John Denny’s Post

Check out this podcast with Chief Service Officer Josh Fryday and Senator Josh Becker about the power of service! 

This is our moment! We must mobilize and take action to understand how the nearly 4 Trillion Dollars of federal funding is being spent and awarded. How will the Biden Billions benefit your community? - Naomi Davis Check out this video to learn more... I've been told it's one the most effective presentations and the best 30 minute investment of your time if you are serious about understanding how to meet this moment. You be the final judge; I hope it helps! https://lnkd.in/euBGJArk

Last month, we wrapped up our three-part Communications 101 series. Here is a clip from Part 1, back in April, when we discussed how rule violation notices can impact your community associations. Stay tuned for info on our next webinar! #CommunityAssociations #AssociationLaw

The Trust for Civic Life and $8 million to fund civic participation in rural communities are examples of what philanthropy can accomplish when funders work together. That was the goal when Stephen Heinz, president of Rockefeller Brothers Fund, asked Carnegie Corporation of New York to join a funder collaborative a year ago, resulting in an early commitment of $3.5 million from the foundation. Today the collaborative has 15 funders. The Trust’s work is grounded in research that was funded by philanthropy and conducted by the American Academy of Arts & Sciences. Its report titled "Our Common Purpose" made a strong impression. It provides pragmatic, nonpartisan approaches to countering mistrust and division in our society. A second round of grants to support civic entrepreneurs is planned for later this year, and if all goes as planned, the collaborative will invest $50 million over the next five years. https://lnkd.in/ebyPnCVt

With the election coming closer, the events of the world can make the upcoming election scary with candidates with very opposing views on how to lead the country. I appreciated this week's episode of the Scott Rasmussen Show breaking down the data and the news to understand the real effects of the events of the world on the election. More than that, through data, research, and interactions in America, I've become optimistic about our country's future not because of our political environment, but often inspire of. As current board leader of a 501(c)3 and former executive director of another 501(c)3, I believe the issues of our country are often being solved and improved by our local non-profits, community groups, businesses, school boards, and local leaders. Positive change in America starts in communities and ripples out. Scott's show this week gave me me additional insight on the Main Street America, or 76% of voters, and where their values align, giving me hope in our country's future. https://lnkd.in/gPvzeK2Z

Why is our new civic campaign so focused on reminding us that real change starts locally? Here's three quick reasons why. 1. There, we can declare we’ve had “enough”—enough hatred, bigotry, despair, hopelessness—and build on the good things already taking place and create new opportunities for progress. 2. There, we can articulate what we are for—not just what we are against—and reclaim a sense of agency and a belief that we can come together and get things done. 3. There, we can spark a chain reaction of positive actions that creates a new trajectory of hope and put on notice our elected officials and haters and dividers that we are demanding different norms and ways of doing public life. I firmly believe the change we need in this country today is going to come from local communities. Do you agree? If so, I hope you'll join us by signing up for our campaign dispatches.  https://lnkd.in/gpUZEnpX

Excited to be attending my first Maryland Association of Counties Summer Conference! I’m honored to be a part of the panel session “New Money, New Strings: Taming Targeted Funds,” where we will discuss challenges and opportunities in managing targeted funds to ensure they serve their intended purpose effectively. #MaCo2024 #MaCoCon #SocialEquity #TamingTargetedFunds #MarylandCounties #PublicPolicy

Check out this blog from the 2024 Grantmakers for Effective Organizations Conference where Rebecca Hamburg, CDT’s Chief Network Officer, participated as a key panelist. This session titled “Philanthropy as Catalyst for Voter Engagement” dove into the importance of understanding legal rules, leveraging unique organizational strengths, and integrating community-led solutions for effective voter engagement. Click the link below to read Rebecca’s insights. https://lnkd.in/gpxJEvXY

Friends -- An epic battle is brewing in California's 18th congressional district -- where a dynamic Tribal Chairwoman is challenging the powerful 30-year incumbent member of Congress who has obstructed justice for her people, and who happens to be Big Tech's principal puppet in the Congress. That octogenarian incumbent takes ungodly sums of money from Big Tech -- earning her the nickname 'Big Money Zoe' -- while serving as Ranking Member of the House Science and Technology Committee, regularly thwarting any regulation of the industry. This at a time when Silicon Valley titans haven't been held accountable for the mental health impacts that their social media platforms have on children -- or for the human trafficking epidemic that has been enabled by their technologies. For decades, the incumbent has ignored Big Tech's gentrification of the Bay Area -- which poses an existential threat to the Tribe, which is being pushed from its 10,000 year-old homeland. And it's not just the Tribe's struggle that she has ignored. The Bay Area's affordability crisis has been driving San Jose's historic Chicano community out of the city as well -- with a housing shortage that has been created by exclusionary zoning policies. And it's more than just a David-vs-Goliath struggle between good and evil that's unfolding on the cul-de-sacs of Silicon Valley. It's also an enormous moment for the indigenous communities of North America who are demanding political liberation and yearning for change. Please join me in donating to her campaign: https://lnkd.in/epjxiXef

Check out this cool #osint database. You can track politicians, organizations, PACS, and so much more. LittleSis is a free database detailing the connections between powerful people and organizations. We bring transparency to influential social networks by tracking the key relationships of politicians, business leaders, lobbyists, financiers, and their affiliated institutions. We help answer questions such as: Who do the wealthiest Americans donate their money to? Where did White House officials work before they were appointed? Which lobbyists are married to politicians, and who do they lobby for? #pai #politics #money #data #unitedstates #publiclyavailableinformation