At LIFT, members are the center of our work, and elevating member voice is key to our mission of breaking the cycle of poverty by investing in parents. Elevating member voice includes both LIFT members sharing their stories, experiences, and ideas alongside LIFT, and LIFT sharing members’ stories and data in an ethical and member-centered way
A culture of member voice means ensuring members’ input is embedded in LIFT’s decision-making process. In order to ensure this culture is embedded in all of LIFT’s work, we will continue to dig into the work of elevating member voice in two new ways: our Member Voice Committee and Policy & Advocacy Member Programming.
In October, LIFT will launch our inaugural Member Voice Committee to ensure member voice and ethical storytelling informs work across all of LIFT’s departments, from programmatic decisions and changes to fundraising tactics and policy agendas. The Member Voice Committee, consisting of LIFT staff from all teams and roles, will be tasked with developing ethical storytelling guidelines for the organization and ensuring a culture of ethical storytelling across LIFT and incorporating member feedback into all major functions and decisions.
Later in the month, LIFT will kick off our first Policy & Advocacy programming series to ensure member voices are elevated outside of the LIFT community. From their lived experience, LIFT members have ideas and policy solutions that are vital at decision-making tables. Developed based on member input, LIFT will partner with community organizations to offer advocacy skill-building trainings, host forums with local leaders, and create intentional spaces for LIFT members, staff, and coaches to come together to discuss policy implications in their lives. Through this programming, our ultimate goal is to equip LIFT members to be the decisionmakers in their communities.
Throughout the 2022-23 fiscal year, LIFT strove to bring our Equity Statement to life through improving the ways in which we elevate our member’s voices, inside and outside of LIFT. We instituted our Member Voice Compensation Policy, updated our Member Speaker Support practices and tools, and began obtaining direct member feedback on internal evaluation findings and proposed programmatic changes. This year’s work is a continuation of this on-going effort. As we continue to work and learn in this space, we will continue to refine our practices to ensure they align with our values, and we look forward to hear from others in the space on intentionally and ethically elevating member voice, within our own organizations and beyond.