CL Anniversary Header
  May 3, 2012
UPCOMING EVENTS

May 7: Bemidji Citizen Solutions community conversation

May 10: Inver Grove Heights Citizen Solutions community conversation

May 15: Duluth Citizen Solutions community conversation

May 17: North Minneapolis Citizen Solutions community conversation

June 27: Citizens League Morning Coffee

IN THE NEWS

"What can Norma Desmond teach us about a better regional strategy?"

May 3 MinnPost reprint of Sean Kershaw's MN Journal Viewpoint column

BECOME A MEMBER

 

Do you support the Citizens League? Make it official!

  Become a member today with a tax-deductible contribution of any amount.

 

 

 

STAY CONNECTED

      
Follow us on Facebook,
Twitter (@citizensleague), and our policy projects on CitiZing
  

 www.citizensleague.org 

   

 
IN THIS ISSUE
Learn: FAIM funding partially restored
Create: Reform our health care system online
Create: Attend Citizen Solutions Health Reform conversations
Connect: Bring the Citizens League to your workplace
Connect: Take our member survey
Learn: FAIM funding partially restored 

 

Legislative discussionGov. Mark Dayton signed into law a Health and Human Services budget bill that restores partial funding for the Family Assets for Independence in Minnesota (FAIM) program for the next year.

 

Dayton and legislative leaders celebrated the signing of this bill in a rare bipartisan moment at the Capitol on Monday.

 

FAIM is funded at $250,000, or half the amount it received before it was eliminated in a deal made during the state shutdown in July 2011. The money comes from federal TANF funds and is a one-time appropriation for 2012.

 

As part of our Pathways to Prosperity Project, the Citizens League has found that conditional cash transfers are a key way to directly support low-wealth families' efforts to build prosperity. 

  

The FAIM program is Minnesota's most successful form of conditional cash transfer. We need to develop and expand FAIM as one action to support prosperity rather than reacting to poverty. 

 

The Citizens League will support a return to state funding in the 2013-14 biennium which will trigger a federal match of up to $1 million.


Citizen Solutions logo Want your voice to be heard on health reform but can't attend a meeting in person?

We have kicked off our Citizen Solutions online activities, created to complement the in-person meetings. 

We hope to "see" you there!  

Create: Attend Citizen Solutions Health Reform conversations

 

A statewide conversation about what values and priorities are important in health reform is underway, and you can join in!  

 

Citizen Solutions: Health
Citizen Solutions: Health

 

The Citizen Solutions project, a joint effort of the Citizens League and the Bush Foundation, is traveling the state this spring and summer to make sure Minnesotans are not left out of the discussion about health reform and how to make Minnesota a healthier place.
 
Register now for upcoming community conversations including:

One goal of this project is to take a step back and look at all the factors in play in our quest to lead healthy lives. This includes health care and health insurance, but also healthy behaviors, support services and social and environmental factors.

 

We'll provide key facts and trends, and ask you to work through some of the tough questions at the heart of health reform.

 

Results will be presented to the bipartisan Health Care Reform Task Force in August.

Connect: Bring the Citizens League to your workplace

 

Board chair Nena Street Did you know the Citizens League can bring interactive and individually tailored policy programs to your company or organization? 

 

Educate your colleagues, clients, and employees on critical issues through our interactive Pizza and Policy programs, or through Quantum Civics, our employee leadership development program. 

 

Click here to learn more about membership benefits for businesses, nonprofit organizations, and government agencies. For more information, contact Dani Fisher, Director of Advancement, at dfisher[at]citizensleague.org. 

Connect: Take our member survey

 

Member name badgesWhy did three members join the Citizens League?

 

"I wanted to support and get involved in an organization that I knew could influence for real change."

 

"I am nearing retirement from full time work and would like to do worthwhile things now and when I am retired."

 

"Because I support its mission to engage more people in policy issues and because I find its programming informative."

 

Tell us why you became a member of the Citizens League by taking our 2012 member survey here.

 

If you are a current member of the Citizens League, we want your feedback! Tell us what we're doing right, what we need to improve, and how we can better meet your needs by taking a brief, five-minute survey.

 

Contact Membership and Engagement Manager Cat Beltmann at cbeltmann[at]citizensleague.org or 651-289-1074 with any questions.  
About the Citizens League
 

For 60 years, the Citizens League has created common ground across parties and ideologies to solve some of the biggest challenges facing Minnesota. On issues like schools, taxes, transportation, health care, and water, some of Minnesota's greatest public achievements have emerged from the Citizens League. Citizens League members connect with other Minnesotans, learn to lead on issues that matter to them and create solutions that achieve the common good.