[nabs-l] Action Plan, Part 3

[Joe Orozco]

Dear all,

The current NABS board has done an excellent job of engaging the Affiliate
Action department at the National Center.  Joanne Wilson, Rosy Carranza and
to a certain degree, Jason Ewell, kidding, are great people to have on your
side, and there is no greater evidence of this collaboration than the
leadership seminar this past March.  Before Affiliate Action was born I
often thought of how easier things would be if we could have a staff person
dedicated to student affairs, but we have found that level of diligence and
dedicated service in the great resource that is Affiliate Action.

I would add two more parties to this core partnership, the National
Organization of Parents of Blind Children and the National Division for
Sports and Recreation.

The former organization is a long-term strategy move.  Where you find
parents of blind children, you find blind children, and up to this point no
student division has done anything worthwhile in the way of cultivating the
very young children who will one day be counted upon to first lead NABS and
then lead the organization at large.  Of course, if I am wrong, by all means
say so.  Otherwise, remember no child is too young to be counted upon to
help carry your message of equality forward to the masses.  The organization
I work for has seen scores of young children fulfilling major roles in
projects that are of tremendous benefit to their local communities.  If
there was ever a point when the observation that age ain't nothin' but a
number was ever more true, this would certainly be it.  If you engage the
parents, you engage the children.  If you engage the children, you secure
the future of your movement, and nothing should be more important to a
leader than the preservation of his or her hard work.

The second organization is a short-term benefit.  By default, sports and
recreation will naturally attract younger audiences.  The NFB philosophy is
a good philosophy, but there are times when the philosophy cannot
independently attract and retain dynamic members.  Therefore, you use
activities people might otherwise be doing on their own to show that: 1)
that there is more to the NFB than endless meetings; and 2) that the members
of the NFB are just as prone to having a good time as anyone else, to
effectively prove that NFB members are human first and advocates second.

There are multiple reasons for why this triangle of divisions should
solidify into a clearly defined coalition.  You may think of others, but I
can tell you that in the positive chaos that is National Convention one
division ought to be able to count on the strengths of the other's members
to speak to that division's target audience.  For instance, at a parents'
seminar the participants may find it inspiring to listen to a mother speak
of how she raised her daughter to be as independent and self-sufficient as
possible, but think of how much of an impact it would drive home to have a
current college student speak to the parents of how her mother raised her to
be independent and self-sufficient.  A NABS meeting might very well be
invigorated by the animated story of a blind judoka who went on to excel at
a Paralympics tournament.  These cross-divisional presentations occasionally
happen at National Convention, but there is not much substance to this
alliance beyond the sharing of speakers and the recruitment of volunteers to
carry out things like the Braille Carnival.

In a previous installment you may recall my mentioning membership databases.
With a coalition of these three divisions you work together to build a
massive database shared by all three groups.  NABS collects the names of
fellow students.  Parents use this data to communicate with the parents of
these students.  Parents collect data from their children's teachers.  NABS
uses the contact data for these teachers to reach out to even more students.
NABS collects data on DSS offices across the country based on the
contributions of its students.  NABS uses these DSS contacts to promote NABS
events.  Students themselves use these DSS contacts to learn more about a
university they may be interested in attending.  Sports and recreation
collects data from athletic clubs, recreation centers and relevant
organizations working with persons with disabilities.  Both the parents and
NABS use this data to build a killer state seminar with the added benefit of
recreation to attract larger audiences.

Were I able to draw a diagram for you via e-mail, I would show you the many
different relationships that could evolve from these interconnected lines,
but the point is this: You cannot get far in your advocacy efforts without a
wide and interactive network, and you cannot hope for an interactive network
if records are not kept of all the people you and your membership come
across in a myriad of situations.  The second point is that these divisions
are so related in their mission that it only makes sense for there to be a
presence in each other's forums, list-serves, boards and events.  At
minimum, there should be a liaison to the other two boards in each of these
divisions so that all three divisions can maintain an open channel of
communication.  I understand there is not a parent division or chapter of
Sports and Recreation in every state.  In truth, you do not need one.  You
just need two individuals, on or off the board, who would be willing to work
with the boards at the national levels to ensure there is an exchange of
data to help strengthen the divisions all around.

In my opinion, this is the only way state student divisions will generate
success in creating regional seminars.  I have seen several states attempt
to host regional seminars, and it is my opinion that they ultimately fail
because they are relying too much on other students to make the event a
success.  Never forget the the average college student, blind or sighted, is
inherently lazy, and so to offset this discouraging factor, you need to
supplement your agenda with the strengths and talents of people in other
groups to lend your regional activity higher levels of credibility and
appeal.  Lazy students can be broken out of their lethargy.

