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You Are Informing the Federal Response to COVID-19 in Georgia Last year, as Georgia came under the national spotlight during a historic election season, you helped GBPI inform the debate as to where Congress and federal agencies should prioritize assistance. Today, as federal lawmakers negotiate long-term recovery plans and state lawmakers consider what to do with the $4.7 billion in federal aid and nearly $200 million in infrastructure funding sent to Georgia via the American Rescue Plan (ARP), GBPI is engaging in a new round of COVID relief work. For 17 years, your support has informed important policy debates at the state level. Now we need your support to expand that reach at the federal level. As a valued supporter of GBPI, you understand firsthand that our team is uniquely positioned to advocate for policies like the Earned Income Tax Credit and Medicaid expansion which would help those who have borne the brunt of the pandemic. Your support will allow GBPI to seize this window of opportunity to boost recovery from this pandemic and foster a new era of prosperity for communities throughout Georgia.
PROGRESS The Georgia Budget and Policy Institute (GBPI) strives to be an anti-racist research and advocacy organization that advances lasting solutions to expand economic opportunity and well-being for all Georgians. Friends of GBPI, It has been the honor of a lifetime to serve as president of GBPI. Daring alongside you to imagine a better, more equitable Georgia has been an absolute thrill. After nearly a decade at GBPI and six years as president, I am passing the baton to the next transformative leader who will carry forward our shared vision that Georgia is a fair and inclusive state where everyone can prosper.
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Your faith in my leadership and your investment in this organization has made every success possible. You helped grow the team of experts and advocates from nine to 19, expanding the reach and impact of our people-centered solutions. Your investment seeded an evolution that took GBPI from a very capable research organization to an advocacy powerhouse.
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While the decision to seize a new opportunity is a bittersweet one, I do so with trust in a brilliant staff, an excellent Board of Directors and dedicated allies and investors like you. I am simply changing seats in our collective work and wholeheartedly remaining an investor in GBPI. So let’s press on and help build your next Georgia.
Join Us and Build Your Next Georgia GBPI needs you to help set the course for what’s next for our state. You know we must work together to advance prosperity for all Georgians. With your support, GBPI will remain a beacon, shining a light on policy change that will help realize our shared vision—funding that flows to your community, your schools, your family. Your Next Georgia will advance the essential work of GBPI. Through this initiative, you will help eradicate barriers for people of color and build a bolder, more just and more equitable state. Thanks to generous and forward-thinking supporters like you, GBPI can continue our work in the pursuit of policy solutions that expand economic opportunity for every Georgian.
Your voice, your allyship, your investment is needed now more than ever. Now is a crucial moment in Georgia. We’re making progress, gaining ground and these changes add up. We are closer to realizing our vision, and the drumbeat cannot let up. You can help set the stage for this next era for our state by investing in Your Next Georgia. Your support ensures GBPI will continue to have the resources it needs to deliver timely and accessible research, educating and collaborating with partners and showing Georgia what's possible. Thank you again for 10 years of incredible organizational growth, personal fulfillment and friendship. The best is yet to come. Join in. Build your next Georgia. Invest in your next Georgia. Because your next Georgia is waiting for us. Scan this code using your phone’s camera or visit GBPI.org/donate
Sincerely, Taifa Butler
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STAFF Taifa S. Butler President and CEO Dominique Derbigny Sims Senior Vice President Kevin Amaya Development Associate Jennifer Crane Content and Brand Manager Lindsey Garland Development Director Laura Harker Senior Health Care Policy Analyst Caitlin Highland Director of Strategic Communications Amanda Hollowell Director of Strategic Campaigns Crystal Johnson Director of Administration and Human Resources Danny Kanso Senior Tax and Budget Policy Analyst; Government Relations Coordinator Ray Khalfani Worker Justice and and Criminal Legal Systems Policy Analyst Jennifer Lee Senior Higher Education Policy Analyst Tasnim Mosabber Outreach Manager Stephen Owens Senior K-12 Education Policy Analyst David Schaefer Research Director Alex Welch Digital and Media Manager Jessica Woods Finance Director
Your Investment at Work: Fund Georgia’s Future Fill out the Fund Your support has made GBPI a trusted Georgia’s Future voice for education policy in Georgia. survey GBPI is part of a team leading Fund Georgia’s Future, a diverse coalition composed of students, parents, teachers, administrators, school board members and partner organizations working in education advocacy, civil rights, voting rights and faith communities. Fund Scan this code using Georgia’s Future works to leverage its your phone’s camera expertise and set forth proposals to or visit create a just education system that is bit.ly/FGFSurvey fairly and fully funded. In only a few months, Fund Georgia’s Future has hosted public interest meetings, launched a survey to learn more about the impact of Georgia’s school funding system and provided public input for the Georgia Department of Education’s use of funds provided through the American Rescue Plan Act.
