Proposals

All Proposals (1-6) for May 2016 CC Meeting (or see PDF)

Proposal 2 – Rejuvenate Maine WTR Resource Center
Proposal 3 – Comic Book
Proposal 4 – Promote WTR during Campaign Nonviolence Action Week
Proposal 5 – Field Organizer/Enhanced Outreach (coming soon…)
Proposal 6 – Send rep to World Congress on Military and Social Spending in Berlin, and/or 2) That NWTRCC be listed as a partner for the Congress.

Proposal 1

Advertising, Round 2
From Erica Weiland

Allocate another $1,500 to advertising for the remainder of the fiscal year (through December 2016), to include Twitter, Facebook, e-mail, website, audio, and/or print advertising. Empower the current advertising committee, which I organize, to continue to evaluate and create ads for use in both paid and free advertising opportunities. (New committee members welcome!)

 Rationale

Advertising could support other proposals currently offered, or work as general promotion for NWTRCC.

This proposal creates an established funding source for Twitter/Facebook ads for the rest of the year. I have been funding Tax Day Twitter/Facebook ads this year out of an unused portion of the Days of War Tax Action budget. These ads typically consist of a “promoted post” from our Twitter or Facebook accounts rather than a specially created ad.

This outreach is valuable enough that we should have money in the budget set aside for it. A modest investment of even $200 in social media ads increases our following and potential audience significantly.

I am curious about investigating podcast advertising as well, which might be a good spur to revitalize our public service announcement collection too.

Report on Prior Advertising Funding

Thanks for funding the previous advertising proposal for $2,100. We came in approximately at budget, with $2,124.50 spent on ads in the print versions of The Progressive, Friends Journal, and Presente (SOAW), and the e-mail newsletters for National Catholic Reporter and Sojourners. (See chart below.)

We have some statistics about clickthrough rates for the e-mail newsletters, and some anecdotal evidence of a few calls and e-mails related to our ads. The Presente ad has not been published yet as of this proposal.

Of particular note is how low the Sojourners clickthrough rate was compared to the National Catholic Reporter. The NCR ads, at $400, were certainly more cost-effective for clickthroughs than the Sojourners ads at $500. There are several potential reasons for that (for example, many more people saw the NCR ad since it appeared 9 times, even though the ad was very small). Sojourners offered us an additional ad run in a small weekly newsletter, Verse & Voice, for free due to the low clickthrough, so hopefully this will increase our visibility a bit.

In particular, for future print ads, I would like to create separate QR codes for each print ad so we can count “clickthroughs” on print ads as well. Right now the ad QR codes just go straight to the website, and not through any shortened or redirected link that would allow us to track where the traffic is coming from. An ad that is too small to contain a QR code (as our Friends Journal ad was) is very difficult to track.

I welcome other ideas about how to track and increase ad engagement

Statistics from January-April advertising campaign (click to enlarge)

Advertising-Chart

Proposal 2

 Name of proposer: Ginny Schneider ginnyschneider@hotmail.com 207-221-2818

Title of proposal: Rejuvenation of Maine WTR Resource Center: A Model Project

Proposal: The Maine War Tax Resistance Resource Center requests $1000 to support the rejuvenation of the center in 2016.  This project can serve as a model for reviving formerly active groups and establishing new groups.

Background

For more than 30 years, Larry Dansinger and Karen Marysdaughter coordinated Maine’s WTR Resource Center from Monroe, Maine.  Larry has recently moved on and Karen works elsewhere.  They would like the WTR Resource Center to continue without their day-to-day involvement.

Historically, the center has provided support for the following activities in Maine:

  • Organizing an annual state gathering and workshop
  • Promoting tax day events
  • Encouraging Mainers to attend the annual New England WTR gathering
  • Providing WTR counseling

Participation at WTR activities and events has dwindled in recent years, so an effort to rebuild the WTR network and reach out to potential new WT resisters is needed.

