Nuestro 2020 in Review
● We identified our base! They are young, mostly Black and brown North Carolinians, and the majority are Latinx and from rural areas. We had a paid volunteers program to support our community in the time of COVID-19, and they became our base. This volunteer shared the sentiment that many of our volunteers expressed in their evaluation of our organization: “I only went canvassing once, but it was a lot of fun. The phone bank was amazing to me however. It felt great being part of something bigger, and the fact that we were actually doing important and fulfilling work made it that much better!”
● We contributed meaningfully to the expansion of the Latinx electorate in NC: Poder launched a robust Latinx electoral program to connect with Latinx voters, providing voter education to build up their confidence to go vote. We were not the only organization reaching out to Latinx voters, and collectively we all moved the needle in the right direction. Poder’s contributions include: hand delivered 4,000 voter information cards in 5 counties; reached a digital universe of 725,000; made 1,104,364 calls; delivered 1,016,605 pieces of mail; and engaged over 130 young North Carolinians as our volunteers. 40% of Latinx voters were first time voters—this is the biggest percentage increase of first time voters anywhere in the country! ️
● Fused technology & organizing through groundbreaking, bilingual websites: We created the Mi Para Ti direct-donation site for families left out of the COVID-19 federal financial stimulus. Donors can give directly to mostly undocumented families who need financial support in North Carolina. We also revitalized and reimagined VotemosNC.com site to make it user friendly & a useful tool for the Votemos NC coalition of grassroots and small organizations focusing on civic engagement.
There is so much more to celebrate, including our staff! Our team is driven, cares deeply for our community, and reflects the best of North Carolina. We could not have done this work without them and their loved ones’ commitment to building a state that embraces us all.
Our team will take a much needed break and will come back in 2021 rested and ready to bring into fruition a true labor of love embodied through our Imaginación Incubator.
Poder NC Team (L to R): Irene Godinez, Iliana Santillan, Ricky Rodriguez, Alexandra Landeros, Hope Alfaro
(not pictured: Tavon Bridges, Sara Castillo, Cristal Figueroa)
NEW YEAR, NEW OPPORTUNITIES
In 2021 Poder NC will build thoughtfully and intentionally. A critical principle our ancestors had is that we ought to live and work considering our descendants seven generations into the future. The choices we make now will determine the kind of earth they inherit from us. Poder is really excited to launch two big efforts in the new year: our Poder NC Chapters and our Civic & Campaign School.
● The Poder NC Chapters will be formed in collaboration with local youth leaders in rural counties. The chapters will each develop their body of work, and each chapter will own leadership of the lobbying and co-governance efforts with their elected leaders at the local and state level. The goal of the Poder chapters is to foster and flex their civic and leadership muscles.
● The Civic & Campaign School will be a unique program with the purpose of training a new generation of civic leaders. Our goal is to create a pipeline of values-driven civic leaders who reflect our communities. We envision the alumni of this program leading campaigns and stepping up as public servants by working in local and state government.