Finally, there is the development component to this proposal.  We'll leave
straight talk on fundraising for another time, but the more you expand the
scope of an event, the larger your base for potential sponsorship and
donations.  I previously said Sports and Recreation would be good for
short-term benefits.  I believe this because although an athletic activity
is witnessing the NFB philosophy in action, it is only the frosting on the
cake.  A goal ball tournament alone will not convince blind people that they
can be all they want to be.  A goal ball tournament held in conjunction with
a student/parent seminar will allow participants to see both ends of the
spectrum, and a goal ball tournament would also open doors for support by
local businesses that may not readily understand the benefits of an
educational seminar but could see the advantages of being associated with an
athletic competition.  People who would not have normally turned out for an
educational seminar alone may very well come out to participate in the one
while checking out the other.  Each of the three divisions would lure three
distinct target populations.  Ultimately they are all working to recruit
members into the larger movement.  The broader your base, the wider your
network, and the wider your network, the better the likelihood of
establishing contacts in a myriad of industries.  You never know when
someone's father may work at a printing shop that could help your division
print shirts at a discounted rate, etc.

This type of collaboration would ultimately benefit groups at the state
level.  Yet, it is the type of collaboration that needs to be ignited at the
national level.  An example needs to be set of how the interactions would
function so that state-level divisions can take their cues in planning
activities and/or campaigns at a local level.

Now, this is only the internal core partnership.  These do not include the
non-NFB entities that could equally be of benefit to the growth of your
division.  Delta Gamma and the Lions Club are said to possess a willingness
to work with the blind population.  If this is true, put them to the test.
Begin at the national level.  Draw up an official memorandum of
understanding of how NABS and the other organization will agree to work
together, and when the agreement has been established, let the benefits of
that alliance trickle down to benefit the state-level student divisions.
You may already be familiar with Delta Gamma's desire to work with the blind
but may be at a loss as to how a sorority could help you spread word of the
NFB philosophy.  Who ever said anything about them playing a direct role in
spreading word of the philosophy?  If nothing else, they may very well prove
useful in the logistics of an event such as providing transportation to
people to and from an airport.  You need drivers.  They need volunteer
hours, and while I am by no means claiming that a partnership with Delta
Gamma would be that shallow, it is only one example of the mutual benefit
such an arrangement would provide.  A formal agreement is one more layer of
validity to the student division which a corporation will look on favorably
when it comes time to determine whether or not they are interested in
investing in your project.  The more organizations and companies with whom
you can establish a formal working relationship, the more you legitimize
your operations to someone who may not know a thing about the NFB and what
it stands for.

A core partner is one with whom you spend time cultivating a long-term
relationship.  Their mission and vision is similar to your own, and joining
forces is nothing more than a natural occurrence in the pursuit of your
individual objectives.  This is why it has not been uncommon for the NFB and
Kurzweil to collaborate on technological issues.  These types of
partnerships are different from partners of interest in that a partner of
interest is specifically used to leverage influence over an issue or
activity.  Bank of America may become a partner of interest in that its
donation to your organization is specifically geared at improving local
neighborhood initiatives.  They have a philosophy of philanthropy.  You fit
that philosophy, and ultimately it is you who serve as the vehicle to carry
out Bank of America's philanthropic vision.

My final word on partnerships has less to do with the establishment of
alliances and more about visibility.  If NABS proclaims to be the leading
organization of blind students, it needs to live up to the moniker.  This
means going out to conferences, participating in workshops, having a
presence on committees and generally inserting yourself into everything and
anything that may touch on blind students.  I do not know what the status
may be these days, but there was at least a time when the NFB was not fond
of positions taken by the AER.  To be fair, members of the AER weren't
exactly amused with activities going on in the NFB.  In Texas, however, our
student division began enjoying a decent relationship with the organization.
We were invited year after year to host a workshop as part of their annual
state conference, and as a result of this cordial relationship we were able
to reach parents and teachers simultaneously.  It did not matter to us that
at the national level there were differences about accreditation.  What
mattered was that we could share our resources and ultimately help people at
a very basic level.

I understand there has been hesitation by some members of the NFB to
participate in cross-disability events.  This is foolish.  Blindness may not
be seen as a typical disability by the NFB philosophy, but the general
public sees blindness as a disability.  The general public is attracted to
activities that are sometimes geared at all disabilities, and we are losing
the opportunity to be seen at these events where blind students might be
found and told about our message.  I often hear about how difficult it is to
find other blind students.  To this sad sentiment I say you should not be
afraid to spread your wings a little.  Make yourself a part of some
coalitions out there, and you may be surprised at how much easier it is to
recruit members for your specific cause.  To be honest, I think sending NABS
board members to key conferences would be more advantageous than sending
them to state conventions as student representatives.  If you can increase
the board member's educational base, promote NABS and make new contacts for
the organization all at one event, your dollars will carry you a lot farther
in the long run.

Much of what I have written here I learned from working outside of the
blindness field.  I have seen partners excel and partnerships crash in
various special interests, and I have carefully studied the factors that
resulted in both cases.  Those partnerships that are still thriving today
are based on the very same fundamentals that have been a common theme in the
three installations you have now read.

To be continued...

Joe Orozco

"A man who wants to lead the orchestra must turn his back on the
crowd."--Max Lucado
 

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