Ginny Schneider, a WT resister since 1985, has recently moved to Portland, ME.  She has been a longtime participant in WTR activism from leafleting at post offices on tax day to serving on the Administrative Committee of the National War Tax Resistance Coordinating Committee (NWTRCC).  She is in the process of investigating opportunities to re-establish a space for the Meg Perry Center, a recently closed peace and social justice office in Portland.  Such a space would be ideal for increasing visibility for WTR in the state.  However, if this space does not materialize Ginny’s apartment is located just off Forest Avenue two blocks from Rt. 295 in Portland.   This is a very central location in the largest population center in Maine.  In addition, other opportunities to set up shop in other office spaces, particularly those focused on youth empowerment, are plentiful in Portland.

Given the extensive commitment of time required to rejuvenate a group and create a visible presence of WTR as a method for resisting war, work at the local and regional level has been difficult to sustain.  The model presented here is one of a very part-time paid organizer who can coordinate activities and raise support to mobilize WT resisters, and reach out beyond the WTR community particularly to youth, the peace community and the public in general to increase the visibility and practice of WTR.  The thought is that, with an infusion of a couple of small grants (a total of $1750 in 2016 and $1000 in 2017) NWTRCC would be able to help such an effort begin and reach sustainability through development of local support over the long run.

Funding Raised to Date

Between December and February, a total of over $2600 has been secured to support establishing the Maine WTR Resource Center in Portland.  NWTRCC provided $750.  Maine’s Resources for Organizing Social Change (ROSC) has contributed close to $1200 and the former Maine WTR Center has $700 available. A major donation has just been pledged which requires raising the match.

Historically, American Friends Service Committee (AFSC) has provided several thousand dollars occasionally to youth and militarism work in Maine.  Currently, AFSC’s New England Regional Director Keith Harvey is personally seeking support for youth and militarism work in Maine.  This funding would support the purchase of tabling materials and training for people recruited to talk with students in Maine’s schools.

Proposal
The proposal is to re-establish Maine’s WTR Resource Center in Portland, Maine.  The work in 2016 will focus on re-engaging WT resisters and reaching out to potential new WT resisters to build participation in 2017 tax day events and 2017 statewide gathering/workshop.  2016 activities geared toward outreach will include:

  • Tabling at two large Maine-wide festivals including the Common Ground Fair staffed partially by Ginny (2 days) and by volunteers (4 days). Larry Dansinger has already confirmed as one volunteer.
  • Encouraging participating in tax day events. To date, 12 cities and towns throughout Maine have pledged to leaflet, table and/or hold a penny poll during tax season.
  • WTR counseling.
  • Convening a Maine youth and militarism committee. AFSC is currently considering support for the committee.  This project would involve tabling at schools and include WTR materials.
  • Organizing transportation, lodging and food for WT resisters and potential WT resisters to attend the 2016 October New England WTR gathering.
  • Setting up a Maine WTR Resource Center web presence and social media outreach.

Rationale (please explain how this proposal will further the work of WTR):

This proposal furthers WTR work by:

  • Testing a model of building the awareness and practice of WTR in a specific geographic area.
  • Establishing a Maine WTR Resource Center in the largest population center in the state of Maine.
  • Providing some staffing time for the center.
  • An emphasis on outreach to WTRs and potential WTRs, particularly youth.
  • Providing WTR visibility during tax season to make the connection between taxes and supporting the military-industrial complex, through an office presence in Portland, in the schools and at large statewide events.
  • Connecting WTRs and potential WTRs with the annual New England gathering to provide education and support.

Implementation:

Since three sources of funding came available in February (February 1 was the start date of the new Maine WTR Resource Center) and March (NWTRCC ($750), ROSC, Maine WTR Resource Center), work has begun on:

  • Planning and encouraging April tax day actions throughout the state of Maine. Since participation in these activities had dwindled to 5-6 participants annually statewide, the goal is at minimum to double this number in 2016 and increase it two and half time to 18 locations in 2017.  Currently leafleting, tabling and/or penny polls are pledge to occur at 12 locations throughout Maine with a total of 22 people committed to participate and others tentatively available.
  • NWTRCC has set up an “under construction” web page for the Maine WTR Resource Center.
  • Basic organization set up tasks such as seeking space, setting up a credit union account and an email address, and purchasing office supplies has occurred.
  • A pledge for a matching grant has been received and requests for the match have been emailed.
  • A proposal to the Conscience and Military Tax Campaign has been submitted.
  • Calls about additional funding have been occurred.
  • The contact list has been updated by emailing all the contacts and phoning most of them. Additional organizations including many of the Quaker meetings have been added.

