Latest news with #advisorycouncil
E&E News
22-07-2025
- Politics
- E&E News
Agriculture climate law hits a wall at USDA
A climate change law once hailed as a bipartisan triumph may be fading out before it's even in place. Congress enacted the Growing Climate Solutions Act in 2022 with the aim of helping farmers navigate the nation's unfolding carbon markets and cut greenhouse gas emissions on their operations. The idea was to create a network of government-certified providers to verify greenhouse gas reductions from climate-smart farm practices. Three years later, the Department of Agriculture shows few signs of implementing the law, which former President Joe Biden signed as part of a consolidated spending bill for fiscal 2023. Advertisement Outside groups that once pushed for its passage are no longer talking about the legislation publicly. An advisory council the Biden administration appointed a few weeks before leaving office has yet to receive any instructions from the new administration and hasn't met, despite a deadline to do so that passed in April.
Forbes
07-07-2025
- Business
- Forbes
Bursting The Bubble: How Outside Voices Strengthen Nonprofit Marketing
Lynn Richardson-Godfrey, CXO at the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, is an expert in transformative marketing for nonprofits & iconic brands. When was the last time someone inspired your organization to think bigger, act bolder and break through long-standing barriers? I'm talking about the kind of outside perspective that doesn't just validate your current approach but propels you toward innovative strategies you might never have considered on your own. If you're struggling to remember, you might be missing one of the most powerful tools in nonprofit marketing. Mission-driven organizations naturally attract passionate champions deeply committed to their cause. This shared conviction creates a powerful culture but can sometimes limit our perspective on what's possible. That's why building a structured way to invite outside voices into your strategic conversations is essential. An external advisory council has been a game-changing tool throughout my career, accelerating innovation while also helping us avoid potential missteps. The results have been so transformative that I'm convinced every nonprofit needs this kind of structured catalyst and reality check. Why Outside Voices Matter More Than Ever As the media environment has become increasingly fractured, breaking through the noise with your brand message is more challenging than ever. Consumers encounter between 4,000-10,000 brand messages daily, making it nearly impossible to capture attention without sophisticated strategies. Outside perspectives help you navigate this crowded landscape by championing bold new directions while also identifying potential missteps before they happen. As I discovered during my time at Girl Scouts, when we faced intensifying competition for young girls' attention, sometimes your most valuable asset is someone who pushes you to be bolder than you thought possible and gives you the confidence to move in exciting new directions. How External Advisors Build Stronger Organizations Your external advisors can be champions for innovation, helping you build compelling cases for change that convince executive leadership and boards to embrace new approaches. This is particularly crucial when board members have limited marketing experience or when you're in an organization that hasn't traditionally prioritized brand strategy. These advisors become invaluable allies when proposing big-swing initiatives or significant shifts in strategy. They provide the market validation and outside credibility that often makes the difference between a bold idea being approved or shelved. Long-term, they can help expand internal stakeholders' understanding of the value of marketing and brand investment in mission-driven organizations. The secondary but equally important benefit is their ability to spot potential awareness gaps before they become problems. Our mission-driven culture, while inspiring, can sometimes lead to groupthink. External advisors help ensure we're seeing the complete picture while pushing us toward greater innovation. Innovation Accelerator And Reality Check At the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, our Brand Advisory Council consists of three outside marketing and communications industry professionals whose primary role is to accelerate our thinking and advocate for bold, innovative approaches that push us beyond our comfort zone. These are not board members, but trusted advisors who volunteer their time and expertise. Our current council includes a for-profit advertising executive, a marketing strategist from another sector and a professional with both advertising and nonprofit experience. We meet quarterly for one hour to get unfiltered perspectives on key initiatives. I purposefully select people without deep knowledge of our organization because I want them to bring fresh perspectives unburdened by our historical constraints. The results have transformed our work. Just this year, these outside voices have: • Expanded our options for consumer research methodologies • Offered strategies for quantifying brand ROI and measuring brand investment impact on donor revenue and