Based upon member feedback, we are excited to bring back some legislative outreach. There are two events happening on February 18. Whether you can participate in person to visit your legislator or need to stay close to home, you can hear from several organizations in a policy briefing online that afternoon.
We are collaborating with the WV Nonprofit Association on a Philanthropy and Nonprofit Policy Day at the Legislature Wednesday, February 18.
If you would like to sign up for in person meetings with your legislators, please use this link. We will provide talking points, make appointments (if you provide advance notice) and conduct follow up outreach. If you can’t participate in person, we will provide email templates so members can share the same information and demonstrate our community’s impact. Share your thoughts on the topics we should focus on even if you can’t attend in person. We value your input.
There will be a focus on the Neighborhood Investment Program, which sunsets June 30, 2026 and an overview of the important work taking place within the philanthropy community.
Following the morning’s activities, Philanthropy West Virginia will host a virtual policy briefing. Speakers include representatives from the West Virginia Center on Budget and Policy, Mountain State Justice, and West Virginia Citizen Action Group. They will share coordinated legal, policy, and grassroots strategies to engage West Virginians on issues that most directly impact their lives. Please register here!
Topics to be discussed: Sustaining Public Schools: Through Together for Public Schools WV, more than a dozen organizations have come together to address inequities in school funding that have led to unprecedented rural school closures and underfunded classrooms. In communities across the state, parents, teachers, and organizations are fighting back to save their schools and chart a better path forward.
Health Care Changes: Our rural communities are slated to be disproportionately impacted by federal cuts to Medicaid and SNAP, programs our people rely on for health coverage and food assistance as well as jobs. In many rural places, the hospital or clinic is among the largest employers. Together, our organizations have been working in rural communities to help prepare residents for changes, in some cases, with the future of rural hospitals and health care at risk if federal policy changes are not rolled back.
Criminal Law Reform Advocacy: Over the last decade, West Virginia has had the distinction of housing the deadliest jails in the country. Our partners have come together with incarcerated West Virginians, their loved ones, and concerned family members to address emerging issues and advance meaningful change, including on access to medical care, parole practices, food quality, and the use of solitary confinement, through grassroots organizing, legislative change, and systematic litigation.
I hope you’ll mark your calendars for this important date!