The Funders' Committee for Civic Participation and Grantmakers Income Security Taskforce present...

Rules of Engagement
Strengthening Advocacy in the New Decade

A Funder Phone Briefing & FCCP's January Call

*** Special Date *** Monday, January 11th, 3-4pm ET, 12-1pm PT

Civic engagement is the cornerstone of social progress and democracy. Yet, outdated rules around lobbying and nonpartisan voter engagement continue to stymie civic participation by foundations and charities alike. Threats and opportunities at the national level will help to define the rules and culture of civic engagement for years to come. Join us on January 11th for FCCP's first monthly call of 2010 to learn how philanthropy can strengthen nonprofit advocacy rights and create high-impact nonprofits.

Register today by contacting Mario Lugay at mlugay [at] funderscommittee [dot] org

Call Organizer and Moderator:
Larry Ottinger, Board Chair, Ottinger Foundation and President, Center for Lobbying in the Public Interest

Speakers:
Leslie R. Crutchfield, Author, Forces for Good: The Six Practices of High-Impact Philanthropy
Wade Henderson, President and CEO, Leadership Conference on Civil Rights
Stephen Rickard, Executive Director, Open Society Policy Center

Please note that the subject matter of FCCP funder-only calls are strictly limited to discussion of nonpartisan civic participation work as set forth in the agenda.

Speaker Bios:

Leslie R. Crutchfield, Author, Forces for Good: The Six Practices of High-Impact Philanthropy

Leslie is an author, professional speaker and leading authority on scaling social innovation and high-impact philanthropy. She co-authored the critically-acclaimed book, Forces for Good: The Six Practices of High-Impact Nonprofits (Jossey-Bass/Wiley), recognized by The Economist on its Best Books of Year list. For the past decade, Leslie has advised a range of philanthropic organizations including family foundations such as the Goldhirsh Foundation and institutions such Pew Charitable Trusts. She currently is a Senior Advisor for Arabella Philanthropic Investment Advisors. She is a recent managing director of Ashoka, the world's oldest and largest venture philanthropy organization.

In the 1990s, she co-founded and ran Who Cares: The Tool Kit for Social Change, a national magazine for young activists (circulation 50,000). Leslie is a frequent public speaker and university lecturer, and has been featured as one of America’s top leaders under 40 by Newsweek. She volunteered with Crossroads Africa in Gambia, and serves on the boards of the SEED Foundation, Kiva, and Little Kids Rock. Leslie holds an MBA and an AB from Harvard University, and resides in the Washington, D.C. area with her family.

Wade Henderson, President and CEO, Leadership Conference on Civil Rights

Wade Henderson is the President and CEO of the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights (LCCR); and counselor to the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights Education Fund (LCCREF). The LCCR is the nation’s premier civil and human rights coalition.

Mr. Henderson is also the Joseph L. Rauh, Jr., Professor of Public Interest Law at the David A. Clarke School of Law, University of the District of Columbia.

Mr. Henderson is well known for his expertise on a wide range of civil rights, civil liberties, and human rights issues. He works principally in the areas of civil rights enforcement, voting rights, public education reform, fair housing policy, immigration policy reform, media and telecommunications policy, and economic and political empowerment for people of color, women, persons with disabilities and the poor. Under his leadership, the LCCR has become one of the nation’s most effective defenders of federal affirmative action policy and one of the strongest advocates for passage of the Hate Crimes Prevention Act.

Since taking the helm of the LCCR in June 1996, Mr. Henderson has worked diligently to address emerging policy issues of concern to the civil rights community and to strengthen the effectiveness of the coalition. Mr. Henderson is actively involved with the newly reconstituted National Quality Forum Board of Directors that seeks to improve healthcare quality through performance measurement and public reporting; and the FDIC Advisory Committee on Economic Inclusion, which was created in 2006 to provide the FDIC with advice and recommendations on important initiatives focused on expanding access to banking services by underserved populations. He also leads an effort to pass the Employee Free Choice Act (EFCA), legislation to revive the right of workers to organize unions.

Prior to his role with the Leadership Conference, Mr. Henderson was the Washington Bureau director of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP). In that capacity, he directed the government affairs and national legislative program of the NAACP.

Wade Henderson was previously the associate director of the Washington national office of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), where he began his career as a legislative counsel and advocate on a wide range of civil rights and civil liberties issues. Mr. Henderson also served as executive director of the Council on Legal Education Opportunity (CLEO).

Mr. Henderson is a graduate of Howard University and the Rutgers University School of Law. He is a member of the Bar in the District of Columbia, New Jersey, and the United States Supreme Court. As a tireless civil rights leader and advocate, Mr. Henderson has received countless awards and honors. He holds an honorary Doctorate in Law from Queens College School of Law, City University of New York.

He is the author of numerous articles on civil rights and public policy issues.

Stephen Rickard, Executive Director, Open Society Policy Center

Stephen Rickard is the Executive Director of the Open Society Policy Center (OSPC) and a member of the Board of Directors. Under his direction, OSPC engages in policy advocacy on U.S. and international issues, including promotion of human rights and support for open societies abroad.

Rickard has a distinguished career as a Washington advocate for human rights. Before joining OSPC, Rickard served as the director of the Nuremberg Legacy Project, working to promote U.S. support for international justice. Rickard was also the director of the Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Center for Human Rights (2000-2001) and the Washington director for Amnesty International USA (1996-2000).

Rickard spent many years working for the U.S. government. He was the senior advisor for South Asian Affairs at the State Department where he focused on economic and global issues including human rights. He also served as senior foreign policy advisory to Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. During his time on Capitol Hill, he helped secure Senate approval for numerous treaties on international human rights and labor rights.

In the 1980s, Rickard worked as a litigator with the law firm, White & Case in New York, Washington, and Stockholm. At the firm, he specialized in international arbitration. He helped manage the firm's pro bono legal aid program and served as secretary of the New York City Bar Association's Committee on Legal Assistance.

Rickard received his J.D. from Yale Law School where he was a member of the Moot Court Board and an editor of the Yale Journal of International Law. He holds a M.A. in Public Affairs from Princeton University's Woodrow Wilson School. He graduated summa cum laude from Adrian College with a B.A in Political Science and English.

Call Organizer and Moderator: Larry Ottinger, Board Chair, Ottinger Foundation and President, Center for Lobbying in the Public Interest

Larry Ottinger is President of the Center for Lobbying in the Public Interest (CLPI). Founded in 1998, CLPI promotes, supports and protects nonprofit advocacy and lobbying in order to strengthen participation in our democratic society and advance the missions of charitable organizations.

Ottinger is co-chair of the Ottinger Foundation and has served on the family foundation’s board since 1978. He is a member of the 2007 class of Leadership Maryland, and has served on several national boards.

Prior to accepting the position with CLPI, Ottinger served for four years as Director of Policy and Leadership Development at the Fannie Mae Foundation where he led signature partnerships and programs promoting innovation in affordable housing policy at the state and local levels.

Previously, he spent over ten years as a successful civil rights and First Amendment lawyer and policy advocate. Ottinger graduated from Stanford Law School, where he was an associate editor of the Stanford Law Review. He graduated Phi Beta Kappa from the University of California at Berkeley with highest honors in the social sciences.