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.

Get Involved in National Voter Registration Day!

The only way to ensure that your clients and constituents can vote in November is to make sure they're registered!

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.

Webinar Recap: What Staff Can('t) Do

Yesterday's webinar, What Nonprofit Staff Can Do: Voter Engagement at Work and Off the Clock, is now available!

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 voter engagement resources.

Now that you're a pro at making clear distinctions between your organization's nonpartisan work and your personal election activities, join us on July 12 to learn about getting your nonprofit involved in National Voter Registration Day! RSVP today!

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.

AIGA Get-Out-the-Vote Poster Competition

As part of their Design for Democracy program, AIGA--the professional association for design--is hosting a get-out-the-vote poster contest!

Their Get-Out-the-Vote campaign invites designers to create nonpartisan posters and videos that inspire the American public to participate in the electoral process and vote in the 2012 general election.

The initiative enables designers to engage in the public arena by contributing to a coordinated voter mobilization campaign, which is great news for nonprofits, as all of the posters can be viewed online, downloaded, and printed! Browse their current submissions or the 2008 gallery and hang your favorite(s) in a prominent location!

Pushing for Registration at Indian Health Service Facilities

On Tuesday, Jefferson Keel, president of the National Congress of American Indians (NCAI), said that Indian Health Service facilities should be designated voter registration sites in the same way state-based public assistance agencies are under the National Voter Registration Act (NVRA).

Keel noted that the facilities are ideal for voter registration because they're in many tribal communities and that "Not all Native Americans are registered." Earlier this week he told a gathering of tribal leaders that only two of every five eligible American Indians and Alaska Natives were registered in 2008, and that an estimated 1 million eligible Native voters are not registered. "This should be considered a civic emergency."

In some states, many public assistance agencies are not fully compliant with NVRA requirements, but when brought into compliance they have proved particularly effective:

• In 2010, Colorado agencies registered nearly 44,000 voters.  
• Missouri public assistance agencies are averaging 115,000 registrations per year.
• In the first 6 months of 2010, more than 100,000 Ohio residents registered through public assistance offices.

Most importantly, all of these registrations are conducted in the course of providing other routine services. This model is so effective because it utilizes an organization's location and standing in the community. This applies equally to your nonprofit: Although the NVRA may not require you to offer voter registration, you can still ensure your clients and community register and vote in 2012! Learn more about nonprofit voter registration.

Partner Spotlight: U.S. Vote Foundation

The U.S. Vote Foundation (US Vote) is working to transform the complex domestic absentee voter process. Starting this month, US Vote will launch an online absentee ballot request process for all states. The site already features state-specific voter registration, election information, and a comprehensive election office directory. US Vote will help overcome the information and form completion barriers facing domestic voters to generate a complete absentee ballot.

US Vote is an initiative of the Overseas Vote Foundation (OVF), the leader in nonprofit voter services for overseas absentee voters. "It's rewarding to see that OVF's eight years of software development and voter services innovation will now benefit domestic US voters," said Susan Dzieduszycka-Suinat, President and CEO of OVF. "Given the hurdles that US voters face, an accessible absentee ballot request service is long overdue."

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.

Voter Registration Webinar Materials

Yesterday's webinar, Ready, Set, Register: Nonprofit Voter Registration, is now available! Thank you to our wonderful presenter, Isela Gutiérrez-Gunter of Democracy North Carolina.

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 voter registration resources.

Did you know that nonprofit staff are free to participate in partisan political activities during non-work hours? Learn more during our upcoming webinar on June 28th, What Nonprofit Staff Can Do: Voter Engagement at Work and Off the Clock. RSVP today!

Conducting Voter Registration at Your Nonprofit

The only way to ensure that your clients and constituents can vote in November is to make sure they're registered! Learn how during Thursday's webinar:

Ready, Set, Register: Nonprofit Voter Registration 
Thursday June 14th, 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. 

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!

Get Your 2012 Web Badge!

Want to promote the 2012 election without completely redesigning your website? Add our new badge to your site!

It's an easy way to share information about the upcoming election and to show that your nonprofit supports voter participation. We have designs for all 50 states that direct visitors to state-specific registration deadlines and requirements, early voting options, and more.

