grab t-shirts, water bottles, bags, and other "Vote November 6" gear! Buttons and stickers are also available in bulk.

Every organization that endorses voting will automatically be entered into our weekly drawing to win 100 free stickers. We'll be pulling one winner each week, so endorse early and increase your odds!

After you sign on, invite partners and other nonprofits in your network to join you and endorse voting.

National Voter Registration Day Webinar on Thursday

The only way to ensure that your clients and constituents can vote in November is to make sure they're registered! Join us on Thursday for:

National Voter Registration Day: How to Get Involved
Thursday July 12th, 2:00-3:00pm Eastern

On September 25th, 2012 thousands of nonprofits, businesses, and volunteers across the country will band together for National Voter Registration Day--an effort to encourage and assist all Americans to register to vote ahead of the November 6th presidential election. Join us to learn how your nonprofit can participate in this nationwide effort and utilize the opportunity to help register your clients, constituents, and community members.

Featured Presenters: Richelle DeVoe is the Field Director for the Bus Federation Civic Fund and is coordinating National Voter Registration Day's field efforts. She previously served as the Fund's National Field Coordinator for the first national Trick or Vote campaign, which successfully coordinated events in over 38 states. Jessica Reeves is the Marketing and Partnership Manager at Voto Latino, where she works on creative development, brand management, marketing, and strategic planning. She is a marketing and advertising specialist with experience in the general and Hispanic markets, and has helped build digital and social media campaigns for Kraft, Twix, Domino's, and other multinational corporations.

Separating Personal and Professional Election Work

Don't let uncertainty keep you on the sidelines this year! There's still time to register for Thursday's webinar:

What Nonprofit Staff Can Do: Voter Engagement at Work and Off the Clock
Thursday June 28th, 2:00-3:00pm Eastern

Outside of work, nonprofit employees are free to volunteer for political campaigns or engage in other partisan political activities. However, it is important to make clear distinctions between personal and professional efforts, as all voter engagement activities on behalf of your nonprofit must be completely nonpartisan. Join us for a range of nonprofit staff do's and don'ts as well as how to make transparent divisions between your nonpartisan work on the clock and your partisan activities off the clock.

Featured Presenter: George Pillsbury is the founder and Director of Nonprofit VOTE. Prior to starting Nonprofit VOTE, he founded and directed MassVOTE, as well as several foundations dedicated to community uplift. His work in the fields of philanthropy, social investing, and voter and civic participation spans three decades.

Webinar: What Nonprofit Staff Can('t) Do

Working for a nonprofit that does nonpartisan voter engagement work doesn't limit employees' ability to do other political work on their own time. Learn how to differentiate between the two during:

What Nonprofit Staff Can Do: Voter Engagement at Work and Off the Clock
Thursday June 28th, 2:00-3:00pm Eastern

Outside of work, nonprofit employees are free to volunteer for political campaigns or engage in other partisan political activities. However, it is important to make clear distinctions between personal and professional efforts, as all voter engagement activities on behalf of your nonprofit must be completely nonpartisan. Join us for a range of nonprofit staff do's and don'ts as well as how to make transparent divisions between your nonpartisan work on the clock and your partisan activities off the clock.

Featured Presenter: George Pillsbury is the founder and Director of Nonprofit VOTE. Prior to starting Nonprofit VOTE, he founded and directed MassVOTE, as well as several foundations dedicated to community uplift. His work in the fields of philanthropy, social investing, and voter and civic participation spans three decades.

New Candidate Appearance Factsheet

If you want to engage candidates but don't have the time to organize a candidate forum, consider inviting candidates to appear at your organization or an event you're hosting.

Our newest factsheet covers how to ensure that candidate appearances at your nonprofit stay nonpartisan and balanced under any circumstances: whether you invite candidates to the same event, to different events, or if a candidate shows up on their own.

Not only do candidate appearances allow your clients and constituents to meet and interact with candidates, but they also expose candidates to your organization's work. This year, the New Hampshire Center for Nonprofits has been hosting gubernatorial candidates at their various Capitol Exchange events, giving the nonprofit community a chance to converse with candidates while also bringing visibility to the state's nonprofit sector.

Download the factsheet and start drafting those invitations!

Thursday: Ballot Measure Webinar

There's still time to register for this week's webinar! If you've already registered, consider inviting a friend or spreading the word among your networks--we want every nonprofit to feel comfortable engaging in ballot measure activities this year!

Taking a Stand: Ballot Measure Advocacy for Nonprofits
Thursday May 10th, 2:00-3:00pm Eastern

Many states put laws, constitutional amendments, and referendums on the ballot, asking voters to make critical public policy decisions at the polls. Often, the outcome directly affects our organizations and communities, so we have a vested interest in the results. Although nonprofits cannot endorse or oppose a candidate, they can take a stand on ballot measures. Learn how your nonprofit can benefit from engaging the public around ballot measures, as well as how to advance your advocacy efforts through ballot measure activity.

