DC Vote 2010 Annual Report

2010 Annual Report

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DC Vote 2010 Annual Report

Table of Contents

Executive Summary ............................................................................................. 3

I. Advocacy and Outreach .................................................................................. 4

1. DC Democracy Legislation

2. Aggressive Actions on Capitol Hill

3. Outreach to the President

4. Demand Democracy Campaign

5. Student Outreach

II. Communications .............................................................................................. 7

1. Media Outreach

2. National Public Awareness Campaign

3. Arts & Culture

III. Development & Sustainability ....................................................................... 9

1. Foundation Support

2. Champions of Democracy 2010

3. Membership Program

V. Conclusion...................................................................................................... 10

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Executive Summary

In 2010, DC Vote continued to serve as the hub for the DC democracy movement. We

provided concrete actions for national and local coalition partners to support the issue,

created opportunities for individuals in DC and across the country to defend the District’s

interests in Congress, educated and engaged elected officials at the national, local and

community level and provided new and archival information online. All in the strategic,

determined and creative style that has become our hallmark.

Progress on the DC Voting Rights Act was stalled by pro-gun special interests in Congress in

February 2009 and April 2010. In response to this interference by outside interests, DC Vote

ramped up our tactics against our opponents and launched a new campaign for DC

democracy: our Demand Democracy Campaign.

We are calling on the DC Government to engage in direct challenges that highlight the

District’s lack of democracy in order to force Congress to take action. The goal of this

Demand Democracy Campaign is to dramatically increase pressure on Congress to end DC’s

second-class citizenship.

2010 By the Numbers

Individuals attending Hill advocacy days and rallies: 275

High-profile individuals and organizations who wrote or signed letters to Congress: 65

Actions on the Hill: 8

Articles, editorials, newscasts and blog posts about DC democracy: 432

Events that DC Vote spoke at, recruited for or hosted: 158

Signs and T-shirts distributed at rallies on the Mall: 1450 signs, 900 T-shirts

Students reached: 694

Petitions supporting DC democracy collected: 2,263

New Facebook fans: 859

New Twitter followers: 487

Unique hits to website: 975,093

People reached through ads: 11,864,455

DC Voting Rights Coalition Meetings: 15

Number of donors (as of 12/3/2010): 797

(individuals, foundations, corporations, organizations and the DC Government)

Honors bestowed on DC Vote and its staff: 3

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I. Advocacy and Outreach

1. DC Democracy Legislation

On April 16, 2010, DC Emancipation Day, DC Vote

mobilized over 100 activists to fan out to

congressional Democrats' offices to ask them to

vote against the gun amendment. This Advocacy Day epitomized DC Vote’s role as the

leader of the DC demo cracy movement. We placed ads and did extensive community

outreach at over 20 local events over 4 weeks to recruit participants to advocate for DC

Home Rule broadly, budget and legislative autonomy bills specifically.

Two days before our Advocacy Day, House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-MD) announced

that the DC Voting Rights Act would come to a vote in the House the following week. In

response, we changed our materials, prepared our captains and altered the subject of the

program accordingly. Without our organizational history and experience, that would have

been impossible.

After Delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) pulled the DC Voting Rights Act from

consideration in April 2010, we went through a strategic process with our Board, coalition,

foundation funders and other key stakeholders to assess the political situation and adapt

accordingly. In response, we ramped up our tactics in order to change the political calculus

for members of Congress who would interfere with DC democracy.

2. Aggressive Actions on Capitol Hill

We held successful actions at the offices of Senator Jon Tester

(D-MT) and Representative Travis Childers’ office (D-MS). Both

of these members of Congress introduced the DC gun

amendment as stand-alone legislation in May 2010. A group of

ministers and DC Vote leaders held a ―pray-in‖ at Sen. Tester’s

office, which led to an immediate in-person meeting with the

Senator. At Rep. Childers’ office, dozens of DC residents lined up to deliver letters reading,

―Focus on Mississippi, Not DC!‖

We also launched our ―Childers for DC Mayor?‖ summer campaign by canvassing on the Hill

and at local events. This ad sparked a strong response from staffers, other Congressmen

and Rep. Childers himself, who called DC Vote a ―radical anti-gun group,‖ leading to further

responses from DC Councilmembers Kwame Brown and Michael Brown.