mission delivery • Given us the confidence to pursue bold initiatives that internal teams might have hesitated to champion • Spotted market opportunities outside our traditional approach This structure is remarkably efficient. For just four hours annually, we access insights that would cost hundreds of thousands in consulting fees. More importantly, we've created a mechanism that allows us to expand our vision of what's possible while building the confidence to pursue ambitious new directions. Starting Your Council "We already get feedback from our donors and board," I often hear when suggesting this approach. But those stakeholders are already invested in your mission. While valuable, their perspective often comes from within your established frameworks. Similarly, the excuse that "we don't have time for this" overlooks the tremendous return on investment in both accelerated innovation and avoided missteps. You don't need elaborate structures to unleash this potential. Adopt our advisory council model or create your own. Here's how: • Create a micro-advisory council. Recruit two to three marketing professionals from outside your sector who will inspire bold thinking and provide candid feedback. • Institute innovation accelerator sessions. Before finalizing initiatives, invite outside perspectives to identify opportunities to amplify impact and reach. • Bring in fresh perspectives. Connect with people who aren't yet engaged with your cause to discover new approaches and untapped opportunities. • Shadow swap with commercial marketers. Arrange exchanges where your team observes how for-profit marketers operate, and vice versa. Maximizing Impact And Attention Nonprofit marketers compete not just with other causes but with Netflix, TikTok, work emails, 24/7 news cycles, family obligations and countless other demands for attention. In this environment, playing it safe is often the riskiest strategy of all. Our organizations exist to create positive change. To maximize impact, we need advocates for bold innovation who also help us avoid potential pitfalls. External perspectives help us envision ambitious new possibilities while ensuring we have the strongest possible approach. By incorporating outside voices into your strategic process, you gain powerful champions, particularly in organizations where marketing hasn't traditionally been a central focus. You might discover, as we did, that these outside voices inspire you to be bolder than you thought possible while ensuring you have the strongest foundation for success. Forbes Nonprofit Council is an invitation-only organization for chief executives in successful nonprofit organizations. Do I qualify?
Yahoo
01-07-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Supervisors to revisit EMS advisory council topic
OTTUMWA — The Wapello County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday will once again discuss the EMS advisory council, the second part of an ordinance that had been put on hold after disagreements over who should be represented. Changes were made to the updated list of members, and approval of the list will begin the advisory council's work to determine the EMS needs of the county as it looks to eventually pass an EMS levy. Two of the changes were simple replacements: Bill Hoffman Jr. has been tapped as a representative from the Ottumwa City Council, in place of Dan Reid, who is up for re-election in November. Also, Loren McIntosh has been selected to represent Wapello County Rural Fire in place of Cory Benge, who was charged with felony theft of a wifi router from the city in June. There was also a to-be-determined position to represent the EMS Association, and Amanda Hull, a firefighter for the city, was selected for that role. All other representatives to the advisory council are unchanged. The issue hadn't been discussed since city and county officials held a work session in late May to discuss who should be on the advisory council and the roles the council should be tasked with. Eventually, the county will put an EMS levy to the voters, and 60% approval is required to adopt it. Although Iowa law does not require counties to provide mandatory EMS service the way they do police and fire service, a county can levy up to 75 cents per $1,000 of taxable valuation, institute a 1% income tax, or a combination of the two. The county is also expected to adopt job descriptions and change job classifications for an engineer assistant, working foreman and assistant to the board of supervisors. The meeting begins at 9:30 a.m. in the third-floor courtroom/board room of the courthouse. Ottumwa City Council The council will meet at Bridge View Center with one of the agenda items creating new minimum fines for city-related offense, ranging from animal infractions to traffic violations. Glue sniffing and public nudity each carry a $100 fine. Also, the city is expected to approve purchases related to Legacy Fields Soccer Complex, and a resolution for goal nets and a UTV are both on the agenda. The city is also anticipated to award a contract to paint the wave pool at The Beach to MP Contractors LLC for $44,800. The meeting begins at 5:30 p.m.
ABC News
25-06-2025
- Health
- ABC News
The National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) is changing in WA. What can people expect?
