LETTER FROM EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

Transcription

1 2017 ANNUAL REPORT

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3 LETTER FROM EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR In March 2017, I gave birth to a baby boy. We named him We spent 2017 laying the groundwork and building power Anton after my great-grandfather. The paid family leave for We invested a lot of time into research and with my husband was one of the most special times in my life. development of our Wisconsin Voter App. From winning When I came back to Wisconsin Voices, it was impossible to see our work the same. Yes, we have environmental groups at our table, but now I see the promise of clean rivers for Anton to play in. We have groups fighting for immigrant rights, and I see directly how splitting up families at Anton s more early voting sites to implementing 21st-century basebuilding plans with our issue-based groups, we ve never felt clearer about what impact means for Wisconsin Voices. Which is good, because we have a lot to fight for. From my family to yours, childcare would not only destroy those families, but my family as well. Wisconsin Voices Democracy Coalition works day in and out in what might seem like invisible systems of map drawing, running elections, and regulating money in politics, but for me, democracy now represents the potential for my child to have a fair shot at living his Dana Schultz, Executive Director dreams in this state. The African American Roundtable launched in 2017 under Markasa Tucker s leadership and it sits close to my heart, as my young son s skin color should not make him a target for police or anyone s misplaced fear. Our Democracy 2020 coalition was more visible than ever in 2017!

4 DATA AND ORGANIZING FELLOWSHIP We re incredibly proud of our 2017 Data and Organizing Eleven fellows from nine partner organizations participated Fellowship. This pilot program was designed to extend the in the eight-month program. Participants were from capacity of our partners while developing organizing, data, Milwaukee, Madison, LaCrosse, Eau Claire, and Wausau. and field staff of color. Through an intense course of trainings with the nationally acclaimed progressive group Wellstone Action and ongoing coaching from Wisconsin Voices, fellows became advanced technicians of integrating technology and databased planning into year-round civic engagement in their communities. Each fellow designed and executed a thoughtful plan for increasing both their organizations supporters and the level of engagement those supporters had with the group. Our goal was to test a model for building a pipeline of leadership from marginalized communities. Our longterm vision for the fellowship is that people of color across the state hold permanent senior leadership positions in organizations who work on increasing voter participation, Fellows became trained facilitators of highly acclaimed Wellstone Action courses. integrating personalized and cutting-edge approaches to reach their target audiences.

5 In order for organizations working on voter engagement Beyond deepening the civic participation of thousands of to realize their missions, they need to invest in people people, the fellowship resulted in authentic and fantastic of color and elevate them to leadership positions. Most coordination between people who became deeply invested of our fellows came from the African American, Latinx, in the success of one another and each others organizations. Hmong, and Cambodian communities. Their rich blend of They found shared issues from their communities to work cultural expertise, combined with the data-based organizing on together and help each other overcome obstacles. The techniques they perfected, should be the envy of every organic relationships built through the fellowship are a group in Wisconsin who is serious about sustaining civic testament to the importance of creating thoughtful and engagement in communities of color. sincere space for people to grow and collaborate together. Building solidarity and partnership among different organizations was a key part of the fellowship. Seen here: multiple organizations take action against U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Our fellows graduated in December!

6 OUR DEMOCRACY 2020 Coordinated by Wisconsin Voices, Our Democracy 2020 is a dynamic coalition of good government groups working to protect and strengthen Wisconsin s democracy. Our partners make cooperative plans through scheduled calls, in-person meetings, and rapid response communicating on five focus policy areas. As a result, individual organizations voices become magnified as one strong, united front. Voting Freedom Drawing Fair Voting Maps People Ov Our coalition successfully secured five additional early vote sites in the City of Milwaukee for a total of eight, the most the city has ever had. We hope to expand in more cities for Thanks to the hard work of many coalition partners, including Citizen Action and the Fair Elections Project, 35 counties passed resolutions by the end of 2017 calling on the state to pass nonpartisan redistricting. 119 communi state have pas calling for a amendment to influence of mo

7 DEMOCRACY 2020 Over Money Restoring Voting Rights Fair Courts munities across the passed resolutions r a constitutional nt to minimize the f money in politics. Partner organization EXPO is leading a coalition of groups on a progressing campaign to shut down the Milwaukee Secure Detention Facility and replace it with humane, restorative justice options. Led by Common Cause WI, the issue of recusal for judges who may benefit from special interests spending was ignited in 2017, and is poised to be front and center for 2018 elections.