Combined, these creative and aggressive tactics generated significant media coverage in

DC, Montana and Mississippi and grassroots support from our members. We will continue

increasing consequences for members of Congress who try to score points with outside

interest groups at the expense of DC residents.

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3. Outreach to the President

In January, we launched an effort asking President Obama to mention DC democracy during

his State of the Union address. Though he did not include the issue, the campaign

generated radio, television, print and online media stories. Our contest for best statement

garnered votes from over 1,000 people in 44 states and the District and more than 300 new

fans on our Facebook page.

In addition, we sent the President over 41,000 petitions

supporting DC voting rights – a huge undertaking for any

organization. These petitions were collected at local and

national events and represent thousands of volunteer

hours talking to people face-to-face about the issue of

DC voting rights.

4. Demand Democracy Campaign

In 2010, DC Vote mobilized DC residents to rally under the Demand Democracy banner

through rallies on the Hill, town halls and festivals.

Rallies on the Hill

DC Vote supported the One Nation Working

Together March with labor, faith, human and

civil rights leaders to ensure equal access to

the American Dream. We successfully pushed

to include a message about DC democracy in

the One Nation Statement of Principles and DC

Vote Board Chair Liz Allen spoke from the

Lincoln Memorial.

DC Vote ensured DC democracy messages were at the Reclaim the Dream civil rights rally

and march. Hundreds of participants demanded democracy with signs and t-shirts,

Executive Director Ilir Zherka spoke from the stage and a contingent of activists recruited

support from Tea Party rally attendees on the Mall that same day.

DC Vote worked aggressively to ensure strong support for these two rallies by generating

robocalls to DC residents. We planned and implemented two robocalls to our list of nearly

10,000 residents in the DC area, one from former Delegate Walter Fauntroy to recruit for the

Reclaim the Dream rally and one from NAACP President Benjamin T. Jealous for the One

Nation rally.

At the Rally to Restore Sanity and/or Fear, DC Vote distributed hundreds of signs, mobilized

supporters and Hypocrisy Hippos to spread our message at one of the largest rallies in DC

this year. Afterward, we hosted a party at a local bar with Delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton,

featuring a specialty drink called ―Norton’s Revenge‖.

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These are just a few of the rallies DC Vote supported in 2010; others include the League of

Women Voters’ White House rally commemorating the 90th anniversary of women’s right to

vote and the ACLU-DC rally for DC statehood.

Town Halls & Community Forums

2010 was an election year for the District of Columbia and DC Vote used that opportunity to

elevate and amplify the issue of DC democracy. During the spring and summer, we placed a

question at a dozen community forums asking political candidates what steps they would

take for DC democracy. This led to positive commitments from several mayoral and council

candidates who we can now hold accountable.

After the DC September primary, Mayor-Elect Vincent Gray held town halls in each of the

District’s 8 wards about issues facing residents. We ensured that a question about DC

democracy was asked at each of them. These efforts were so successful that by the time the

last few town halls occurred, Mayor-Elect Gray included the issue of DC democracy in his

opening stump speech.

Festivals & Parades

As is our annual tradition, DC Vote reached thousands of supporters and broadened our

network through our outreach at summer festivals including Capital Pride, Palisades Parade,

Adams Morgan Day Festival, Barracks Row Festival, Fiesta DC, the National Black L.U.V.

Festival and the H Street Festival. We collected 2,263 signatures on our Demand

Democracy petition through direct interactions, distributed literature, engaged dozens of

volunteers and recruited new members to the cause. We were particularly successful with

recruiting local college students to volunteer at this year’s events, primarily from American

University.

