It’s Time to Voter-ize the Nonprofit Community

As autumn leaves fall (well, somewhere they do, not in Phoenix), we get ever closer to one of those benchmark years in the USA: election year. We hold elections across the country at various times, but there is nothing like a presidential election year to highlight our political lives in sharp relief.

For many, the 2012 election appears to be fateful. At the national level, the public mood is surly for many reasons, and people believe that the decisions we make about President and Congress could determine whether the nation truly begins digging out of its economic funk, or whether the walls come tumbling down on the American experiment.

In Arizona, while we do not have an election for our statewide officials, every member of the State Legislature is on the ballot (as they are every two years), they will be running in new districts drawn by our Independent Redistricting Commission, and we could be facing ballot initiatives that address important public policy and election reforms.

So, in a year like 2012, every American should be informed and engaged. It is every American citizen’s right to vote. More than that, it is their responsibility. And more than that, their country needs them to be engaged more than ever.

That brings us to our nonprofit community. For too many years, most nonprofits have not seized the opportunity presented by elections to shape the communities they serve. For some, they heed incorrect advice that they are not allowed to have ANYTHING to do with elections. For others who know better, they are fearful of the possible ramifications of donors withdrawing support or board members getting in the way of any electoral activity. And for most, it could just be an issue of time.

But sitting on the sidelines is a sure way to guarantee that the work of our nonprofit community – which by definition, is designed to serve the most important issues and needs in our neighborhoods, towns, cities, states, nation and even world – can continue to have the impact we desire. Public policy made by our elected officials has huge ramifications on our ability to serve our missions. And if we do not ensure that those elected officials are representative of the interests of our communities, then we are unlikely to benefit from public policy that is truly in the public interest.

And that is exactly what has been happening in Arizona for too long. Today’s state legislature does not reflect the goals of the citizens of Arizona. I’m not making that up. Look at The Arizona We Want, published by The Center for the Future of Arizona. This extremely thorough, accurate study tells us what the PEOPLE of Arizona want to see in their state. And what they want is not reflected in the laws and policies being considered and adopted by our state legislature. And the people know that: The Arizona We Want poll tells us that only 10 percent believe elected officials in this state represent their best interests. Nine out of 10 people in Arizona believe our elected officials are out of touch.

So how do we change that? We change the people in elected office. How do we do that? Three steps:
1.We register to vote and help everyone we know register to vote.
2.We educate ourselves about the candidates running for office in BOTH the primary and general elections in 2012.
3.We vote and get everyone we know to follow all three of these steps as well.

Sounds simple, doesn’t it? That’s because it is. Being an engaged citizen can be very involved or very simple. At the most basic and simple level is voting.

So, what does this have to do with nonprofits? We are some of the most connected organizations around. We are full of staff, board members, volunteers, clients and community stakeholders who believe in what we do. If you put the numbers together of all of those stakeholders, we probably have much more than a majority of the PEOPLE of Arizona on our side.

So, if we turned those PEOPLE into VOTERS, we would have real power. If we could use our connections to 1) register, 2) inform, and 3) activate voters, we could be the most powerful political force in Arizona. But our power will not be partisan or narrowly based. Because we are so diverse and we are so comprehensive in the work we do, we could be the true force for public good that Arizona so badly needs.

That was the theme on Wednesday October 5, 2011 at this Disability Empowerment Center (good name, huh?), when more than 150 nonprofit leaders came together to learn how to “Reclaim Our Community’s Power.” They heard from keynote speaker Lindsey Hodel of Nonprofit VOTE, a national group leading the charge to involve nonprofits in voter engagement, about how we CAN exercise our collective muscle to change Arizona. And they heard Tim Schmaltz of Protecting Arizona’s Family Coalition call them to action: the time is now!

But wait: are we allowed to do this? Yes we are! The resource book taken home by those 150 participants on Wednesday made very clear: voter registration and voter engagement is our right to exercise as nonprofits. We cannot endorse or oppose candidates or use our resources for the benefit of a candidate. But we can do anything we want, legally, to help people vote. If you want to know more about that, contact me at patrickm@arizonanonprofits.org – I can send you all the details.

So, our mandate is clear. As Lindsey Hodel told us, it’s time to “voter-ize” Arizona’s nonprofit community.

And the motivation to do this could not have been expressed any better than the quote shared by Phil Pangrazio of Arizona Bridge to Independent Living: “Vote as if your life depended upon it, because it does.”