Just wanted to share more news of the alarming movement to disenfranchise large voting blocs through restrictive elections legislation across the nation. Check out Judith Browne Dianis, Co-Director of the Advancement Project (one of our key grant partners), speaking on MSNBC:

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From Advancement Project: Our outreach is continuing to build Momentum, sparking more media coverage of the largest legislative effort to scale back voting rights in a century. In a September 15, 2011 Rolling Stone article, Advancement Project Co-Director Judith Browne Dianis examines these efforts as a coordinated strategy to ‘. . . undermine democracy by cutting off the voices of the people.’  Advancement Project remains steadfast in its determination to safeguard voters from these anti-democratic barriers to impede access to the ballot.

Note: Both Advancement Project and the Kapor Foundation approach voter access and elections protection as nonpartisan issues.

The Bay Area Social Equity Caucus Invites You to Its Fall Quarterly Meeting: Assessing the Redistricting Process: What It Means for Our Communities

Friday, September 23, 9:30AM to 12:00PM
James Irvine Foundation Conference Center
East Bay Community Foundation
353 Frank H. Ogawa Plaza
Oakland, CA 94612
RSVP: frank@urbanhabitat.org

California voters, frustrated with Sacramento’s political gridlock, twice went to the polls to divest elected officials of their authority to draw the state’s political districts. Voters granted that power instead to the citizens of California through the establishment of the 14-member, multipartisan Citizens Redistricting Commission.

Barely one week after the Commission adopted 177 newly created state legislative, congressional, and Board of Equalization districts, equity-minded individuals and organizations are wondering whether this more transparent, public process will result in better representation for low-income people and communities of color.

Please join the Bay Area Social Equity Caucus on Friday, September 23, 2011, as they convene a panel of redistricting experts to discuss the following questions:

Why and how was the Citizens Redistricting Commission created?
How has this redistricting process differed from other processes?
How well were low-income people and communities of color represented?
What impact will the new maps have on the voice and political power of low-income people and communities of color over the next decade?
Should all levels of government enact similar redistricting reforms? And if so, how can processes be structured to maximize the political power of low-income people and communities of color?

Speakers will include:
Marqueece Harris-Dawson—President and CEO, Community Coalition of South Los Angeles
Connie Galambos Malloy—Director of Programs, Urban Habitat and Commissioner, California Citizens Redistricting Commission
Paul Mitchell—Political Consultant and Owner, Redistricting Partners
Michelle Romero—Redistricting Fellow, The Greenlining Institute
This meeting will be useful for advocates and decision-makers from all sectors, including community organizations, labor groups, elected officials, government staff, foundations, and commissioners. Please come prepared to share your own knowledge, ideas, and strategies.

Seating is limited.
Please RSVP to frank@urbanhabitat.org

Last week, I had the chance to attend one of the White House’s Community Leaders Briefings, which are part of a larger effort organized by the Administration’s newly created Office of Public Engagement to “create and coordinate opportunities for direct dialogue between the Obama Administration and the American public, while bringing new voices to the table and ensuring that everyone can participate and inform the work of the President.”

For many in the audience, who represented a broad spectrum of organizations from throughout the country, the opportunity simply to be recognized, invited to the White House and heard (the meeting started with a good hour of allowing participants to share thoughts, ideas, concerns and questions with the director of the Office of Public Engagement, Jon Carson), was itself meaningful.

For the Administration, it was a chance to directly share the ways in which they have been working to have their efforts be more accessible and invite community leaders to, at the very least, take advantage of newly created opportunities to best make use of government programs and initiatives, as well as potentially work in coordination or complimentary fashion around policy goals. Towards the former, I share with you all the following, which participants recently received:

Helpful links:

Office of Faith Based and Neighborhood Partnerships

The White House Office of Faith-based and Neighborhood Partnerships within the Domestic Policy Council works to form partnerships between the Federal Government and faith-based and neighborhood organizations to more effectively serve Americans in need.

• To learn more about Office of Faith Based and Neighborhood Partnerships, visit:http://www.whitehouse.gov/administration/eop/ofbnp

Office of Public Engagement

Visit the Office of Public Engagement’s (OPE) new website, which is your one-stop-shop for all the different programs and resources from OPE: http://www.whitehouse.gov/engage

Champions of Change

The Champions of Change series is designed for people to look into their communities and nominate everyday heroes who are demonstrating commitment to improving their own communities.

• To view current Champions or nominate someone, visit: www.whitehouse.gov/champions

Let’s Move!

A initiative, launched by First Lady Michelle Obama, dedicated to solving the problem of childhood obesity in a generation so that kids born today will grow up healthier and able to pursue their dreams.

• To learn more about Let’s Move and how to take action, visit: http://www.letsmove.gov/action
• For information about Let’s Move! Programs (including Let’s Move: Cities and Towns, Let’s Move Outside and Let’s Move in Indian Country), visit:  http://www.letsmove.gov/programs

Joining Forces

A national initiative that mobilizes all sectors of society to give our service members and their families the opportunities and support they have earned.

