Make the extraordinary, ordinary: The power of advocacy and coalition

On Tuesday night, I got the opportunity to participate in a very interesting group discussion on the power of advocacy for the non profit sector. This group discussion was lead by Larry Ottinger, President of the Center for Lobbying in the Public Interest, and it was hosted by the Young Non profit Professionals Network. The goal for this discussion was to hear different perspectives on the real impact and influence that well driven advocacy strategies can bring to any organization. The discussion lasted for more than an hour and a half, many important statements where said, and many question also flourished.

I strongly suggest for anyone who is interested in trying to make a powerful change in the world, to help me understand, if at the end it might be accurate to conclude that in any event(it does not matter if it is made by a non profit organization, by a for profit, by the private sector or by the government), advocacy, coalition and even lobbying should be almost mandatory in order to spread the word, have a more powerful voice and to make what seems extraordinary, almost ordinary.

But what happens when this secret power ends up in the wrong hands, and all the information is suddenly favoring only one side of the story? When it comes to advocating, and spreading the word, everyone has something to say, and it can be related to any current event. This reminds me of the article that was posted on Wednesday on USA Today call “A legacy of 2008: facts, lies and videotape” by CGNS political writer Chuck Raasch. In http://www.usatoday.com/news/opinion/columnist/raasch/2008-10-29-raasch-column-10292008_N.htm. Which made me wonder if it is safe to compare non profits advocacy strategies, to the power of media and the way they are constantly spreading the word.

Finally, to help you understand even more everything related to Advocacy and Coalitions (not just in the non profits, and during the elections, but for any type of movement), I suggest you to read the “Mobilizer’s Guidebook”, which you can purchase from us, for a discount price of $20.

Campaign for College Affordability Issues New Backgrounder on The Economy and Its Effects on College Students

Read the new fact sheet from the Campaign for College Affordability.

www.collegeaffordabilitynow.org

Twitter Vote Report--Citizens Driving the Election

A volunteer network of software developers, designers, and other collaborators have teamed up with the award-winning blog techPresident to launch Twitter Vote Report. Individual voters will use their cell phones to report on their individual experiences – the good, bad and ugly. How long is the wait in Cleveland, Ohio? Are the new optical scan machines staying up and running in Palm Beach County, Florida? Is failure to bring ID to the polls thwarting first-time voters in Indianapolis? With Twitter Vote Report, we’ll know the answers to those questions straight from voters from all over the country.

Twitter Vote Report was inspired by a techPresident blog post on October 6th proposing the use of Twitter for election monitoring. In less than a month, volunteers across the country, with no other resources than their know-how and volunteer time, built www.twittervotereport.com to stream individual messages from Twitter and that will aggregate messages into maps and graphs.

Voters will use Twitter and the code, or hashtag, #votereport on Election Day to report whether they had a long wait, or voting machines were faulty or if there were registration problems – or if everything went well.

Voters can also send a message to Twitter Vote Report by:
• Sending a text message to 66937 beginning with #votereport
• Calling to (567) 258-8683 (258-VOTE) to leave a message by touch tone keypad
• Downloading the Twitter Vote Report iPhone application

Participating in the Twitter Vote Report project are an impressive range of organizations including the Election Protection Coalition, Rock the Vote, Credo Mobile, Common Cause, Plodt, YouTube, Twittervision, NPR’s Social Media Desk, Independence Year Foundation, The Center for Community Change, Student PIRGs, PBS, Video the Vote, Election Suppression Wiki, Women Donors Network, and Demos. In addition, Current TV will be using the #votereport information as part of their special election coverage throughout the day.

Matt Cooperrider, a key architect of the effort, called Twitter Vote Report “the best aspects of grassroots activism and digital technology combined with an open source ethos to really change the way we participate in elections.”

"The goal of Twitter Vote Report is to expand the ways in which Americans participate in the electoral process this Election Day," said Nancy Scola, associate editor at techPresident. Andrew Rasiej, founder of techPresident, added, "This Twitter campaign is an ideal example of the combined power of social media and impassioned citizens to participate in our democracy. Power and control is shifting from politicians and campaigns to people and we'll be able to see that in real-time on Election Day."

Please visit www.twittervotereport.com to learn more about how Twitter and other technology tools will be used on November 4th to track voters Election Day voting experiences.

When I find good all-partisan advice, I have to share it.

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GOOD Magazine several weeks ago began posting little newspaper print issue briefs at Starbucks. They have covered issues like immigration and gas prices, and most recently, education.

But reading today the explanation of what GOOD is to the information consumer of these issue briefs, they posted a key tagline which is an opportune piece of advice during this time in our country:

AMERICA. LOVE IT OR FIX IT.

Our Voting Bloc--The Importance of Millennials Taking Their Seat at the Table

Over the weekend at a talk I gave about the power that Millennials can play in the political sphere, I emphasized that we all need to think not just about how our country will be affected by which candidate we decide to vote for, but how our voting bloc will be affected by our choice to vote at all.

If Millennials show up to the polls, we WILL matter. We will no longer be ignored if our numbers changed the direction of the election or we make up a notable portion of the electorate.

People often counter prompts to vote during any election with, "I do not like either of the candidates." Regardless, you should care about your future, and your position as a member of a generation that does need to be taken seriously.

Cannot wait til November 5th!

Where Will You Be November 5th?

Where will YOU be November 5th?

Join us at Mobilize.org’s B.Y.O.C.

(Bring Your Own Computer)

Bring yourself, your computer, and invite five of your
Facebook friends to Mobilize.org’s first social media meetup.

November 5 from 6-8 p.m. at Mobilize.org.

Hear from guest speakers in the non-profit, business, and tech communities regarding a question on all of our minds:

What Now?

Facebook, Twitter, blog, Digg, or use other social media tools
to spread the word about Mobilize.org.

Meet other D.C. area people interested in making a change after this election.

R.S.V.P with Ian at ian@mobilize.org.

Snacks and refreshments will be provided.

Location: 1133 19th Street NW, 9th Floor, Washington, D.C. 20036

Maya Enista Interview Featured on YouthActionNet

Check out Mobilize.org CEO Maya Enista on YouthActionNet.

http://www.youthactionnet.org/index.php?fuse=additionalcontent