MIV’s Strategic Direction and February 2010 Updates
From Mobilize the Immigrant Vote!
Dear Friends, Allies, and Colleagues:
We are now well into 2010 with historic and political events already shaping the new year and decade: the crisis in Haiti, the Supreme Court decision on corporate free speech, pending federal immigration reform bills, and [local immigrant rights event]. Mobilize the Immigrant Vote partner organizations across the state launched their 2010 civic engagement programs building on the hard work and lessons of the last decade. They are continuing their experiments in integrated voter engagement – linking their electoral organizing with their ongoing public policy campaigns and movement-building. In 2010, the country will be watching the impact of immigrant voters on local, state and national elections and policy.
In this context, MIV has launched its 2010-2012 Strategic Plan. This plan embraces our current mission while placing increasing emphasis on moving towards power and policy changes co-led by low-income immigrant communities of color. The plan includes continuing to provide our trademark tools and movement-building spaces to partner organizations and allies across the state (including a November 2010 Statewide Voter Guide, November 2010 Voting Rights Palm Card, and our August ballot analysis forums in six regions of the state). Simultaneously, MIV will pilot four deeper capacity-building projects in Los Angeles, San Bernardino, San Jose, and the San Francisco Bay Area, which we hope will lift up lessons learned and models for application well beyond these four regions. MIV will increase its partnership with other allies and experts in the field to leverage more resources and technology for California immigrant organizations. To learn more about the MIV 2010-2012 Strategic Plan, please contact me!
We hope you will benefit from the following resources in this e-newsletter to support your 2010 civic engagement programs:
The MIV MOVE Toolkit: updated resources and tools on movement-building electoral organizing in English, Spanish, and Chinese, based on the curriculum and work in the MOVE capacity-building program from 2007-2009.
2009 Case Studies on Integrated Voter Engagement: read about how four MIV partner organizations across California successfully linked their public policy campaigns with their year-round voter engagement last year.
- Effective Defense of Ballot Victories: Filipino Youth and Voter Leadership in Oakland and Union City
- Lifting Up the Issue of Immigrant Rights in Anti-immigrant Communities: Voter Engagement in San Diego
- Victory over Proposed Budget Cuts: Engaging Chinese American Voters and Grassroots Leaders in San Francisco
- Winning Institutional Support for Immigration Reform: Youth and Voter Engagement in Riverside
2010 Census Resources: learn about key tools available to your organization now to ensure that immigrant communities and all hard-to-count communities are captured in the 2010 Census.
VAN Tutorial #2: expand your skills and thinking through these tips on the Voter Activation Network (VAN).
Additional Resources: get updated on key events and resources available to communities.
In 2010, thirty-six gubernatorial seats across the country will open up for elections, with the California race figuring prominently since no incumbent governor will be in the running. The state will most likely see major public policy decisions left to voters on topics ranging from tax and fiscal reform to immigrant rights, criminal justice, and reproductive justice – the outcomes of which will reverberate across the country. The 2010 Census count will determine the distribution of $400 billion in state and federal funds. Will California reshape its future and thus be a model for the country? How will California immigrants, one quarter of all immigrants in the country, shape the future of democracy and social justice in our country? The future is in the hands of each of us and our communities. We look forward to continuing to be in solidarity with you and your organizations.
In unity and justice, Aparna Shah
