This Fall we face a crucial presidential election with consequences that will directly affect the people and communities we serve as nonprofits. It has never been more important to make sure that nonprofit staff, volunteers, and constituents register to vote and get to the polls on election day. As a nonprofit leader, here are 5 things you can do to make that happen:

1) Remind your staff, volunteers and constituents to register to vote. In order to vote November 8th, voters must be registered by October 24th. It’s fast and simple to do online here. If someone is not sure about their registration status, they can go here to find out.

2) Spread the word about the importance of nonprofit voting power with free “I work at a nonprofit and I vote" and "I volunteer at a nonprofit and I vote” buttons, stickers and posters, available along with lots of other useful information on our Vote with Your Mission resource page.

3) Download and distribute outreach materials from this new toolkit provided by the California Secretary of State’s Democracy at Work Project, with resources like flyers, posters, paycheck inserts web banners, digital images for your website, and much more — all free and easy to use.

4) Apply to be a polling place. Contact your county elections office to find out how here. While you’re at it, let your volunteers and constituents know about the opportunities to be a poll worker -- information is here.

5) Urge your staff, volunteers, and constituents to read their ballots, get familiar with the issues they’re voting on, and find their polling locations -- this information is all customized right here for each voter in one convenient place, thanks to our partner Voter’s Edge.

AND THEN GET OUT AND VOTE -- because nonprofit votes count. There are nearly one million nonprofit employees in California and over five million volunteers. When nonprofits use our voting power, we advance our missions, make our voices heard and change the world for the better.

That's why CalNonprofits started our Vote with Your Mission campaign: to encourage nonprofits to mobilize their staff, volunteers and constituents as voters and for policymakers to appreciate the nonprofit community as a powerful voting force. Stay tuned for more helpful reminders, suggestions and resources in the weeks to come.