AFFIRM
Contact: Amanda Drymiller, Office for Social Justice, 651-291-4542,
contact@affirmcoalition.org
Mission: The Alliance for Fair Immigration Reform
(AFFIRM) is an alliance of more than 25 immigrant groups, religious
and labor organizations, legal services and human service organizations.
They are working together to advocate for comprehensive immigration
reform legislation that will address the brokenness of the current
immigration system. AFFIRM affirms the rights of immigrants to experience
family reunification, protection of human, civil and worker rights,
and the creation of a path to citizenship.
Affirmative
Options Coalition
Contact: Deborah Schlick, 651-642-1904 x229, deborah@affirmativeoptions.org
Mission: Affirmative Options is a statewide coalition
of more than 50 organizations that work together to advocate for
state and federal policy changes to create opportunities for low-income
Minnesotans to achieve economic security. The coalition was formed
in 1997 in response to federal welfare reform but has since broadened
its agenda to include a range of issues that affect economic security.
Child
Care WORKS (CCW)
Contact: Ann Kaner-Roth, 612-455-1055 x11, ann@childcareworks.org
Mission: CCW is a statewide coalition of organizations
and individuals working through public education and advocacy for
quality care and education for all of Minnesota’s children
and their families.
JOBS
NOW Coalition
Contact: Carrie Thomas, 651-290-0240, cthomas@jobsnowcoalition.org
Mission: The JOBS NOW Coalition is committed to
the idea that all Minnesota workers will have the opportunity to
earn a family-supporting wage.
The Coalition advances its agenda through a combination of innovative
strategies:
1. Market-based research, identifying the gap between the minimum
wage/poverty level and a wage which allows workers to support their
families without public subsidies.
2. Relentless public education, revealing the common interests that
employers and employees have in jobs that pay well.
3. Aggressive advocacy, promoting public policies that balance the
real competitive needs of both workers and business to ensure Minnesota’s
economic vitality.
This broad-based, 100+-member coalition of very diverse Minnesota
organizations was founded in 1982 and is the largest employment
policy coalition of its kind in the United States.
Joint
Religious Legislative Coalition (JRLC)
Contact: Brian Rusche, 612-870-3670, info@jrlc.org
Mission: Guided by basic Jewish and Christian moral
vision, JRLC strives to further the cause of social justice in Minnesota
by proposing and promoting responsible legislation; assisting congregations
in the task of discerning and teaching God’s vision of justice;
and calling communities of faith to prophetic, unified action.
Mental
Health Legislative Network
Contact: Sandra Meicher, Mental Health Association of Minnesota,
612-843-4868, sandram@mentalhealthmn.org
Mission: The Mental Health Legislative Network
is a coalition of organizations advocating for a full array of services
and supports that enable people with mental illness to live, learn
and work in the community. The Network is comprised of advocacy,
consumer, family, and provider groups, thus representing the full
spectrum of mental health concerns.
Minnesota
Citizens for Tax Justice
Contact: Wayne Cox, 651-227-7647, simbix@excite.com
Mission: Citizens for Tax justice is a nonpartisan,
nonprofit, research organization dedicated to fair taxation at the
federal, state, and local levels.
Minnesota
Citizens for the Arts (MCA)
Contact: Sheila Smith, 651-251-0868, she-mca@mtn.org
Mission: MCA is a statewide arts advocacy organization
whose mission is to ensure opportunity for all people to have access
to and involvement in the arts.
Minnesota
Coalition for Battered Women (MCBW)
Contact: Loreline Arevalos, 651-646-6177 x14 or 1-800-289-6177,
Crisis Line: 651-646-0994, larevalos@mcbw.org
Mission: MCBW provides training and technical assistance
to battered women's programs, youth and children's programs, and
other organizations throughout the state; and organizes at the statewide
level to end domestic violence through legislative and public policy
advocacy, systems advocacy, media advocacy, and through special
projects. MCBW also provides crisis referrals for battered women.