The badge is versatile and can complement your newsletter, website, or blog! Use it to increase visibility around the election, familiarize other nonprofits with voter engagement, and to more fully engage your community.

Grab the code today and use your site to transform visitors into voters!

Remember to Vote with Your Mission!

It's Election Day in California, where CalNonprofits' Vote with Your Mission campaign is officially underway! Last month, we described their efforts to achieve 100% participation among California's nonprofit staff and volunteers in the 2012 June and November elections.

As of today, more than 100 nonprofits have already signed on! Organizations represent the diversity of California's nonprofit community in terms of geography, size, community served, and type of services offered. They include direct social service providers, arts organizations, advocacy and policy groups, private foundations, and statewide and regional coalitions and associations. More than two dozen organizations have signed up as campaign co-sponsors, agreeing to reach out to at least 15 other nonprofits to encourage them to join the campaign.

Nonprofit VOTE serves as a campaign resource partner, providing nonpartisan voter registration and engagement materials and webinars to participants. We're proud to support this type of leadership effort to bring nonprofit voter engagement into the mainstream. Just remember, you don't have to be a California nonprofit to join the voter engagement movement or to encourage your affiliates to vote with your mission!

Ready, Set, Register!

November will be here before you know it--get a jump on registering your clients and community members to vote! Your nonprofit can ensure that their voices are heard in 2012! Register to learn more:

Ready, Set, Register: Nonprofit Voter Registration 
Thursday June 14th, 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. 

Florida Election Law Update

This time last year we reported on a new election law in Florida that drastically restricted third-party voter registration efforts. The 2011 law required that completed registration forms be submitted within 48 hours (groups previously had 10 days) and imposed strict fines for each late registration form. This requirement severely hampered the ability of nonprofits to conduct voter outreach, and even forced the League of Women Voters to halt their registration efforts in the state.

But yesterday, a federal judge granted a preliminary injunction blocking certain provisions of the law. Judge Hinkle blocked the 48-hour return requirement, calling the deadline "harsh and impractical". The injunction also blocked a provision that would open up volunteers to possible felony charges for registering ineligible voters (even if unknowingly). He noted that "If the goal is to discourage voter registration drives and thus also to make it harder for new voters to register, this may work."

The timing of the injunction is important because "when a plaintiff loses an opportunity to register a voter, the opportunity is gone forever." Hopefully this ruling will once again allow Florida's 501(c)(3) nonprofits to safely register their community members ahead of the 2012 election. RSVP for our June 14th webinar for more on nonprofit voter registration.

While much of the law remains intact (including the shortened early voting period), it is not clear yet if the state will appeal. Meanwhile, the Department of Justice is still conducting a separate federal lawsuit challenging the law under the Voting Rights Act.

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Candidate Forum Webinar Materials

Last week's webinar, Engage Candidates and Build Clout: How to Host a Candidate Forum, is now available! Thank you to our wonderful presenter, Cheryl Crawford of MassVOTE.

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 candidate engagement resources.

If you're interested in conducting voter registration, register for our upcoming webinar on June 14th, Ready, Set, Register: Nonprofit Voter Registration. RSVP today!

Learn How to Host a Candidate Forum

Consider hosting a candidate forum to kick off your 2012 voter engagement efforts! It benefits both your organization and your constituents and can take your work to the next level. Register for Thursday's webinar to learn more:

Engage Candidates and Build Clout: How to Host a Candidate Forum 
Thursday May 24th, 2:00-3:00pm Eastern

Hosting a nonpartisan candidate forum gives your nonprofit the opportunity to educate candidates on the issues that matter to your organization and the communities you serve. By hosting or co-sponsoring a candidate forum, your organization can build relationships with future elected officials, making it easier to hold them accountable and giving you greater access to them once in office. Join us to learn more about techniques for organizing an effective candidate forum, how to stay nonpartisan throughout the process, and for tools to help you every step of the way.

Featured Presenter: Cheryl Crawford grew up in Boston and has worked for many years in communities of color advocating for both voting and civil rights. She is the Co-Director of MassVOTE and directs their Democracy for Nonprofits program. She also sits on the Executive Board of the NAACP-Boston Branch as second Vice President and is the Chair of the Board of Emerge Massachusetts.