• To learn more about Let’s Move and how to take action, visit: www.joiningforces.gov

Startup America

A White House initiative to celebrate, inspire, and accelerate high-growth entrepreneurship throughout the nation.

• To learn more about Startup America, visit: http://www.whitehouse.gov/issues/startup-america

Change the Equation

Change the Equation, is a CEO-led effort to dramatically improve education in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM), as part of the “Educate to Innovate” campaign. 

• To learn more about Change the Equation, visit:

http://www.whitehouse.gov/issues/education/educate-innovate

White House Live

White House Live is your portal for viewing live events at the White House on a daily basis as well as past events that you were not able to see. Visit White House Live at http://www.whitehouse.gov/live

CompassPoint’s 24th Annual Nonprofit Day:
Monday, September 19th at the Oakland City Center Marriott

Nonprofit Day is a great way to take one day to reflect on, learn, and build your management and leadership capacity. Nonprofit Day fills up every year, so please register soon!

Keynote: Sustaining Ourselves: How To Do This Work and Stay Well, Laura van Dernoot Lipsky, author of the book Trauma Stewardship: An Everyday Guide to Caring for Self While Caring for Others.  Morning plenary panels on effective emerging practices for nonprofit executives and managers that rethink strategy, leadership, workplace and movement building.

Build skills, learn new practices and connect with peers at a series of afternoon workshops on fundraising, management, boards, communications, strategy and more!

• Beyond Oversight: The Board’s Role in Sustainability
• 5 Must Have Practices for Program Managers & Directors for Meaningful Evaluation
• Rethinking Grassroots Fundraising: Models for Making a Culture Shift
• Peer Coaching: How Your Peers Can Help You Solve Work Challenges
• Your Next (Best) Communications Game Plan
• Finance and Sustainability: What’s a Program Manager’s Role?
• How to Fail Spectacularly (and What You Can Learn from It)
• Leading Organizational Change: Seven Steps to Success

Check out the full program and lineup of speakers at www.compasspoint.org/nonprofitday

This event is scheduled for Tuesday, August 23, 2011, 2:00p.m. to 3:00p.m. Eastern time.
Join two leading experts, Oscar A. Barbarin III, Hertz Endowed Chair in Psychology, Tulane, and Aisha Ray, senior vice president for academic affairs and dean of faculty at the Erikson Institute, for an in-depth look at preparing teachers to foster social and emotional development in children, with a focus on supporting African-American boys to do well in the early years of school. They’ll explain how by holistically addressing the needs of African-American male students, we can close the achievement gap between them and other groups of students.

To register for this event click here.

Presenters:

Oscar A. Barbarin III, Hertz Endowed Chair in Psychology, Tulane

Aisha Ray, Rochelle Zell Dean’s Chair, Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs and Dean of Faculty, Erikson Institute

Moderator:

Nirvi Shah, staff writer, Education Week

Despite the push for more diversity on college campuses, low-income students are still underrepresented in higher education. To meet the nation’s goal of improving college completion, more supports are needed to help those students get into college. Yet college-going students from disadvantaged backgrounds face barriers—from understanding the application process, to filling out financial-aid forms, to covering fees. Learn about how the landscape has changed for low-income students and what policies could help improve access, and hear about innovative programs that are successfully walking students through the transition from high school to college.

Presenters: Jennifer Engle, director of higher education practice and policy, The Education Trust, Washington and Traci Kirtley, director of programming and evaluation, Admission Possible National, St. Paul, Minnesota.

Moderator: Caralee Adams, contributing writer, Education Week

This event is scheduled for Wednesday, August 17, 2011, 2:00p.m. to 3:00p.m. Eastern time.

To register for this event please click here

Today the Meyer Foundation and CompassPoint Nonprofit Services released “The Board Paradox”, completing a series of three briefs based on a national study of more than 3,000 nonprofit executive directors. The briefs report survey results and findings not included in the Daring to Lead 2011 main report, which was released in late June. The three briefs in the series are:

• Leading Through a Recession, which reports on how the recession has amplified pre-existing economic challenges for nonprofits, including inadequate government funding and insufficient cash reserves.
• Inside the Executive Director Job, which explores how executives spend their time, how they work with staff, how they feel about the core aspects of their role, and the strategies they find most effective for personal development and support.
• The Board Paradox, which reports that most executives are not spending a significant percentage of their time working with and supporting their boards–even though executive directors who spend more time on their boards report higher satisfaction with board performance.

The study was conducted by San Francisco-based CompassPoint Nonprofit Services and the Meyer Foundation in Washington, DC. Executive directors responded to an online survey that asked about their career paths, likely tenure, their partnership with the board of directors, and the impact of the recession on their organizations. Meyer, CompassPoint, and other partner organizations—including foundations and management support organizations—distributed the survey to executive directors in eleven regions throughout the U.S. To supplement the survey, 70 executives participated in focus groups in San Francisco and Washington.

The three briefs and the main report can be downloaded at www.daringtolead.org. The interactive website includes information about methodology, executive director demographics, and additional data.