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Greetings!
Some people wondered what the Occupy Movement wanted and one simple answer is they wanted to change the conversation. And they did. People started talking less about cuts and more about who was catching a break and who wasn't.
This week the UCLA Center for Civil Society presented a clear picture of LA County's frayed and fragile safety net in their annual report on the nonprofit sector.
"Stressed and Stretched: The Recession, Poverty, and Human Services Nonprofits in Los Angeles 2002-2012" shows that half of LA County's human-services nonprofits are struggling and their capacity has been significantly diminished by cutbacks in government and foundation funding and a decline in individual donations accompanied by a rise in demand. Bill Parent, acting director of the center, remarked that when budgets get cut, human services go first.
Some good news is that a key component in a nonprofit's survival is advocacy. In a comparison of disbanded and surviving nonprofits, 58% of those that survived were involved in advocacy, compared to 47% of those that had disbanded.
Hopefully, in this election year, nonprofits will hear the call, and we at the California Participation Project will work with them to help their staff, volunteers and communities take critical steps in the cycle of advocacy -- registering to vote and having conversations about what's on the ballot -- so they can go to the polls with a better understanding of the role government plays in their lives.
The report was supported by the James Irvine Foundation and is available on the UCLA Center for Civil Society website.
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Talk with the Candidates
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The Center for Nonprofit Management and Southern California Grantmakers are partnering up to host a Los Angeles Mayoral Candidate Forum on February 28, 2012. The pre-reception will be at 4PM, and the forum itself at 4:30PM. Cara Underwood, SCG's Public Policy Manager, noted that the Nonprofit VOTE webinar, Nonpartisan Candidate Forums: Building Political Clout for your Nonprofit was helpful in the planning process.
For more details of the event, click here.
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Healthy City: Redistricting for the People
| | The Los Angeles City redistricting committee released draft maps of the new City Council Districts on Jan 25 and the latest news is about the uproar among city councilmembers who are worried about losing essential parts of their district -- like Downtown, LAX, or a specific neighborhood. But redisticting is about citizens being ensured the possibility of electing someone to the council who will best represent their districts. The final public hearing will be held starting today. To find out where the nearest public hearing is for you to attend, go to the LA City Redistrting website here.
Our partner Healthy City has been a big part of boosting participation in this process by giving people an easy, online tool to share their ideas and maps. To look at the propsed districts, draw your own map, or take a look at other peope's dream districts go to Healthy City'sredistricting website ReDrawCA.org |
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Have We Got a Proposition for You!
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Perhaps more important to Californians than whom gets elected President this fall will be the outcome of some of the measures on November's ballot. While only two initiatives have qualified, over sixty have been cleared for circulation and fourteen more are pending at the Attorney General's Office.
As the election approaches, CPP will provide tools, training and webinars to help nonprofit staff start the conversation with their clients about those measures that will help ensure nonprofits can continue to serve their communities. Stay tuned.
To become more informed (and frightened and amused!) you can read about the potential ballot measures and their status at the Secretary of State's website.
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Sincerely,
Sarah Pillsbury
The California Participation Project
1000 N. Alameda St. Suite 240
Los Angeles, CA 90012
Office: (213) 346-3291 |
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