Budget:

Staff (2 days at festivals (10 hrs./day including travel time) plus
an avg. of 1 hr./wk. for 48 wks. for activities listed above
(total of  74 hrs./$30 hr.))		 2220
Telephone ($20/month for 11 months starting in Feb. plus phone) 260
Tabling fees (3 festivals) 225
WTR tabling materials 250
Printing  (pro bono from ROSC) 0
Travel (500 miles x 2 events, lodging (no cost due to couch surfing or housing provided by local WTR) and food ($30/day x 2 days) 350
Office rent (pro bono from Ginny Schneider (GS)) 0
Social media expenses (e.g. web page fee, hootsuite Pro, camera) 295
NWTRCC affiliate fee 100
Postage and office supplies 200
Annual New England Gathering participation (pro bono GS) 0
Total 3900

Additional youth and militarism funding to cover materials and training expenses from AFSC likely will total $2000-3000.  Other funds beyond the budget above will be raised to augment WTR counseling, staff time, office rent, and organizing youth and militarism tables in the Maine school system.

Proposal 3

Name of Proposers: Comic Book Committee: David Gross, Rick Bickhart, Jason Rawn, Cathy Deppe, Erica Weiland

Title of Proposal: Produce a Comic book as an outreach tool

Proposal: NWTRCC will produce a four-page color comic book suitable to use as an outreach and education handout at rallies, marches, Tax Day tabling, and other such events.  This comic will introduce war tax resistance as an everyday, antiwar, direct action tactic that makes more of a splash than the usual tired tactics. It will briefly note a variety of ways people resist effectively, and will highlight some of the advantages of the organized war tax resistance movement (mutual insurance via the penalty fund, NWTRCC’s WTR counselors, organized redirection). It will give contact info for NWTRCC and will include a space for affiliates to add their own contact info.

Implementation: The existing comic book proposal committee will continue as a comic book creation committee, which will solicit feedback from the network, Ad Comm, and literature committee at each stage of the project, and obtain approval from the Ad Comm and literature committee at each stage.  The comic book committee will be empowered to create and finalize the storyboard, select an illustrator to design it, and produce print and online versions of the comic book by the end of 2016. We will select an illustrator who will allow us to have full intellectual property rights to the comic and to reproduce it royalty-free (and of course they will be appropriately credited).

Budget: NWTRCC will budget $3,500 for artwork, printing, and distribution (details and breakdown coming). Right now we have highly varying illustrator quotes, ranging from $350 to over $2,000. We have set a budget of $3,500 to cover a potential higher end of illustrator costs, plus printing and distribution expenses, but there are many illustrators who may be a good fit for us who will charge less, and we will look for the best fit of cost, artistic style, and ability to work with us.

An example of a potential storyboard is available here.

Proposal 4

Proposer: Rick Bickhart, NWTRCC point person to Campaign Nonviolence

Title of Proposal: Promote the Campaign Nonviolence (CNV) Action Week for WTR actions

Proposal: Campaign Nonviolence, which NWTRCC endorsed last fall, put out this call:

We invite people and organizations in the U.S. and worldwide to take action during CNV Action Week, Sunday, September 18 to Sunday, Sept. 25, 2016, including on the International Day of Peace, Wednesday, September 21. Together we will join our voices from around the planet to support a global nonviolent shift!

During Campaign Nonviolence Week, September 18-25, our goal is 500 marches for a culture of peace and nonviolence in cities and towns in all 50 states and in nations around the world, Campaign Nonviolence will march against violence and for a world of  peace, justice and sustainability.  During Campaign Nonviolence Week, we will connect the dots between war, poverty, racism, climate change, and all forms of violence —and join forces to work for a culture of peace.

Plan a march and other nonviolent actions such as vigils, rallies and more!  Let us know that you will be planning a nonviolent action during CNV Action Week and we’ll add your information to [our website listings – groups fill out a form on the Campaign website and the events will post on their site].

