Public policy touches on every aspect of private and public life, and those of us in the impact sector know policy can lead to drastic changes in quality of life ─ for better or for worse – and directly affect the ability of nonprofits to serve their communities and achieve their missions. Nonprofits engaged in public policy can help ensure that their voices are heard and that they advocate effectively for their communities, especially when we understand how our missions are connected and we work together.
Pillar is in constant contact with our membership about policy priorities, but we’re eager to convene groups that can better mobilize the combined policy capacity of our local sector. This begins with a special #PolicyTalk event focused on a timely advocacy opportunity where we can set goals, map a pathway to those goals, and scope out our network’s capacity to achieve those goals.
BE PART OF THE CONVERSATION
Join us for #PolicyTalk, June 28, 10:30-12, where we’ll ask ourselves:
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What does the nonprofit sector need from the City of London's Multi-Year budget?
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Let’s identify specific areas of strategic focus, outcomes, expected results, and strategies from the City of London Strategic Plan that we want funded in the 2024-27 municipal budget
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What is needed to achieve these goals?
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How do we map them to the City’s vision, mission, and values?
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How can we use the UN SDGs as a shared language and a framework to describe the connectedness of goals and missions?
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How else shall we work together and support each other?
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Do we have the capacity for this work?
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What do we still need? Is it more collaboration? Better data? Something else?
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How shall we come together next?
Pillar commits to producing a report of this #PolicyTalk for distribution to the attendees, our members, and the community to keep the conversation going.
WHY THIS MATTERS
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The public sector, including our City, relies on nonprofits and social purpose enterprises to deliver on government priorities but doesn’t necessarily understand the impact, urgency, or full costs of our work. A strong, mutually supportive nonprofit network can inform policy-makers and help them support thriving communities and sustainable development.
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The earlier we engage in any process, the bigger impact we can have. At the local level, there’s no better time to get organized than the beginning of the multi-year budget.
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Time and again it’s been identified that the nonprofit sector needs to ‘build its policy muscle.’ We’re in if you’re in.
WHO SHOULD ATTEND?
This is an especially important conversation for nonprofit CEOs/EDs, managers, and board members, but everyone is welcome to attend who wishes to build nonprofit advocacy for thriving communities. If there is more than one person in your organization whose work touches on public policy and advocacy, please consider bringing them all. This is work we need to do together.
WHAT WE WILL BRING
Pillar is genuinely curious to hear what the community needs most from us now. We’re arriving with:
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A commitment to co-designing our next steps as a policy community;
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Capacity to track and share key opportunities for advocacy and intervention in public policy;
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Network connections to sector advocacy at the regional, provincial, and national levels;
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An understanding of broad nonprofit sector-wide issues that may be felt differently across sub-sectors and micro-sectors;
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Expertise in the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals and other frameworks for connecting our goals, missions, and visions;
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Expertise in community development and engagement; and
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Space for this work to happen, in person or virtual.
Please join us!
Thank you to our 2023 Learning & Development Sponsors:
Western Continuing Studies and Fanshawe Employment and Student Entrepreneurial Services/Corporate Training Solutions
