NAWBO-CA Leaders:

Over the past month, your NAWBO-CA Board has been asked about endorsing a Congressional Candidate and has been asked about supporting a state bill.  Your Board takes these "asks" very seriously, and we are committed to judiciously vetting such requests.  The fact is, as influencers of public policy, OUR VOICE MATTERS, but as your Board has stated with these requests, our VOICE MATTERS when the process begins, not at the end of the process.

At our September Board Retreat and strategic planning meeting, we plan to spend time putting together Public Policy Administrative Guidelines to help the Board and its Chapter leaders in addressing requests to take a position on public policy matters.  What your NAWBO-CA Board has made clear:

- We are a non-partisan organization; therefore, while  NAWBO National may endorse candidates for political  office, NAWBO-CA will not 

- NAWBO-CA may take a position on a bill, which could  include a support or oppose position. NAWBO-CA may  also choose not to take a position; if we choose not to  take a position, we will document that decision as well,  so that we send a message that NAWBO-CA is engaged  in the process. We are hopeful that our "No Position" will  send a message to legislators to ask NAWBO-CA to be  a part of the process early on to ensure that the bill is in  the best interest of growing California businesses. 

- NAWBO-CA seeks to be consulted on public policy  matters in the beginning of the process, not in a "rushed"  fashion when an organization is seeking to gather  support for a vote to happen in "days."  However,  NAWBO-CA has adopted the Public Policy priorities of  California Small Business Association at   www.csba.org  and seeks to align itself with positions 

 taken by CSBA, thus the Board can more efficiently  address requests to take a position.

As I shared in my first newsletter, our objective is to not just "say" we influence public policy, but to be intentional about doing so, and to document the results.  Over the next two months, I encourage Chapter leaders and your public policy team to be deliberate about educating your members about the elections that are happening in your local area, statewide and nationally. In a non-partisan fashion, make sure your membership knows who is on the ballot and what they are saying about businesses.  If you have some best practices about what you are doing on public policy, give us an opportunity to showcase that best practice in the October and November newsletters and come to the September Board Retreat prepared to share.  If there is a public policy matter that your chapter believes NAWBO-CA members need to be educated about, please do not hesitate to send that information to the NAWBO-CA board for distribution.  

If you have questions or need clarity on a public policy matter, your NAWBO-CA Public Policy Director, Tamara Badkerhanian-Ganev, or the Public Policy Co-Director, Diane de Mailly would be happy to speak to you.

I hope that I will see some of you in Columbus, Ohio later this month and most of you at the September Board Retreat and Strategic Planning session.  Have an amazing September and Happy Fall!

With best regards,

 

Hilda Kennedy

President