Participating in the celebration were longtime CalNonprofits’ supporter Fred Ali of the Weingart Foundation, new City Councilmember Bob Blumenfield, John Szabo, L.A. City Librarian, and Kafi Blumenfield and Michele Prichard from the Liberty Hill Foundation – a new sustaining member of CalNonprofits.

They were joined by nonprofit leaders including Chris Essel, Southern California Grantmakers; Regina Birdsell and Belinda Teitel, the Center for Nonprofit Management; and CPP Civic Engagement Partners (and CalNonprofit Members) – Danielle Brazell from Arts for LA and Raquel Beltran from the League of Women Voters Los Angeles as well as Rafe Sonenshein from the Pat Brown Institute and representatives from California Common Cause, NALEO, Asian Americans Advancing Justice and the LA County Registrar-Recorder’s Office.

CalNonprofits and California Participation Project Join Forces

August 7, 2013 - The California Participation Project (CPP) and the California Association of Nonprofits (CalNonprofits) today announced that they are joining forces, with CPP moving under the auspices of CalNonprofits. "Finding a strong, statewide home for the California Participation Project fulfills our original dream of several years ago,” commented founder and project leader Sarah Pillsbury. Pillsbury, a film producer and a founder of the Liberty Hill Foundation joined the board of CalNonprofits in 2012.

The California Participation Project -- which helps nonprofits mobilize their constituents as voters -- is a natural partner to Vote with Your Mission, the CalNonprofits’ initiative that focuses on bringing nonprofit staff and volunteers into voter and civic engagement. The programs will combine, representing a long-term commitment for CalNonprofits to voter registration, education, and mobilization.

"The League of Women Voters Los Angeles is excited that the California Participation Project has found a home within CalNonprofits," says CPP Advisory Board member Raquel Beltran, the Executive Director of the League of Women Voters of Los Angeles. "This merger represents an exciting opportunity to strengthen the nonprofit organizations and communities that we serve and to get more people engaged in voting."

As part of the agreement, CalNonprofits will assume the role of California affiliate to the national network Nonprofit VOTE, based in Boston, which is the leading source of nonpartisan resources to help nonprofits integrate voter engagement into their ongoing activities and services.

"The work that CPP has done is a testament to Sarah's leadership in bringing together volunteers, foundations and individual donors to launch and grow this important effort," commented CalNonprofits CEO Jan Masaoka. "Communities know and trust their local nonprofits, making nonprofits a strategic vehicle for increasing voter participation.

As CPP becomes fully integrated into CalNonprofits, developments will be announced through the CalNonprofits website and e-news.

For more information:
Jan Masaoka, contact by email or phone: 415.926.0034
Sarah Pillsbury, contact by email or phone: 310.200.1560