[An invitation to Nonprofit Day from the Michigan Nonprofit Association.]
Michigan Nonprofit Day 2010
Leading for Change
Michigan’s Nonprofit Day is just around the corner, and we encourage each of you to attend. Nonprofit Day is filled with opportunities for you to strengthen your voice and learn what nonprofits can and should do during this unprecedented time of change for our state.
What is Nonprofit Day?
Nonprofit Day is our sector’s premiere statewide public policy gathering. This special opportunity brings together nonprofit leaders and policymakers in Lansing to receive updates and engage in dialogue on public policy issues that are important to Michigan’s nonprofit sector. This year’s Nonprofit Day features a special Funders Roundtable that will highlight the work of nonprofits and funders working together on a critical public policy issue–promote the 2010 Census. Come join the conversation on this important grant maker / grant seeker partnership..
Why is Nonprofit Day so important this year?
With the August primary behind us, Michigan is in full November election campaign season. The stakes could not be higher for our state and especially our sector. The next governor, legislature, Attorney General, and Secretary of State will all be very different. These leaders will define our state’s future and the way nonprofits can lead in Michigan’s economic recovery.
How does this impact you?
- The massive deficit in our current budget will likely not be resolved by the current legislature during a lame duck session. This means that the new Governor and new Legislature will have to craft drastic cuts to fill in the current hole and realign for the next budget that will have a revenue shortage and increasing costs. At the local level, nonprofits are being faced with threats of taxation or fees in lieu of taxation to help local municipalities meet their budget gaps.
- Nonprofits are continually impacted by the policies that lawmakers enact. That is why they need to be engaged in advocacy and promoting civic engagement. Whether it is promoting volunteering or actively recruiting residents to register to vote, nonprofits need to engage. A Governor or Secretary of State who fails to recognize the need to promote volunteerism and eliminate barriers to voting can significantly hamper the work of nonprofits to meet community needs.
Join us for a day filled with opportunities for you to strengthen your voice at Michigan’s Nonprofit Day 2010!
Kelley Kuhn
Chief Program Officer
Michigan Nonprofit Association
(517) 492-2404
www.mnaonline.org