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Washington Nonprofit aims to Help Disabled Adults

A effort to register more disabled citizens to vote and improve their access to the election process is under way in Washington State, through the Kittitas County Auditor's Office and the nonprofit Central Washington Disability Resources.

Paying for the educational outreach to county disabled residents is a $49,950 grant from the federal Help America Vote Act, administered by the Secretary of State's office.

Gretchen Thatcher, voter outreach coordinator and independent living specialist with the Central Washington Disability Resources, said a variety of meetings, luncheons, workshops and community gatherings are planned. The goal is to contact the disabled of all ages, whether they struggle with sight, hearing, physical mobility, cognitive or learning disabilities.

"We're trying to reach citizens who have had difficulty in the past accessing and participating in the voting process," Thatcher said.

Gatherings will be at local assisted living centers, low-income, subsidized housing locations, senior citizen centers, the state WorkSource job office and others. The first of such gatherings was conducted Friday at noon at the Hal Holmes Center.

Citizens will be able to register to vote at the meetings, learn about the local election process as well as check out one of the auditor's disability voting access units. The electronic units are designed to allow disabled voters to make voting choices no matter what disability they have. Read more.

FedEx, Overseas Vote Foundation Team Up to Ease Ballot Shipping Woes

Seeking to alleviate a top concern for overseas absentee voters, FedEx will team up with the Overseas Vote Foundation- a nonprofit that helps overseas and military voters to participate and vote- and ship ballots for free or at heavy discounts this fall, the company announced this week. Read more.

Call for Proposals: Research on Alternative Voting Procedures

Make Voting Work (MVW), a project of the Pew Center on the States in partnership with the JEHT Foundation, has announced up to $400,000 in new funding available for research examining alternatives to precinct-based election day voting, including early in-person and absentee voting and vote by mail systems. Due date is 8/15/2008. Download the application.

501(c)(3)s and 501(c)(4)s: AFJ's Question of the Week

From Alliance for Justice's Advocacy Blog, 6/30/2008:

Question: A 501(c)(4) organization would like to join our coalition of 501(c)(3)s to carry on nonpartisan voter registration and mobilization activities. Can we allow the 501(c)(4) into the coalition?

Answer: Yes, so long as the 501(c)(4) abides by the rules for 501(c)(3)s. As detailed in Alliance for Justice’s publication The Connection: Strategies for Creating and Operating 501(c)(3)s, 501(c)(4)s, and Political Organizations, 501(c)(3)s may engage in voter registration and education with 501(c)(4)s or 527s as long as the activities are conducted in a strictly nonpartisan manner. While the participating non-501(c)(3)s may engage in their own partisan activities – subject to federal, state, and local tax and election laws – these activities must remain completely separate from the nonpartisan activities conducted jointly with 501(c)(3)s.

New Resource: Seen But Not Heard

Seen but not Heard is a comprehensive analysis of the results of the Strengthening Nonprofit Advocacy Project, a joint research effort of OMB Watch, Tufts University, and the Center for Lobbying in the Public Interest. It is written from the perspective of one who believes it is right, proper, and beneficial for nonprofits to engage in the formation of public policy. Learn how to order this book.

Web Workshop: Election Rules for Nonprofits

On 7/24/2008, Alliance for Justice will host "Election Rules for Nonprofits," a web workshop explaining the federal tax rules regarding permissible electioneering activities for 501(c)(3)s. The session will pay particular attention to designing nonpartisan voter registration drives, candidate questionnaires, candidate forums and legislative scorecards. Register today

August 1-3, 2008: National Hip-Hop Political Convention

The National Hip-Hop Political Convention will be held in Las Vegas from August 1-3, 2008, bringing together grassroots activists, non-profit youth organizations, voter engagement groups, and conscious artists in an effort to unify the "hip-hop nation’s" election voice. The NHHPC is a 501 (C)(3) organization dedicated to using the hip-hop culture as a tool to encourage community action and civic engagement and political education.The event will feature a series of speakers, workshops, caucuses, trainings as well as hip-hop music and dance performances.

MobileActive.org Releases 'How to Use Mobile for Polling and Engagement'

Check out MobileActive.org's new resource, "Mobile Phones for Polling and Engagement." In this guide, you will find a list of benefits, a ten-step plan, a checklist, and case study on the use of mobile phones for polling in Kenya's December 2007 election.

"See How They Run": New Children's Book About Elections Process

See How They Run makes learning about the election process enlightening, enriching, and never boring! A charming and funny book for every future voter.

Craigslist BootCamp

Join Craigslist Foundation for a day of knowledge, resources and networking, all focused on how to start and run a vibrant nonprofit. Nonprofit Boot Camp is designed to educate and empower the next generation of nonprofit leaders and social entrepreneurs, connecting them with valuable industry resources, peers and potential supporters. The 2008 New York Tri-State Area Nonprofit Boot Camp will be held Saturday, August 16 at New York University. For more information about the event and how to register, click here.