July 16, 2021: National LWVUS Meeting Notes

BUILDING OUR POWER

1. Institutional racism- we have to have conversations about this and enhance our understanding of our history. DEI alone will not solve        the structural issues-we have to pay attention to how we operate as an organization.

    a. Leadership- no tenure or pre-credentials for involvement; seek out specialized skills and connectors; nominating committee         should work on this and there can be the use of training videos.

    b. Get young people involved!

2. Speakers Bureau - use an organized and dedicated group on a specific topic; League management site has a packet to use.

3. Best practices and materials

    a. Recruitment-Use to get the word out, prioritize outreach and host presentations-we should always be recruiting.

    b. Training -use existing talents; provide opportunities to practice; set goals; build knowledge; and have a feedback loop.

    c. Introductory letter to new members.

    d. Informational brochure-list of topics/issues we are working on

    e. Request forms provided for members and those who visit our website.

    f.  Press releases to follow standards set by the League.

    g. Plan all the steps to accomplish the above.

REMAINING NON-PARTISAN IN MESSAGING

1. Issues are not partisan.

2. Democracy is not partisan.

3. Facts are not partisan.

4. How and when to push back: mischaracterization - lean on policy and use pro-active words and facts with letters to the editor and/or         to make corrections; ignore small attacks on Twitter or publications with an anti-vote agenda.

5. Use the League’s messaging resources: statements, impact on Issues publication, League management site talking points, League         blog article: Remaining nonpartisan in these-partisan times.

6. Social media- understand that “like” and “post” are visible; don’t feed trolls; OK to retweet politicians when they are aligned with our         advocacy; election season-work to get people to go to VOTE 411.

7. Have a League spokesperson-never quote or repeat bad information though OK to refer to it; focus on providing the correct information and include trustworthy sources.

DEI in PRACTICE AND NONPARTISANSHIP

1. Who is the community being served? Are they aligned with our vision? Who is making the decisions about our partners and is the DEI lens being used.

2. Working with elected officials-engage them to advance our priorities, eg. going press conferences, panel discussions, invite to speak at LWV events, participate in rallies, co-host voter engagement events, support poll worker recruitment and participate in advisory groups and committees. For an event: is it nonpartisan; there is a balance of press; is it near an election; is it a regular event for the League; what are the risks?

3. Election season-focus on issues; no awards if someone is running for office; no empty chairs at debates or forums.

4. Asset framing - engage people strengthen every argument for equity, place the value of people at the center.