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Overview
“If poor people voted in proportion to their numbers, a whole different national agenda could emerge. The Center for Community Change has the experience and vision to be a leader in this transformation.”- Celinda Lake
Lake, Snell, Perry and Associates
The more than 23 million adult Americans who live in poverty have little voice in our democracy. Many vote infrequently or not at all. In 2000, voters living below the poverty line had a voter turn-out rate of 38%. Since the poor have little money or political clout, they can easily be – and usually are – written off by politicians. But if they decide to use the power of the ballot box, they can change the way this country works, for them and all of us.
In 2004 and 2006, the Community Voting Project of the Center for Community Change demonstrated that civic engagement run as a “permanent campaign” model by grassroots community organizations can deliver results—if they have the right tools, resources and support. By developing comprehensive plans with partner organizations, creating and enforcing standards, and upgrading grassroots groups’ skills, lists, and leaders, the Center for Community Change has played a critical role in transforming the culture of the community organizing sector to embrace the rigorous standards and numerical measures of voter engagement work.
“For the last four years, the Center has been our major national partner on economic justice organizing issues. Now the CVP will help us get concrete skills and resources so we can ensure that immigrant voters turn out and have a voice on what really matters to them.”
- Joshua Hoyt, Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights
In 2008, the opportunities are even greater for people of color and
low-income communities to claim a public voice by participating in
non-partisan activities. The Center for Community Change has launched a
multi-year national effort to project the notion of community values
into the public conversation. The Campaign for Community Values will
rally communities to a new kind of campaign—one that is based on values
as well as key policy issues, and propelled by an understanding that
“we are all in this together.” The Community Voting Project will
operate within the context of this national campaign, in which close to
200 groups representing hundreds of low-income communities of color
participate.