In recent years your support has enabled GBPI to step up our commitment to educational equity for Black and Brown communities, students with disabilities, English learners and children in poverty. Fund Georgia’s Future is working to further your investment. As Georgia moves toward recovering from the pandemic, your sustained support underwrites GBPI’s efforts to adequately fund Georgia’s public schools. Your investment is more important than ever.
Dominique Derbigny Sims recently joined the GBPI team with more than a decade of experience working in collaboration with nonprofit organizations across the country to create a more equitable society and economy. Get to know Dominique, and learn more about what she hopes to accomplish with support from allies like you. Q: What makes you hopeful about GBPI’s mission and Your Next Georgia? GBPI is a thought leader on equitable, anti-racist policies in Georgia, and I believe GBPI will continue to elevate as an influencer of positive social change not only in Georgia but across the South and the nation. I’m hopeful that together we can harness our collective power and resources to create a more just society where Georgians thrive. Q: What policy progress have you seen because of GBPI’s advocacy in recent years? GBPI is advancing the conversation about racial and economic equity in Georgia and has garnered support for people-centered policies like Medicaid expansion, a Georgia Work Credit and an Opportunity Weight. I am excited to continue to explore how GBPI can bridge its research and policy analysis with advocacy training and relationships with grassroots organizations to build power from the ground up. Q: What Georgia restaurants are you most looking forward to visiting again? I’m most excited to enjoy my favorite trout and grits breakfast at Rising Son in Avondale Estates, and Amano in O4W has the most delicious gluten-free pasta I’ve had yet! Favorite Book: I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, Maya Angelou
BOARD Charles Johnson, Chair Susan E. Neugent, Vice Chair James McCoy, Treasurer Natosha Reid Rice, Secretary Odessa Archibald Kathy Ashe Thomas Boller Carla Cartwright Robiaun Charles Ann Duffy Steven Fox Lois Frank Norelie Garcia Govind Kannan Glenda Minkin Yasmine Murray Maria del Rosario Palacios Conor Sen Robert Sills David Sjoquist Jim Stokes Teresa Tomlinson Sachin Varghese Janelle Williams
Meet GBPI’s New Senior Vice President
Favorite Georgia day trip: Hiking and relaxing at Sweetwater Creek State Park Favorite quote: “You have to act as if it were possible to radically transform the world. And you have to do it all the time.” – Angela Davis
Become a Monthly Donor Securing policy outcomes that improve the lives of Georgians takes time, resources and sacrifice—but with your valued commitment through a monthly contribution, meaningful impact in peoples' lives is possible. Your monthly gift will provide the continued support GBPI relies on as we continue to leverage research and share stories that expand GBPI’s reach and influence.
Donor Spotlight: Lauren Waits I am proud to support GBPI with a monthly donation. My own work and that of so many fellow advocates is regularly informed by GBPI's reliable analysis and timely calls to action. Recurring gifts create a predictable income stream that allows GBPI to lean into its bold vision for Georgia. Please consider a monthly commitment!