5. Student Outreach

As a result of successful student outreach in 2009,

our Taxation Without Representation T-shirts and

bumper stickers were prominently displayed during

multiple episodes of the popular MTV show The Real

World. When the show filmed in DC in 2009, cast

members volunteered at our Students for DC Vote

Summer Send Off. This creative product placement

allowed us to reach approximately 1.9 million viewers

multiple times.

In 2010, DC Vote educated students at the elementary, middle, high school and college

level about DC democracy. In 2010, we reached over 700 students by giving presentations

to nearly 30 different groups ranging from local public schools to international exchange

programs. Regardless of age or background, students were struck by the injustice of the

situation and asked questions about how and why DC continues to be denied democracy.

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Additionally, DC Vote hosted a Student Send off and supported efforts at American

University to develop a DC voting rights college curriculum.

II. Communications

1. Media Outreach

DC Vote serves as the definitive source of information for members of the press on this

issue. We consistently generate press releases, stories explaining the significance of the

lack of representation for District residents, and direct quotes providing a positive

perspective. Most importantly, DC Vote aggressively reaches out to newspapers, reporters

and editorial boards to educate them on the issue. Our relationship with the Washington

Post is especially strong and one that we work to maintain.

Because of our hard work, nearly all of the articles on DC voting rights published this year

featured DC Vote’s information and messaging. In addition, we placed a piece in the

Huffington Post this year and garnered press about Champions of Democracy for the first

time.

DC Vote expanded its use of social media in 2010. We increased our fans on Facebook and

followers on Twitter and brought our signature use of supporter photos to Facebook.

2. Public Awareness Campaign

DC Vote is the only organization working on a national level to educate Americans about

DC voting rights. We use a variety of aggressive and effective tactics to draw attention to

this issue.

DC Vote sent a letter from Julian Bond, NAACP Chairman Emeritus, to 8,000 voters in

Mississippi, asking them to urge their Representative, Travis Childers, to focus on them, not

DC. We received over 200 postcards in response, which we delivered to Rep. Childers’

office. This effort generated media in Mississippi and Washington, DC, reminding Rep.

Childers and other members of Congress that there are consequences for interfering in local

DC issues.

We tested and ran a series of ads on Facebook, which drove traffic to our website, increased

our number of Facebook fans and generated over 3 million impressions. We found that the

strongest messages were those based on our ―taxation without representation‖ message.

This summer we continued the I Am DC; I Demand Democracy ad campaign. Our 2008

travels to the states taught us that Americans are still surprised to learn that everyday

people—not just politicians—call DC home. The I Am DC campaign highlights the stories of six

regular Americans who call DC home and demand equality. Individuals like Barbara Lang,

CEO of the DC Chamber of Commerce, a local nurse and Afghanistan veteran participated.

Through placement at Metro bus shelters and in the Washington City Paper endorsement

issue, thousands of local residents were exposed to this exciting campaign.

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In 2010, DC Vote made a concerted effort to reach out to the faith community in

Washington, DC. We commissioned a research project to better understand the faith

community in DC and with the assistance of Rev. E. Gail Holness, we developed

relationships with several clergy new to this issue. We asked them to discuss this issue from

the pulpit during DC Emancipation Advocacy Day and recruited 20 religious organizations to

sign a letter to Senator Tester.

3. Arts & Culture

DC Vote partnered with the Albus Cavus artist collective to plan and promote their ―Give Me

a Vote‖ public art campaign. This innovative project featured voting arms at local

businesses, homes and events. DC Vote researched and secured several locations for the

voting arms, wrote background materials for the project and helped recruit media attention.