This proposal is that NWTRCC consultants put out a call to our network to participate during the CNV Action week under the Divest from the Pentagon/Invest in People slogan – either sponsor your own vigil locally or join what other groups are doing —  but carry our signs/banners/cards and  be visible as a WTR or WTR group. This is not to plan a national WTR action but to call for local activists/groups to plan their own actions.

NWTRCC will also list these actions on our website and link to the CNV week listings.

Rational: Given that the Campaign is promoting the actions, we can take part in their week but also use it as a time for WTRs to get out to do even a simple action in the fall. As a Campaign endorser we should also do something and promoting the Action Week is a good thing to do.

Budget: We can offer materials to those who decide to do something during this week within the current budget. Assuming the funds are available, we could print signs or banners for any actions that include WTR.

Consultant time would be for online promotion, notices in newsletter, network contacts – nothing too out of the ordinary. We would seek a volunteer or intern to help with this.

Proposal 5

Proposer: Fundraising Committee Members – Ruth, Erica, Ginny, Rick, Jason

Title: Field Organizer(s) – for outreach to local groups and college students

Fundraising Committee has discussed various options related to a field organizer(s), traveling speakers, in-person outreach around the country. This proposal, adapted from Karl Meyer’s 2006 & 2013 proposal on this theme, serves as a framework for discussion toward a decision at the May meeting. Ideas and input are welcome. And, thanks, Karl!

PURPOSE:

1) Outreach and strengthening of local WTR groups;

2) Outreach beyond present WTRs, especially to college students and other young people and to new communities where NWTRCC contacts are weak

PROPOSAL:

  • select and hire a half -time (six months per year, flexibly scheduled ) traveling organizer to visit a selection of NWTRCC affiliate groups or WTR contacts, and with their help arrange outreach meetings at area colleges or other promising venues.
  • or, select and fund freelance regional outreach people to do the same

RATIONALE:

With a new grant from craigslist, we can attempt something we’ve talked about for years: getting someone, or ones, on the road and visiting our affiliates, associate groups, members, and/or contacts and friends around the country. A concerted effort at field organizing, even short-term, would give us the sense of the potential for in-person outreach and further grant-writing and investment in such a position. Personal meetings will also give us a stronger sense of our network and what types of outreach, programs, themes, or materials are successful as far as WTR organizing goes.

Karl argued in his original proposal that “an articulate and personable traveling field organizer is the most effective way of building the communication and strength of a national network organization.  A traveling organizer’s visit offers local groups an event around which to focus local outreach to people who might be interested in our ideas. The organizer also carries news for dialogue with local groups about the ideas, strategies and organizing methods of the national network and of other local groups. The traveler can inspire and energize local groups. …an effective traveling organizer who speaks convincingly generates more income for an organization than the costs of the position.”

SELECTION:

Create a job description(s) that would include these elements:

  • Familiarize field organizer(s) with NWTRCC network and meet in person with Coordinator
  • Work in conjunction with Coordinator, Social Media Consultant, Ad Comm (and/or a specific outreach committee) to set up a plan for visits and presentations in 5 regions in part to be determined by availability and interest of local organizers and potential for contacts on college campuses or in new communities
  • Making about 5 trips of 2-3 weeks each for meetings, programs, outreach in the region
  • Part of the work would be to establish the potential for further WTR organizing in that area to continue the field organizing work and/or establish a local group or regional organizer
  • Seeking out the possibility of honorariums to help with costs; keep an eye on potential fundraising opportunities to maintain field organizing work
  • Report regularly to the Coordinator and AdComm; attend NWTRCC gatherings to report

Proceed with an open search through applications, screening and a committee interview process to select an ideal candidate(s) for such a position.

BUDGET (based on 1 organizer):

The itinerary of a NWTRCC organizer could be arranged to allow for some flights and then inexpensive travel by bus from location to location. It also assumes home hospitality on the trips as opposed to hotels to keep the costs down.

The travel budget is based on about 5 trips of 2-3 weeks each – 5 round-trip flights averaging $350, plus $1,000 bus tickets.

The compensation of $15,000 for 6 months of mostly full-time work is partly based on the funds available from NWTRCC and an annual salary of $30,000. The $15,000 is flat rate for the full 6 months. If we end up hiring more than one person, that amount would be divided depending on the time involved for each person.

