NYC Veterans Alliance Hits Major Milestones in 2016

NEW YORK - March 13, 2017 - PRLog -- NYC Veterans Alliance (http://www.nycveteransalliance.org/), a nonprofit and nonpartisan organization that empowers military veterans and their families to become politically active through four engaging programs – Policy & Legislative Advocacy, OurVeterans.NYC, Civic Leadership, and Get Ready to Run – today announced significant Organization milestones as well as a fiscal sponsorship with Intersections International (http://intersections.org/), a New York City-based nonprofit organization dedicated to building community relationships and forging common ground.

Founded in 2015, NYC Veterans Alliance has successfully advanced its mission to advocate legislative action for all military veterans and their families while offering political engagement opportunities that help veterans and spouses continue their commitment to service in the civilian world. The Organization has started 2017 strong with its announcement of a fiscal sponsor. As of today, Intersections International is accepting tax-deductible donations on behalf of NYC Veterans Alliance Foundation. These donations will support NYC Veterans Alliance's non-lobbying programs.

"As veterans, we understand the drive to serve and know that this feeling does not go away at the end of your service," said Kristen Rouse, Founding Director of NYC Veterans Alliance. "We created NYC Veterans Alliance to advocate for and to help all veterans become politically involved on national and local levels no matter their service era or discharge status. We are proud to announce our 2016 milestones as well as our new fiscal sponsor, Intersections International, that will help us to not only continue the hard work we've done thus far but also increase it tenfold. Intersections is our ideal fiscal sponsor, as we both have a shared mission of strengthening community bonds and empowering individuals to champion solutions."

2016 NYC Legislative and Policy Victories

NYC Veterans Alliance is the only organization dedicated to advocating for policies that impact veterans locally in New York City. In 2016, NYC Veterans Alliance successfully supported two NY State bills that were passed into law – the NY State Veterans Equality Act (https://www.nysenate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/william-...) and an amendment to extend eligibility for rent freeze programs (https://www.nysenate.gov/legislation/bills/2015/s6214/ame...). The Organization also drafted and proposed two bills to NYC Council – An amendment of NYC human rights law to include veteran and military status (summarized as "uniformed service") (https://nyc.councilmatic.org/legislation/int-1259-2016-a2a783b2419f/) and a resolution calling on Congress to pass the Fairness for Veterans Act of 2016 (https://nyc.councilmatic.org/legislation/res-1196-2016-ad9687835a42/). Additionally, NYC Veterans Alliance delivered statements at City Hall press conferences and testimonies before NYC Council to advocate for these bills and the Veterans Alternative Tax Exemption (https://nyc.councilmatic.org/legislation/int-1304-2016-05e39760801b/). The Organization continues to advocate for these bills in 2017.

New Members and Expanded Digital Reach

In 2016 alone, the NYC Veterans Alliance more than doubled their paid membership and saw a significant increase in visitors to their website, averaging more than 22,000 unique page views per month. Additionally, their email distribution list rose to more than 3,500 subscribers. The NYC Veterans Alliance credits this increase in membership and digital reach to their impactful advocacy work.

Launch of OurVeterans.NYC

NYC Veterans Alliance created and developed an online Community Calendar, providing a curated, ongoing listing of community events for veterans and their families hosted by organizations both large and small across the NYC metropolitan area. Over its first year, the Calendar became a trusted resource for organizations and individuals in planning and coordinating events and activities year-round. Because of its success and high traffic, NYC Veterans Alliance moved the calendar to a dedicated domain at OurVeterans.NYC to further grow and develop this essential resource for community information. In 2016 alone, more than 700 events were submitted and posted to the calendar, and 2017 promises further expansion and success.

Launch of Get Ready to Run Program

NYC Veterans Alliance formally launched their Get Ready to Run program in March of 2016 with a four-day intensive training event in Washington, D.C. in partnership with Veterans Campaign to train potential veteran candidates to run for elected office. The four days of training included Veterans Campaign workshops, networking events with HillVets and Defend Our Nation, and sessions with communications professionals, campaign coordinators, and Congressional staff.

Following the success of last year's event, NYC Veterans Alliance returned to D.C. in January of 2017. The total of 11 Get Ready to Run Fellows from the two cohorts are now working together to plan and host a larger, New York City-based campaign training module on April 29-30, 2017 in partnership with Civic Hall and Veterans Campaign. Veterans and military spouses interested in the weekend NYC Veteran Candidate Workshop may APPLY HERE (https://goo.gl/forms/0us5M04PSHyGo2G13).

To stay up-to-date on NYC Veterans Alliance news, please visit the website or become an NYC Veterans Alliance member (https://secure.actblue.com/contribute/page/nycvets_membership?recurring=true). To make a tax-deductible donation to NYC Veterans Alliance Foundation via Intersections International, please click here (https://org2.salsalabs.com/o/5515/p/salsa/donation/common/public/?donate_page_KEY=14934/).

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About NYC Veterans Alliance

Started in January of 2015, NYC Veterans Alliance is a nonprofit and nonpartisan organization that improves the lives of veterans and their families in the NYC metropolitan area and empowers military veterans to become politically active through four engaging programs – Policy & Legislative Advocacy, OurVeterans.NYC, Get Ready to Run, and Civic Leadership. With the mission to advocate legislative action for all military veterans and their families while offering political engagement opportunities, NYC Veterans Alliance serves NYC's 220,000+ veterans and 250,000+ dependent family members. For more information, please visit www.nycveteransalliance.org.

About Intersections International

Intersections International leads people to unite across lines of difference in mutual pursuit of social justice, globally and locally. Our four innovative programs stand at the intersection of veterans and civilians, divided nations and peoples, artistic engagement and community
values, and the Christian population and LGBTQ equality. Learn more about our programming at www.intersections.org.