Catalyst California

“Board secretary/treasurer steve english and board president molly munger are married.”

“The form 990 is reviewed by members of the finance committee prior to filing and making it available to the full board for review upon request.”

“The disclosure of conflicts is called for at each board meeting. Directors who have a personal interest in a matter such that it is a conflict of interest under the organization's conflicts of interest policy, disclose such interest and do not vote on the matter.”

“Annually, the compensation committee of the board (cp) recommends the salaries of the executive directors to the audit committee. The cp considers the performance of those executives as well as the market rates for similar positions of comparable organizations. Market information is obtained from surveys. The compensation of the executive directors and the chief financial officer are also reviewed for reasonableness by the audit committee.”

“The governing documents, conflict of interest policy, and financial statements are available upon written request.”

“Power and democracy our power and democracy program continued to expand electorate through eliminating criminal convictions as barrier to voting and restoring voting rights to people with felony convictions in florida virginia, and louisiana; defeat federal and local policies that make it harder to vote; hold local and state election officials accountable in va, az, ga, fl, and oh, increase support for a robust democracy, including an affirmative right to vote; and build-up the next generation voting rights movement. In florida we released a groundbreaking report that demonstrates that felon disenfranchisement correlates with poverty, unemployment and low educational attainment in black neighborhoods. Democracy disappeared: how florida silences the black vote through felony disenfranchisement, is being used to strengthen support in black communities to change florida's lifetime ban on voting for people with felonies. In virginia, we have continued our work with new virginia majority (nvm) and the virginia civic engagement table to identify and assist voters with felony convictions to apply to have their rights restored and register to vote. In june 2018, our executive director, judith browne dianis, was asked to give remarks at a congressional black caucus panel on the fifth anniversary of the shelby v. Holder court decision that effectively blocked a key provision of the voting rights act. In september 2018, we launched a webinar series on how to protect the vote during the 2018 mid-term elections. The webinars, released in five states, helped voters understand how and where to register to vote, what to expect during the weeks prior to election day and how they can assert their rights to vote at the polls on election day. Opportunity to learn our opportunity to learn program, which includes the ending the schoolhouse to jailhouse project and the quality education for all project, continues to fight for strong public schools that create nurturing, equitable environments for children of color. The goals of opportunity to learn include: build support at local and national level for "free, safe, and just" public education, develop model for implicit bias assessment and training for school staff and police, prevent the dismantling, defunding, corporatization and privatization of k-12 public schools, end police intervention in school discipline, examine and expose policies and practices that criminalize youth of color, end national narrative of youth of color as criminals, build grassroots organizational power and capacity to hold school systems accountable, strengthen the capacity of the education justice movement, and foster and develop young leaders to continue the movement. The tragic shooting at marjory stoneman high school on february 14, 2018, where seventeen people were killed, added new urgency to our school policing work. On february 23, 2018, advancement project convened an emergency call with over forty representatives from the education justice sphere, including grassroots partners, allied organizations, and funders to align strategies to combat what was an expected knee jerk reaction of increasing militarization at schools. In march 2018, advancement project hosted a media call featuring youth organizers from across the country who were coordinating student walkouts in response to gun violence in schools. We intentionally created a space to center the voices of young people of color, who, in the days following the parkland shooting, were mostly left out of the conversation. In september 2018, we released a report, we came to learn: a call to action for police free schools, detailing the harmful impact of school police on black and brown youth and their basic right to education due to the prejudiced application of police presence, force, and violence by state actors. It included a companion action kit on school policing, and a digital toolkit for our grassroots partners to use in their own organizing campaigns around r”

“Strategic communications advancement project works on the national level to shift the narrative around race and justice through research and focus groups, media outreach, and strategic communications campaigns with our partners including; e-advocacy, social media, and traditional news outlets. As the demographics of our nation change and grassroots movements pop up in response to issues effecting communities of color, there are incredible opportunities to change hearts and minds on youth criminalization. Our strategic communications work is an underlying support for all of our partners and campaign accomplishments listed above. We operate to both add expertise and support to our grassroots partners and campaign, while laying the groundwork for narrative shifts at the national level. In february 2018, during nba all-star weekend in los angeles, advancement project teamed up with board member, actor/activist jesse williams to film stories from well-known entertainers, athletes and other influencers including (alicia keys, debbie allen, jemelle hill, 2 chainz, and others) about their interactions with police, as well as their approach to discussing policing with their children and loved ones. The video project aimed to use narrative to raise public awareness of the daily indignities that people of color face at the hands of police. Over forty interviews were taped for the policing us video under the direction of jesse williams. In august 2018, we held an event open to the public in martha's vineyard on the topic of "rising up against racism, criminalization, and barriers to the ballot box" with panelists melissa harris perry, adrianne shropshire, and our executive director judith browne dianis. At that event, we previewed the video. In september 2018, our executive director was invited to be on a panel about the hate u give and its overlap with the racial justice movement; most notably, the movie's lead amandala stenberg was also on the panel. The hate u give highlighted how activists, particularly the younger community, are impacted by racialized police violence and the struggle to find their voice in moments of personal tragedy. In october 2018, we were able to hold 6 screenings of the film followed by panel discussions in 5 cities with partner grassroots organizations in each city.”

“The process has not changed from the prior year.”