Institute for One Wisconsin Programs

Communications Capacity Building Project

The Communications Capacity Building Project is an innovative and unique program of the Institute for One Wisconsin to help non-profit, non-partisan organizations improve organizational ability to communicate with the media, to members, to decision-makers and to donors. Survey work completed in 2008 by the Institute showed many non-profit, non-partisan organizations, particularly those serving underrepresented communities, are unable to dedicate a full-time staff member to communications operations. The Communications Capacity Building Project provides service to organizations at no cost to the organizations, saving them substantial resources.

The creation of the Institute's Communications Capacity Building Project is a historic opportunity to build the communications infrastructure of organizations to ensure their messages are represented in the marketplace of ideas. The Institute believes the most effective messengers are the dedicated community-based organizational leaders doing the real work making a positive impact on the lives of community members. The ability of progressive organizations to master both traditional and new media and online communications systems is critical to maximizing the overall success of moving the collective progressive agenda forward.

If your organization is interested in participating in the Communications Capacity Building Project, please fill out the short application for your organization and someone from our staff will contact you.

Protect Wisconsin's Vote

Wisconsin has served as ground zero in efforts to restrict voting rights and prevent the full exercising of the franchise. From documented efforts to intimidate voters to false allegations of non-existent voter fraud deployed to justify punitive anti-voter legislation, progressives have fought an uphill battle to ensure all voters have access to the polls. The Protect Wisconsin's Vote project is a continuing voter protection and education effort and civic engagement voting rights legislative advocacy program in the state of Wisconsin.

In July 2008, the Institute hosted the first "Protect Wisconsin's Vote Education Summit" in Milwaukee which brought together a broad coalition of over twenty progressive organizations, many representing underserved communities and over 100 participants to discuss voter rights, the importance of voter participation and the need for electoral reform. Included at the Summit were panel discussions, multimedia presentations and question and answer sessions from election experts. The successful 2009 summit, held in Madison, focused on legislative issues on voter access and assistance and was well attended and received statewide media attention.

The third-annual Protect Wisconsin's Vote Education Summit will be July 2010 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

Wiscopedia

Wiscopedia.com is Wisconsin's online progressive information network, a centralized library providing a two-way conduit of progressive information. Currently, over 150 organizations and issues are represented. Individuals and the media can go to Wiscopedia to easily find information about the progressive organizations in the state, information about specific issues, a calendar of progressive events, upcoming trainings and a list of user-friendly reports. Wiscopedia is designed to be organization and member driven, where by quickly registering, a group or individual can update and add information.