Advocacy Today: the need for high impact and transformative advocacy through community partnerships and innovation Bruce Uditsky, M.Ed. Chief Executive Officer Alberta Association for Community Living

Some Context Family governed values based advocacy organization for over 50 years Committed to a vision of inclusion, membership, relationships and normative pathways across the life-span Constituency based Receive no government funding for advocacy but receive government funding for many other activities Individual, political and social advocacy plus innovative services Have raised more than $2.5 million) in the last 4 years (current annual budget $3.3 million) Internationally recognized for leadership, social change, partnerships, clarity, family focus, innovations

The lives of people with disabilities and their families are not improving sufficiently or fast enough on almost any scale or measure relative to people without disabilities – loneliness, poverty and marginalization are systemic and pervasive Income Employment Education Health Housing Relationships

The most critical measure being the degree to which individuals live an inclusive life over the length and breadth of their life-span as an inclusive life is the most powerful means to the good life so ordinarily enjoyed by people without disabilities

AACL began to adopt noted high impact organizational qualities almost 20 years ago We are continuing to embed these qualities more deeply in every aspect of the organization and all new initiatives must align with these qualities We measure our success by the degree to which those qualities are evident and the change achieved individually and societally

Jossey-Bass 2008 Leslie Crutchfield Heather McLeod Grant

High Impact Non-profits (forces for good) Externally focused – catalysts for transformation Work outside the boundaries of their organization (whether historical or externally imposed) Obsessed with aligning actions with values/mission Focused on gaining leverage for systemic change Innovate/adapt – move in new directions Build capacity (beyond themselves) Relentless given the challenges

Six Practices Advocate and serve - grounded knowledge – better able to effect change, increased credibility - generating solutions, requires forging alliances while preserving integrity Engage the community – partner to leverage corporate power and resources, social entrepreneurship, choose the right fit, capitalize on and develop community capacity Inspire evangelists – communicating powerfully through inspiring stories that connect and engage, repeatedly articulate core values, media relations

Nurture non-profit networks – rapid response capacity, less bureaucratic, more adaptable (AACL is an organization of multi-layered networks), includes coalitions and alliances, can be empowered to act Master the art of adaptation – when to work collaboratively when to be disruptive, continuous process of adaptation while never losing sight of the “prize” – the bigger picture, test new ideas, focus on results Share leadership – leadership development, build and tap capacity for collective leadership, develop volunteer and top level leadership

Do whatever it takes, using multiple means, for as long as it takes – without ever compromising core values Choose creativity over structure – remain or become flexible, responsive, minimally bureaucratic or rule bound Unwavering commitment in the relentless pursuit of results in the face of almost insurmountable odds