We also displayed the voting arms at DC Vote events including our April 16 Advocacy Day on

Capitol Hill and a mayoral forum at the University of the District of Columbia (co-sponsored

by several organizations including the DC Bar, DC Appleseed, NAACP, ACLU of the National

Capital Area and more)

In 2010, DC Vote enhanced our website with an interactive creative space that showcases

art related to or inspired by the DC democracy movement. We planned the branding and

outline of the creative space, using new and existing artistic content. The creative space –

www.dcvote.org/artspace – includes videos, music, photography, poetry, advertisements

and mixed media created by dozens of artists, students and DC Vote itself. There is also a

prominent section to share artwork and an Artist Spotlight. This is part of DC Vote’s ongoing

efforts to support and encourage artistic expression inspired by the issue of DC democracy.

DC Vote partnered with the DC Public Library and photo archivist

Mark Greek to promote historical images of the DC democracy

movement. When Mark Greek’s book, Washington, DC Protests, a

compilation of photos and images from the Home Rule movement,

was published, we cosponsored a book signing at Busboys and

Poets. We also provided posters, stickers and other images from

the last 10 years of the voting rights movement for an interactive

exhibit at the Martin Luther King, Jr. Public Library. Lastly, we

printed a special edition of the book as a favor for supporters at

our annual Champions of Democracy awards dinner. These

inspiring images remind us that our work for DC democracy is part

of a larger and ongoing struggle for civil rights.

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III. Development & Sustainability

1. Foundation Support

DC Vote is proud to say that in a difficult economic climate, all of our foundation funders

continued their support over the last year. We are grateful to each of our supporting

foundations.

In May, Carnegie Corporation, through the leadership of Geri Mannion, hosted an issue

briefing on DC voting rights. Through this event, DC Vote introduced itself to five new

foundation funders, all at the national level.

These national funders are particularly interested in DC Vote’s work to defend and promote

the District’s status as a national leader of progressive policies. This outreach is part of our

ongoing long-term effort to build relationships with the foundation community.

2. Champions of Democracy 2010

Veterans of our annual dinner proclaimed that "this was the best program ever," that they

were "inspired," and "ready to fight."

At a moment when the economy and the political challenges we face could have resulted in

a small crowd or a defeatist attitude, we had the opposite. The ballroom of the Mayflower

Hotel was filled to capacity. Genuine and personal comments were made about and from

our 2010 Champions – Smith Bagley (posthumously), President of the Arca Foundation,

Kathy Schmidt, DC Vote grassroots leader and Andy Shallal, owner of Busboys & Poets.

Attendees included Chris & Kathleen Matthews, Congresswomen Donna Edwards (D-MD)

and Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC), DC Councilmembers Kwame Brown, David Catania and

Mary Cheh, DC Chief Financial Officer Natwar Gandhi, University of the District of Columbia

president Dr. Allen Sessoms, Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights President

Wade Henderson and more.

3. Membership Program

DC Vote focused its 2010 membership program on retaining past members while continuing

to recruit new ones. We sent two membership appeals, three reminder mailings and two

newsletters. We also inaugurated our more aggressive email appeal program, with one

"What a fantastic event!!! The DC Vote dinner was the center of the DC

political universe last night."

-- a first time attendee to our Champions of Democracy dinner

“As immigrant US citizens, my daughter and I have a vote in Iraqi parliament

but not here at home in DC.”

-- Andy Shallal, Champion of Democracy and owner of Busboys & Poets

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email appeal every two months. We learned that our email appeals are consistently most

successful when tied to an action connected to our mission, like a call-in day or advocacy

day.

Together with other donations through workplace campaigns and merchandise sales, DC

Vote’s membership income totaled $62,821 (as of December 3, 2010) and was the only

area of development that increased expectations – by $18,000!

V. Conclusion

DC Vote’s work in 2011 will show Congress and the nation that the District of Columbia is

passionate, organized and ready to fight for the full equality that residents deserve. 2011

will be critical for DC Vote as we plan and actualize our campaign for full democracy and

statehood.

DC Vote 2010 Annual Report

Documents

Transcript of DC Vote 2010 Annual Report