Minnesota: Lobbying on Refundable Tax Credits and More

The Minnesota Half in Ten coalition has been very active the past month, holding several events and educating hundreds of Minnesotans on the Half in Ten campaign and our shared policy priorities.

The Joint Religious Legislative Coalition just last week held a Day on the Hill at the Minnesota state capitol, where more than 1,000 activists learned about the Half in Ten campaign and advocated on state and federal issues to reduce poverty.

Nancy Maeker, the executive director of A Minnesota Without Poverty, keynoted three Bread for the World workshop events in late February, helping to gather more than 200 letters in support of the Earned Income Tax Credit and the Child Tax Credit.

And A Minnesota Without Poverty also hosted a statewide gathering in late February on five sites to report on the progress toward ending poverty and to issue a call to action. Affirmative Options Coalition and Joint Religious Legislative Coalition were two of the co-sponsors for the event which drew more than 400 people in St. Paul, Duluth, Moorhead, Willmar, and Rochester, with additional supporters joining the webcast program online. The call to action highlighted coordinating the Minnesota legislative agenda with the Half in Ten issues and encouraged advocates to support the Half in Ten campaign. After the formal program, all participants gathered around tables for discussion, letter writing, phone calling—and food.

You can view photos and an introductory video from the gathering on Facebook.

The Minnesota coalition will continue its work over the coming months and focus on priorities such as:

• Building more partner relationships, especially with organizations involving low-income people
• Developing a comprehensive communications plan to engage all sectors of society in fighting poverty and build the public will to act
• Organizing a presence at candidate forums to hear from those seeking elected office what they hope to do on poverty
• Collecting stories from diverse populations, including stories from people experiencing poverty and other sectors of society
• Participating in the Minnesota State Fair to educate attendees about specific issues relating to Minnesota and Half in Ten and to focus on the election process