IMWFN Funder Call | Investing in Grassroots Engagement, Mobilization, and Power Building

Join the Intermountain West Funders Network, Kendeda Fund, and Wilburforce Foundation on March 7, 2018 from 12 – 1:15 pm Mountain Time for a learning and networking call with funder colleagues investing in civic engagement and grassroots power building. 
 
Many funders across the region are working to support efforts to ‘build the base’ of support for positive, lasting change and empower under-represented communities to meaningfully engage in decision-making. If there is one thing many people are learning from the past year, it is that there needs to be a better and more comprehensive effort to engage citizens at the local level to impact their communities, and the issues that they care about, in positive ways for the long term.
 
The conversation will begin with a brief overview of the Montana Engagement Partnership, which is a collaborative effort of four leading conservation organizations that aims to add over 100,000 new pro-conservation voices to the state.  This work will leverage popular support for shared community values (public and working lands, clean water, wildlife, and rural/ag heritage) to create broad political support for conservation and clean energy policies that can withstand changing political dynamics. 
 
We will also feature work in Montana to engage and empower constituents whom heretofore have not had a seat the table with decision makers. These grassroots initiatives are focused on the Native American community and young adults (18-24 years old) to be a part of shaping future decisions, policies, and laws affecting their lives. 
 
Speakers will include Liz Bell, Program Officer of the Yellowstone to Yukon Program Region with the Wilburforce Foundation and Tim Stevens, Montana Fund Advisor with the Kendeda Fund. Following brief presentations from our speakers, participants will be invited to ask questions and share their stories and strategies of engagement and power building work taking place elsewhere. We will also dialogue on the best practices to help this collective effort move forward across the intermountain west.