Advocacy Resources

Links

1000 Friends of Wisconsin
Link: www.1kfriends.org
A nonprofit corporation that provides information on the benefits of sound land use planning and advocates for land use policy that protects diverse communities. Includes extensive information on Smart Growth.

Brookings Institution
Link: www.brookings.edu
Site offers research and policy papers on a variety of issues including urban development and other socioeconomic topics.

Center for Self-Determination
Link: www.self-determination.com
Working collaborative that promotes self-determination for individuals with disabilities. Offers publications, links to related national and state-level organizations.

Center on Wisconsin Strategy
Link: www.cows.org
COWS is a research, policy and outreach center that promotes "high-road" public policies. Reports available on living wages, environmental sustainability, strong communities, public accountability.

Community Investment Network
Link: www.communityinvestmentnetwork.org
Site offered as a public service by National Community Reinvestment Coalition. Offers opportunities to share useful news, research data, commentary and perspectives related to advancing community development and building healthy communities.

Consortium for Citizens with Disabilities
Link: www.c-c-d.org
A coalition of 100 disabilities organizations advocating for public policy that ensures self-determination, empowerment and inclusion of people with disabilities in all aspects of U.S. society. Site contains link to Opening Doors, a publication covering housing issues.

Funders' Network for Smarth Growth and Livable Communities
Link: www.fundersnetwork.org
Non-partisan, nonprofit organization that works to inspire, strengthen and expand funders' ability to support organizations that seek to improve communities through better development decisions and growth policies. Resources include research results and a calendar of Smart Growth conferences and events.

Habitat for Humanity
Link: www.habitat.org
Information about Habitat's work and how to get involved.

Homes for Working Families
Link: www.homesforworkingfamilies.org
National nonprofit dedicated to advancing policy changes to improve housing prospects for working families. Site demonstrates the magnitude of the housing affordability challenge and highlights effective ways to address the crisis.

HomeWords
Link: facstaff.uww.edu/homewords
A resource center for those working in direct service to homeless families and children. Topics include parenting while homeless, helping clients plan for the future, and the relationship between advocacy and service provision. Offers links to topic-related information.

Housing Assistance Council
Link: www.ruralhome.org
National nonprofit offers technical and financial assistance aimed at improving housing for low income people in rural areas of the United States.

IndependenceFirst
Link: www.independencefirst.org
As a member of the National Council on Independent Living, provides advocacy, independent living sktills training, information, referral and peer support programs to people with disabilities, their families, businesses and others. Serves Milwaukee, Waukesha, Ozaukee and Washington counties.

Knowledge Plex
Link: www.knowledgeplex.org
Gathers information from a wide variety of sources on topics related to housing and community development. Timely information on "hot topics" in the field. Also includes a toolkit for overcoming community resistance to affordable housing.

La Follette School of Public Affairs
Link: www.lafollette.wisc.edu
Research section includes research and policy papers by faculty and students on a variety of economic, social and political issues. Some publications available online.

Movin' Out, Inc.
Link: www.movin-out.org
Movin' Out serves Wisconsin households having a member with a permanent disability. Services include information, comprehensive housing counseling, and gap financing.

National Coalition for the Homeless
Link: www.nationalhomeless.org
Site includes information on legislative and policy issues, legislative alerts, and fact sheets on various aspects of homelessness.

National Community Reinvestment Coalition
Link: www.ncrc.org
Nonprofit that works to increase flow of capital to underserved communities and regions. Tracks legislation and provides data collected under the Community Reinvestment Act and the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act. Provides technical assistance and other resources such as an "anti-predatory lending toolkit" and a model financial literacy program.

National Housing Conference
Link: www.nhc.org
The National Housing Conference is a nonprofit membership organization that works to advance the causes of community development and affordable housing through research, policy development and raising awareness of housing need. Their research affiliate, the Center for Housing Policy, maintains the Paycheck to Paycheck database, which presents wage information, home prices and rents for more than 200 metropolitan areas.

National Housing Trust
Link: www.nhtinc.org
Dedicated to preservation of federally assisted housing. Offers training, technical assistance and predevelopment loans to governments and nonprofits seeking to save properties at risk of conversion to market-rate housing.

National Low Income Housing Coalition
Link: www.nlihc.org
The premier site for housing advocacy. Provides current information on housing legislation and other issues, as well as housing statistics and a comprehensive links page.

National Resource Center on Homelessness and Mental Illness
Link: www.nrchmi.samhsa.gov
Covers the full range of issues related to homelessness and mental illness, with significant content on housing.

Rocky Mountain Institute
Link: www.rmi.org
Fosters responsible use of resources to promote sustainability. "Buildings and Land" section includes case studies on green development projects and links to information on green building techniques. Publications related to green development also offered for sale.

Smart Growth Online
Link: www.smartgrowth.org
Web-based catalogue of Smart Growth-related news, events, information and resources. Funded under an agreement between the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the Sustainable Communities Network.

U.S. Census Bureau
Link: www.census.gov
Offers statistical data from the 2000 census, plus ongoing data updates.

U.S. Department of Justice
Link: www.usdoj.gov/crt/ada
U.S. Department of Justice page offering information and technical assistance related to the Americans with Disabilities Act.

U.S. House of Representatives
Link: www.house.gov
Includes information on the House calendar; links users to websites of individual representatives and provides email and other contact information.

U.S. Senate
Link: www.senate.gov
Includes information on the Senate calendar; links users to websites of individual senators and provides email and other contact information.

University of Wisconsin Applied Population Laboratory
Link: www.wisstat.wisc.edu
This site offers a new way to access Bureau of Census data on housing. Users can create housing profiles by county, city or township; profiles include comparison to 1990 data. Family demographics also available. To begin, click on "analysis tools."

WIFrontDoor Housing
Link: www.wifrontdoorhousing.org
Front Door is a database designed by the Wisconsin Department of Commerce for use by housing consumers, landlords and human service agencies. It provides a free listing service for affordable housing providers and allows tenants to search for available housing options.

Wisconsin Community Action Program Association
Link: www.wiscap.org
Site provides information on the programs offered by Wisconsin's CAP agencies. Resources include contact information for regional CAPs.

Wisconsin Council on Children and Families, Inc.
Link: www.wccf.org
WCCF is a nonprofit, multi-issue child and family advocacy agency. Agency's mission is to promote the well-being of children and families in Wisconsin by advocating for effective and efficient health, education, and human service delivery systems.

Wisconsin Council on Developmental Disabilities
Link: www.wcdd.org
The council is a planning and advocacy body working to influence the direction of programs and policies affecting individuals with developmental disabilities. Numerous publications available, also the parent organization of Disability Advocates Wisconsin Network (DAWN) and related Wisconsin-based and national organizations.

Wisconsin Environmental Initiative
Link: www.wi-ei.org
A comprehensive site for information about business and the environment, land use, and greeen building. Manages the Green Built Home initiative.

Wisconsin Housing Alliance
Link: www.housingalliance.us
Offers a buyer's guide to manufactured housing, with links to manufacturers.

Wisconsin Public Interest Research Group
Link: www.wispirg.org
WISPIRG is an advocacy organization working mainly on environmental issues. Some campaigns relate to housing issues, particularly negative effects of urban sprawl.

Wisconsin State Legislature
Link: www.legis.state.wi.us
Provides information on legislative activity in current and past sessions; search feature allows users to determine who their legislators are; provides an email directory, plus links to legislators' individual websites.