Big changes to the way the almost $50 billion National Disability Insurance Scheme works in Western Australia are on the way. The NDIS benefits more than 62,000 people in the west but is one of the most complicated funding programs to administer. Even the WA government admits it's complex. So, what's changing and who will it affect? Since its inception WA has had its own method of rolling out the NDIS, which financially supports people with significant and permanent disabilities. From July 1, WA will now pay fixed, up-front funding contributions each year to the NDIS, with the Commonwealth chipping in the rest. It means there will be a predictable and fixed pool of money for service providers to work with. NDIS Minister Mark Butler said the new arrangement meant its future is secure, and those who access it will continue to receive support. A WA advisory council made up of people with lived experience and expert backgrounds will be created to advise government on how the NDIS is working, and advocate for those who use it. At the same time, several pricing changes kick in next week that the National Disability Insurance Agency (NDIA) said would make sure claims were proportionate to the services being delivered. For example, therapists can now only bill 50 per cent of their hourly rate for travel time, while there are cuts of up to $10 per hour on some physiotherapy, podiatry, dietetics and psychology rates. Both the new WA funding model, as well as the pricing changes, begin on Tuesday. The state government said the changes would particularly support people in regional and remote areas. But we've heard from some people in regional WA who are concerned their access to services will dwindle. In the state's north, Wickham mother of two Janel Went said support like speech and occupational therapy for her daughters were crucial and alternatives, including long-distance travel, were not viable. "Our little ones are too young — they need to have therapy in person," she said. Meanwhile in the state's south, behaviour analyst Liz Martin said her business has had to absorb costs, going on a seventh consecutive year with no increase in therapy pricing. She said the changes to the NDIS have been "confusing" and cuts to travel will affect their outreach services. "This is not a money-making business, this is a service industry and we want the best for every one of our families," she said. The NDIS is firm that there were no changes to people's plans due to price decreases. "These changes will help ensure value for participants accessing supports and equality for participants around the nation," the NDIS said in its explanation about the changes. "The NDIS believes the markets are strong enough that participants will still have access to the supports they need." Unfortunately, alongside the life-changing assistance the NDIS ideally provides, some people have "rorted" the system and abused its funding. Last year the NDIS itself said criminal rorting of the social service was worse than anticipated. In the 2023-2024 financial year, it was estimated at least $8 billion dollars of funding intended for NDIS participants was being abused by crime groups. This culminated in the federal government passing the 'Getting the NDIS Back on Track' bill through parliament last year, which sought to increase the agency's power to clamp down on rorting. In the 2023-24 financial year, NDIS participant supports costs totalled $3.6 billion in WA. The federal government paid $2.3 billion, while the WA government put in $1.3 billion. While it is unclear exactly what the new agreement will now cost, the state's latest budget papers say WA's contribution to the NDIS will work out to about $1.5 billion a year on average. We do know the federal government will pay $842.9 million to reimburse WA for expenditure associated with administering the NDIS.
Yahoo
25-06-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Giuliani, Lewandowski among new members of Homeland Security advisory council
President Donald Trump announced his appointments to an advisory council inside the Department of Homeland Security on Tuesday, with a list that includes a right-wing news commentator, former lawmakers, Trump's former attorney Rudy Giuliani and a top former campaign adviser. The announcement by Trump and Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem says the council, established first in 2002, will provide 'real-time, real-world and independent advice on homeland security operations.' The list includes right-wing political commentator Mark Levin, as well as Giuliani, who helped lead efforts to try and overturn the 2020 election results and was later sued for defamation by two Georgia election workers; a lawsuit he lost before a jury in Washington, DC. 'This new-look, America First HSAC will draw upon a deep well of public and private sector experience from homeland security experts committed to fulfilling President Trump's agenda,' the press release on the new council states. The appointments also include Corey Lewandowski, a Trump campaign leader in 2016 who is currently a chief adviser to Noem. Other members of the council include South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster, who will chair the council, as well as other government officials, attorneys, security experts, as well as the founder of 'Bikers for Trump,' according to DHS. The council will hold its first meeting early next month.