Travel  $3,000
Meals and miscellaneous at $25 per day (84 days x $25)
(assumes hospitality for most meals and local expenses)		 $2,100
Contract compensation – 26 weeks, flexible full time during travel weeks $15,000
Total  $20,100

 

Proposal 6

Name of Proposers: Ruth Benn

Title of Proposal: 1) Send NWTRCC Rep to World Congress on Military and Social Spending, Berlin, Germany, Sept. 30 – Oct 3., 2016, and/or 2) That NWTRCC be listed as a partner for the congress.

 Proposal: International conferences for the war tax resistance/peace tax campaign network have not happened for a few years. There are tentative plans for one in 2017 in Denmark apparently, but it is not clear that the network is very active.               Meanwhile, the International Peace Bureau, which is the kay sponsor behind the Global Day of Action on Military Spending, is holding a conference, and this notice came to us as part of the WTR/PTC network:

Dear friends of the Peace Tax Campaigns and War Tax Resisters,

From September 30 to Oktober 3 this year the International Peace Bureau will organize a World Congress on Military and Social Spending in Berlin, Germany: http://demilitarize.org/congress-2016

“The International Peace Bureau has worked for over 10 years to develop a program on Disarmament for Sustainable Development, with a primary topic being military and social spending. In 2011 we launched the Global Day of Action on Military Spending and in late 2014 a year-round Global Campaign on Military Spending. The IPB World Congress 2016 will be the next highlight of this campaign, bringing together a wide variety of experts, advocates and speakers from around the globe, and including talks, presentations, roundtables, panel discussions, workshops, information booths, exhibitions, and cultural activities.”

The aim of the IPB World Congress 2016 is to bring the issue of military spending, often seen as a technical question, into the broad public debate and to strengthen our global community of activism. The enormous global challenges of hunger, jobs and climate could be brought closer to a solution by real disarmament steps, steps that need to be clearly formulated and put into political reality.

The objectives of the World Congress go even beyond these specific challenges: they concern the connection between, on the one hand, the current global militarization and wars, and on the other, the need for a great transformation (see WBGU Flagship Report 2011 by German Advisory Council on Global Change). To put it bluntly, without overcoming militarism, a socio-ecological transformation with the goal of an equitable international social order will be a failure.

This dimension of social change has so far hardly been addressed, neither in the peace movements, nor in the transformation sciences nor in the social organizations that have such a transformation as their goal. This is the other specific challenge of the World Congress.

The themes of the congress you can find here: http://demilitarize.org/aims-themes
My proposal is to try to get the recognisition of consciencious objection to the military spending of tax money and the foundation of peace tax funds on the agenda of the congress. It would be from help if we could present them a speaker on this topic and have people in panel-discussions who can focus hereon.
There were interesting and good (academic) speakers at the previous two-yearly international conferences in the past, who we could ask.

I think this is a great opportunity to re-activate our goals and working and to get more people and organisations involved.

Dear friends, what do you think?

Cordialy, Jan Hellebaut
Aktie Vredesbelasting (VRAK), Belgium

Proposal: I responded positively to this email, without promising anything. But, it sounds like many of the same folks from the WTR/PTC conferences will be in Berlin, plus a somewhat wider network for us to meet. Not sure what will come of the speaker idea, although I did email with Colin Archer at IPB on that topic and could pursue contact as far as a panelist or speaker. Or Jan above may get something going.

Anyway, this proposal is just 1) to pay travel and registration/housing expense for a NWTRCC rep to the conference. Of course, anyone can sign up on their own also.

2) NWTRCC agree to partner on the Congress. Current partners include Friends of the Earth International, Pax Christi International, International Trade Union Confederation, Economists for Peace and Security, Muslim Peace Fellowship, and many more. https://www.ipb2016.berlin/partners/

Budget: We’ve been putting $500/year in the international travel account for the next WTR/PTC conference, so right now we have $1,500. We’ve budgeted another $500 for 2016, which could go toward the conference in 2017 if it happens.

NWTRCC could pay up to $1,500 to send a rep to Berlin. Hopefully less, but that would be the maximum.