Now is the Perfect Time for Nonprofit After School Programs to Strengthen and Support Our Democracy
With the national political conventions dominating the news the last few weeks, you may be ready (or beyond ready) for the 2016 election season to be over! In reality, now is the perfect time for your nonprofit to start preparing your nonpartisan voter engagement activities for this summer and fall.
As a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, your organization can (and should) help ensure that your board, staff, volunteers, clients, and community members are registered to vote. You can also help get them to show up to vote on Election Day and provide them with information about the voting process and the candidates for office. You just need to be certain that you remain nonpartisan while doing these activities!
To help you get started, see the CT Community Nonprofit Alliance’s Guide to Nonpartisan Election Season Activities for Nonprofits. Already twenty-six member organizations have signed up to participate in one of three nonpartisan election season activities; candidate site visits/facility tours, voter registration drives and candidate forums/conversations.
Next week, the Alliance will announce a calendar of regional ‘Election & State Budget Briefings’ to help you and your staff engage in this important work.
Here are 2 quick things you can do today:
1. Sign up as a partner organization for National Voter Registration Day on September 27 to get free materials to help your nonprofit with voter registration. The Alliance is also a partner!
2. Make sure your board, staff, volunteers, and the people your nonprofit serves are registered to vote at their current address. They can check their voter registration status at the Voter Lookup page from the Connecticut Secretary of the State’s Office. While they are there, they can find their polling place. November 1 is the deadline to register to vote or change your address for the November 8 election.
The Connecticut After School Network is a proud member of the CT Community Nonprofit Alliance and are excited to work with them to on this effort. Feel free to contact the CT Community Nonprofit Alliance directly and check CTnonprofits.org and NonprofitVote websites for more information.