8 AFRICAN AMERICAN ROUNDTABLE As a project of Wisconsin Voices, the African-American Roundtable (AART) is an assembly of partners led by and serving the African-American community in Wisconsin. AART exists to improve the quality of life for Wisconsin s African-American community through civic engagement, education, economic development, access to quality and affordable healthcare and community justice by building long-term political capital through issue based organizing. AART got a much-needed boost in 2017 when we promoted Markasa Tucker to become its director. Having a fulltime staff person dedicated to unifying the table around a common agenda and civic engagement goals has already made a world of difference. One of the first things the AART did under Markasa s leadership was host a press conference calling attention to the fact that the City of Milwaukee had not acted on implementing the of Department of Justice recommendations for police improvement and accountability. The press generated a lot of stir and began to move the dial on an otherwise stalled process. Markasa was asked to lead a community committee on moving the recommendations forward with intentional community input. AART hosted town halls with tremendous community turnout and now sits at the forefront of criminal justice work in the city. We are excited to continue the momentum into Milwaukee residents attended community town halls to talk about policy reform they want to see.

9 ENGAGE WISCONSIN Engage Wisconsin is our year-round program designed to grow voter turnout and make sure all citizens have access to the ballot. We help people participate in elections by: Setting big, collective goals with our table partners for voter registration and turnout, and coordinating how everyone works together to meet them. Using the latest in data technology to analyze the electoral landscape to make informed choices about where to put time and energy. Give our table partners access to the latest in tools and technology for reaching new and unlikely voters. ENGAGE WISCONSIN 2 YEAR CYCLE 2018 Data Driven Strategies Using Cutting Edge Technology 2017 The 2016 election solidified our belief that voters need to go into an election cycle already believing a trusted messenger, because the messengers that only come out in election years are seen as not truly having residents best interests at heart. With that mindset, we Voter Turnout THE NEW AMERICAN MAJORITY PEOPLE OF COLOR PEOPLE AGED UNMARRIED WOMEN Year Round Civic Engagement dedicated 2017 to helping our issue-based partners grow and build their constituencies in ways that will empower them before, during, and well after Election Day. Voter Registration and Photo ID Assistance SPECIFIC FOCUS ON UNLIKELY VOTERS Issue Education We are thrilled to report that in 2017, the partners in Engage Wisconsin grew their collective reach by over 10%! We ve seen an Activist, Volunteer, and Leadership Development increase in volunteers, attendance at meetings and community events, more people contacting their legislators, and increased media attention. What does this mean? It means more people than ever already care about issues (whether it s the environment, LGTBQ rights, access to healthcare, or dozens of others) that are affected by elections, and have spent months advocating for the things they care about. And it means that our partners will be able to spend 2018 connecting those issues to elections: how they are related and why 2018 s elections will matter.

10 INNOVATION In Wisconsin, the margins of change are thin and the need for progressive change is well within our grasp. We are building a brand new app that is going to revolutionize the way our table registers and follows up with voters. This project has been in the works for over a year. Because of Wisconsin s challenging voter registration laws and implementation, we knew we needed to create something that will allow on-the-ground organizations to obtain and use the data from their own voter engagement programs in real time, streamline photo ID assistance, capture the issues people care about, and automate data entry, all while electronically registering people to vote. Without the Wisconsin Voter App groups would have no way of tracking who they successfully register or who needs additional help, and no way of following up with contacts during GOTV to ensure they vote. Wisconsin Voices is excited to lead the way in 2018 with this new technology! We are thrilled to roll out our new voter app in 2018!

11 THANK YOUS The achievements made in 2017 wouldn t be possible without support and encouragement from our generous funders, donors, national partners, and board of directors. OUR FUNDERS NATIONAL PARTNERS 2017 BOARD MEMBERS Brico Fund LLC Brookby Foundation Coulter Foundation Joyce Foundation Magic Pebble Analyst Institute Brennan Center Fair Elections Legal Network Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights Under Law NEO Philanthropy Inc Together Wisconsin Zilber Family Foundation State Voices Voter Participation Center Matt Rothschild, President Emma Loury, Treasurer Ruthie Weatherly, Secretary Kerry Schumann Ava Hernandez Matt Dannenberg Emil Ovbiagele Rethink Media Borealis Philanthropy Proteus Fund Katz Family Philanthropies OUR 2017 TABLE PARTNERS EDUCATION FUND Labor Community at Work

12 VISION: Wisconsin Voices envisions a Wisconsin where every person has the means, motivation, and freedom to fully participate in a just democracy that provides opportunities for all people to thrive. MISSION: Wisconsin Voices unifies a dynamic network of progressive nonprofits in Wisconsin around achieving shared goals to build a better democracy. We build our partners capacity, amplify their impact, nurture new leadership, promote racial equity, champion transparent policies, and foster civic engagement so that everyone has an equal voice.