Minnesota
Coalition for the Homeless
Contact: Michael Dahl, 612-870-7073, dahl@mnhomelesscoalition.org
Mission: The Coalition, which is comprised of more
than 150 agencies from throughout the state, has been fighting since
1984 to end homelessness in Minnesota. Through its community education,
legislative advocacy, and technical assistance activities, the Coalition
works to prevent homelessness by helping communities to design homeless
response systems that meet their needs. The Coalition supports the
full continuum of housing and homelessness services to ensure that
everyone has a safe, decent, affordable place to call home.
Minnesota
Environmental Partnership
Contact: Jen Lynch, 651-290-0154, jenlynch@mepartnership.org
Mission: The Minnesota Environmental Partnership
(MEP) is a network of more than 80 non-profit environmental and
conservation organizations working together to protect, restore
and enjoy Minnesota's precious natural resources.
Minnesota
Housing Partnership
Contact: Chip Halbach, 651-649-1710 x101, chalbach@mhponline.org
Mission: The HousingMinnesota Campaign works to
dramatically increase the preservation and creation of affordable
housing in Minnesota by raising public awareness, educating policymakers
and the community about housing issues, and translating our statewide
housing needs into positive policy reform.
Minnesota
Is Watching
Contact: Marcia Avner, 651-642-1904 x250, marcia@mncn.org
Mission: Minnesota is Watching is an informal coalition
of nonprofit, labor, community and faith-based organizations, united
by a common concern for Minnesota's economic future and quality
of life. Organizations from across Minnesota began working together
during the 2003 legislative session. Their purpose: promote a balanced
approach to solving the state's budget crisis.
Minnesota
Leadership Council on Aging
Contact: Dawn Simonson, 651-641-8612, dawn@tcaging.org
Mission: The Minnesota Leadership Council on Aging
is a statewide collaborative representing 240,000 seniors with service
needs and their family caregivers. They also speak on behalf of
more than 120,000 seniors with interest in aging issues. Their organizations
work together daily to provide quality care through both paid staff
and volunteers. Currently they are advocating for a rebalancing
of Minnesota's home and community-based long-term care.
Minnesota
Senior Federation
Contact: Lee Graczyk, 651-645-0261 x128, lgraczyk@mnseniors.org
Mission: The Minnesota Senior Federation is dedicated
to creating a democratic grass-roots organization, which trusts
in the common sense of its members, providing participation for
and building leadership from seniors themselves. Uniting seniors
and their organizations, we act as our own body of peers, leaders
and decision makers. We influence policy and give information and
services to benefit people of all ages. The Minnesota Senior Federation
develops membership benefits that enhance an independent, affordable
and dignified lifestyle for seniors.
Minnesota
Smoke-Free Coalition
Contact: Amanda Rudolph, 651-641-1223, infosfc@smokefreecoalition.org
Mission: The Minnesota Smoke Free Coalition works
to inform organizations, parents, policy makers, and the general
public about the issues surrounding tobacco use. The coalition also
serves as a communication and media center to keep tobacco control
a top issue among the public and policy makers, supports the involvement
of the health community in the legislative process, helps develop
public policy that addresses tobacco reduction, and advocates at
the state, federal, and grassroots level.
Neighborhood
Health Care Network
Contact: Lisa Edstrom 651-603-6080, lisa.edstrom@nhcn.org
Mission: The Neighborhood Health Care Network is
a coalition of 15 non-profit community clinics with 45 sites in
the Twin Cities metropolitan area. Their mission is to strengthen
these community clinics through integrated activities so that together
improvements can be made in the health of underserved communities.
Partners
to End Hunger Committee
Contact: Pastor Mark Peters, Lutheran Coalition for Public Policy
in Minnesota, 651-224-5499
Mission: Partners to End Hunger eliminates hunger
through advocacy, education, and a commitment to healthy communities.
Ready
4K
Contact: Todd Otis, 651-644-8138, toddotis@ready4k.org
Mission: Ready 4 K is a grassroots advocacy campaign
building public awareness and political power for the promotion
of high quality early education and child care for all children
in Minnesota.
(Last updated: March 9, 2006)
Questions? Comments? Contact Josh Schenck Winters at josh@mncn.org
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