Simple Strategies to Increase Turnout

A recent briefing by Todd Rogers--a Harvard professor and former founding executive director of the Analyst Institute--synthesized research and data on effective voter turnout strategies. Many of the findings can be applied to nonprofit voter engagement efforts, helping us strategically nudge voters to the polls on Election Day.

While it's important to raise the profile of the election and make ongoing announcements about dates and deadlines, try to make your one-on-one conversations about the election more personal. Prompt your clients to think through the logistical details of their plans for voting--such as when they intend to head to the polls, how they will get there, and what they will be doing beforehand. This type of conversation is twice as effective (among single-voter households) as simply asking people if they intend to vote. (Rogers suggested that voters who lived with other voters were already more likely to discuss their Election Day plans as part of everyday life.)

Additionally, negative messaging--like lamenting low turnout--can be counterproductive and is unlikely to motivate voters. Instead, emphasize that turnout is expected to be high--this approach particularly impacts infrequent or occasional voters.

We've already reported on the difference between the importance of "being a voter" and the importance of "voting"--so think about how to phrase conversations with clients in a way that frames them as voters, rather than just asking them to vote.

Although this information can help inform your voter engagement work, don't be afraid to try new strategies and figure out what works best for your nonprofit. And if you have a tactic that's particularly effective, share it!

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Partner Spotlight: Girls Inc. She Votes

She Votes 2010 participants in Santa Barbara, California.
Photo Courtesy of Girls Inc.

One of our national partners, Girls Inc., offers a variety of programs aimed to inspire girls to be strong, smart, and bold by equipping them to achieve academically, manage money, navigate media messages, lead healthy and physically active lives, and discover an interest in science, technology, engineering, and math. Each year they serve 150,000 girls, ages 6-18.

Although they aren't yet eligible to vote, Girls Inc. is celebrating girls' voices. Since 2004, Girls Inc. affiliates across the country have been hosting mock elections through their She Votes initiative, actively engaging girls in elections and the political process. In 2010, more than 3,600 girls across the country participated in a mock election coinciding with the November midterm.

Not only did the girls get to vote on a national Girls Inc. ballot initiative, but many local chapters also included mock elections for Governor, Congress, and local offices. In Omaha, Nebraska, girls had the opportunity to use real voting machines, and in Shelbyville, Indiana, the girls campaigned among themselves to be elected President, Vice President, Secretary, and Treasurer.

In Tarrant County, Texas, the mock election raised questions about the nature and purpose of elections with one girl asking "Why is voting secret? Is it to prevent voters from cheating off of one another?" These and other conversations helped participants better appreciate the importance of voting. She Votes also creates excitement around elections--with girls running through the door on Election Day and applauding for one another as they drop their ballots into the box.

While Girls Inc. focuses on direct service, they also appreciate the need for broader action through advocacy. Girls Inc. recognizes that public policy affects girls' everyday lives and opportunities, and that they can inform those policies. Although encouraging civic participation is not the focus of their work, programs like She Votes empower girls to speak for themselves and show that voter engagement can complement any public service mission.

Every election is a teachable moment, particularly because Girls Inc. wants girls to become active and engaged citizens and leaders. Their She Votes initiative shows that it's never too early to prepare future voters or inspire future candidates!

Four Reasons to Host a Candidate Forum

Although it is a valuable piece of nonprofit voter engagement, candidate engagement if often overlooked. But whether your organization is well-versed in voter participation or is just getting started, engaging candidates can benefit both your organization and your constituents.

Hosting a candidate forum can take your efforts to the next level by:

1. Making your issue a campaign issue. Hosting a candidate forum puts a spotlight on your organization and your issues.
2. Raising the profile of your voters. The community you serve is worth noticing--make sure candidates know who they are! 
3. Building partnerships and cultivating collaborations. Candidate forums are a great way to team up with other organizations and build fruitful relationships.
4. Encouraging civic habits. A forum mobilizes and educates your constituents by connecting them with the candidates; it can also encourage other types of participation!

Get started by targeting your race, finding partners, and building interest! For more, download our Guide to Hosting a Candidate forum or register for our May 24th webinar. Don't want to organize a candidate forum but still want to engage candidates? Browse all of our resources on candidate engagement for other ideas on how to get involved this election cycle!