Featured Presenter: Nayantara Mehta is Senior Counsel with the Alliance for Justice,  working to help strengthen the capacity of the public interest community to influence public policy and engage around elections. She conducts trainings throughout the country on the rules governing advocacy and lobbying by public charities and private foundations.

Don't Be Shy, Engage the Candidates!

This month we're hosting two webinars! The first is the perfect opportunity to brainstorm ways to use ballot measures to educate your clients and further your public policy goals.

Taking a Stand: Ballot Measure Advocacy for Nonprofits
Thursday May 10th, 2:00-3:00pm Eastern

Many states put laws, constitutional amendments, and referendums on the ballot, asking voters to make critical public policy decisions at the polls. Often, the outcome directly affects our organizations and communities, so we have a vested interest in the results. Although nonprofits cannot endorse or oppose a candidate, they can take a stand on ballot measures. Learn how your nonprofit can benefit from engaging the public around ballot measures, as well as how to advance your advocacy efforts through ballot measure activity.

Featured Presenter: Nayantara Mehta is Senior Counsel with the Alliance for Justice in Oakland, California, and works to help strengthen the capacity of the public interest community to influence public policy and engage around elections. She conducts trainings throughout the country on the rules governing advocacy and lobbying by public charities and private foundations. She holds a J.D. from the University of California, Berkeley School of Law (Boalt Hall), an M.A. from the University of Chicago, and a B.A. from the College of William and Mary in Virginia. 

Webinar Materials on 501(c)(3) Guidelines Now Available

Yesterday's webinar, Being Nonpartisan: 501(c)(3) Guidelines for Voter Engagement Work, is now available!

You can watch the presentation on YouTube, and if you subscribe to our channel, you'll be notified whenever new content is posted. You can also download the PowerPoint presentation and the audio portion of the presentation, or browse all of our resources on staying nonpartisan.

Now that you have a handle on the nonpartisan basics, consider taking the next step by registering for our upcoming webinar on May 10th, Taking a Stand: Ballot Measure Advocacy for Nonprofits. Don't miss this opportunity to learn about the do's and don't for engaging the public around referendums, initiatives, and ballot questions. RSVP today!

Reminder: Nonpartisan Guidelines Webinar

There's still time to register for this week's webinar on guidelines for staying nonpartisan while doing voter engagement work! Register now!

Being Nonpartisan: 501(c)(3) Guidelines for Voter Engagement Work
Thursday April 26th, 2:00-3:00pm Eastern

Learn what it means to be nonpartisan and how it impacts the voter engagement efforts of nonprofits. We'll describe what your organization can do within nonpartisan limits to help your clients and community members register to vote and access information about the voting process, candidates, and issues. We'll even describe how to engage candidates on a nonpartisan basis! Register now and help raise participation rates in your community this year!

Featured Presenter: George Pillsbury is the founder and Executive Director of Nonprofit VOTE, as well as the author of "Nonprofits, Voting, and Elections: A Guide to Nonpartisan Voter Engagement for 501(c)(3) Nonprofit Organizations". He also founded and directed MassVOTE and started several foundations dedicated to community uplift. His work in the fields of philanthropy, social investing, and voter and civic participation spans three decades.

April Webinar: Stay Nonpartisan

Want to give voter engagement a try, but aren't completely sure what it means to be nonpartisan? Register for our April webinar and find out!

Being Nonpartisan: 501(c)(3) Guidelines for Voter Engagement Work
Thursday April 26th, 2:00-3:00pm Eastern

Learn what it means to be nonpartisan and how it impacts the voter engagement efforts of nonprofits. We'll describe what your organization can do within nonpartisan limits to help your clients and community members register to vote and access information about the voting process, candidates, and issues. We'll even tell you how to engage candidates on a nonpartisan basis! Register now and help raise participation rates in your community this year!

Featured Presenter: George Pillsbury is the founder and Executive Director of Nonprofit VOTE, as well as the author of "Nonprofits, Voting, and Elections: A Guide to Nonpartisan Voter Engagement for 501(c)(3) Nonprofit Organizations". He also founded and directed MassVOTE and started several foundations dedicated to community uplift. His work in the fields of philanthropy, social investing, and voter and civic participation spans three decades.

National Voter Registration Day: Sept. 25

Nonprofit VOTE is part of National Voter Registration Day, a nationwide initiative to register all eligible voters on September 25, 2012!

In 2008, 6 million people failed to cast a ballot either because they didn't know how to register to vote or they missed the deadline. But in 2012, we want to make sure everyone has the opportunity to vote.

On September 25th, our coalition will lead a nationwide field effort to register voters at nonprofits, on campus, at work, in the community, and online. Together, we can ensure that all Americans have the opportunity to register and participate in this year's election!

Learn more about National Voter Registration Day, sign up for updates, and learn how you can get involved!