Program Planning

Program Planning

Welcome to the program planning process for 2025-2027!

Quick Links

Your Response Is Due February 24, 2025

PURPOSE This is the first step in the process that ends with the adoption of Program by delegates to the 2025 LWVC Convention.

The Program Planning Kit provides all you need to lead a successful planning process in your local League and ensure that members of your League are heard. Take a few minutes to review it now and refer to it as you prepare for your League’s participation.

Program Planning 

In the League, this is the process by which we decide where and how we will focus our resources – member time, money, reputation – over the next two years. Where will the League have the most impact? What will help build the League name – and help build our organization? We hope many members participate as we address these crucial questions.

A strong program planning process leads directly to Convention where we will set priorities from both a policy and a budgetary standpoint. LWVC board members carefully consider the input from League members as they formulate the recommended program. 

Your hands-on work will make a big impact in the League and in our state.

What do we want prioritized in California?

We are a grassroots organization. Program planning is one of the ways for all of us to participate in a meaningful way. We all have the opportunity and the responsibility to participate in program planning – to add our voices. 

We want to know your League’s recommendations for Issues for Emphasis in 2025-2027. But before you start your discussion, make sure you’re familiar with what we already know we’re going to be doing! Our kit includes background information about work that we know will be on our plate and a few ideas to start your thinking.

The national Campaign for Making Democracy Work readopted at the LWVUS convention in June 2022 will continue to be part of the LWVC’s and local Leagues’ focus. LWVUS recently released Legislative Trends for 2024. This provides an outlook on the trends that Leagues saw in state legislatures in the 2024 session and is meant to assist Leagues considering their legislative priorities for 2025. 

Read about some of the ways we know we will be implementing Making Democracy Work in California as well as other ongoing work of the League.

Join the Conversation

If, after reviewing the Program Planning Kit, you have questions—or want to discuss your ideas with other Leagues—join us on the LWVC Program Planning Google group. Just click "Ask to join group" or email sjorgensen [at] lwvc.org to join the group.

We held a webinar on December 9, 2024, where we discussed the Program Planning process and answered questions from local League members. You can watch a recording of the webinar here. Please use the following code to access the recording: !6q3+ITq

You can view the presentation used during the webinar here.

Reference Documents

Making Democracy Work: An Equity Lens

The League of Women Voters of California applies an “equity lens” by analyzing what we do from the perspective of how it impacts underrepresented individuals and communities.  Program planning offers an excellent opportunity to develop representative League leadership and add rich, diverse perspectives to your work. While non-members can’t participate in the consensus portion of Program planning, they can be part of the meeting.

In that spirit, we encourage you to front end diversity, equity and inclusion in Program planning by proactively reaching out to both League members and partners in your community who are young, Black, Latino, Indigenous, Asian American, Native Hawaiian, Pacific Islander, Middle Eastern, have disabilities, are in the LGBTQI+ community, or otherwise underrepresented.

Archive

Program Planning 2023-2025

Program Planning 2021- 2023

Program Planning 2019 - 2021