What is Blueprint North Carolina?

Blueprint NC is a partnership of more than 40 progressive state-level nonprofits dedicated to achieving a better, fairer, healthier North Carolina.

Some of our partners work on policy development, some on issue advocacy, some on grassroots organizing. All are committed to improving the common good by pursuing an integrated communications and civic engagement strategy. In many different ways we share resources, collaborate on plans and make joint strategies to get the most from our time and money.

We got started in 2005 when a group of nonprofits started exploring ways to achieve greater victories by working together. The group grew, and we have raised funds and hired a small staff to coordinate our work.

We are not a separate nonprofit, but are housed at the NC Justice Center http://www.ncjustice.org in Raleigh where we have the advantage of their administrative and progressive policy strength. The Justice Center is the employer of Blueprint staff and the formal recipient of grants and contributions made for Blueprint’s work.

We’re for the common good.

Our goal is to influence NC state policy so that people here benefit from more progressive policies such as better access to health care, higher wages, more affordable housing, a safer, cleaner environment, and freedom from discrimination.

We are determined to change the public policy debate in this state, and are dedicated to becoming more effective speakers and writers about progressive ideas and values. We are determined to be more effective in engaging citizens in the public dialogue, because we believe that the strongest democracy hears from all people, not just those with the loudest voices or the shiniest megaphones.

Our values are rooted in North Carolina.

Blueprint NC’s partner organizations are driven by the shared values of justice, equality, responsibility, fairness, community, opportunity, shared prosperity, democracy, and hope. We represent a wide range of issues, including environmental protection, combating poverty, advancing civil rights and personal freedoms, and voter-owned elections.

We know that nonprofit organizations are uniquely positioned to increase civic participation and improve public policy because we already have relationships and credibility with the members, clients, and communities we serve. We are building the capacity of our nonprofits to more fully engage their constituents in the issues that affect their lives.

Blueprint is its 40+ nonprofit partners, and the list of partners keeps growing.

We want to show the best North Carolina can be.

We’re well aware that there are powerful and well-funded forces who believe all problems arise from individual choices. They think the American way is every one for him- or herself. We hear them claiming every day to be the voice of the average person, but we know their policies are those of narrow self-interest, not the common good.

North Carolina is better than that, and at the best times in her history we have been very proud—such as when Terry Sanford led in the integration of schools in the 1960s. In comparison to other Southern states we have been leaders in economic prosperity, technology, higher education and election reform, to name a few.

But we can do even better.

How does Blueprint North Carolina work?

Blueprint partner groups work together to increase our individual and collective capacity to communicate, organize, and activate our constituencies to build a better state.

Blueprint focuses on creating economies of scale across all participating nonprofits – investing in tools and resources that no single nonprofit can access on their own. These include shared training, shared message development, and a collaborative approach to public affairs through shared calendaring and strategy development.

In 2008, Blueprint supports a collaborative strategy across many of its partners to increase voter participation - a key ingredient of civic engagement.

What separates us from more traditional coalitions is our shared long-term commitment to this multifaceted work.

Governance

Decisions about the direction of Blueprint NC’s work are made by a Steering Committee of seasoned and committed nonprofit leaders who represent a range of issues:

Brian Buzby, Executive Director, NC Conservation Network

Chris Estes, Executive Director, NC Housing Coalition

Chris Fitzsimon, Executive Director, NC Policy Watch

Paige Johnson, VP for Advocacy, Planned Parenthood of Central NC

Melinda Lawrence, Executive Director, NC Justice Center

Mary Mountcastle, Senior Fellow, Center for Community Self-Help

Ian Palmquist, Executive Director, Equality NC

Abdul Rasheed, Executive Director, NC Community Development Initiative

Brad Thompson, Executive Director, NC Alliance of Black Elected Officials

Debra Tyler-Horton, Deputy Director, NC Justice Center

For More Information

For more information, contact:

Julie Mooney, Director: (919) 861-0609 or Julie Mooney

Stephanie Bass, Communications Coordinator: (919) 861-0607 or Stephanie Bass

Erin Byrd, Civic Engagement Coordinator: (919) 861-0605 or Erin Byrd