KFTC Annual Membership Meeting

We have closed our online registration for the 2016 Annual Membership Meeting.

With the annual meeting just around the corner, space has been filling up. We still have a little more room at the conference and would love to have you, but lodging is getting pretty full. Please call KFTC staff member Heather Mahoney to inquire about lodging space and register if there is still room. We will absolutely make room for you if we can!  You can reach her at 859-559-8439 or email her at [email protected].

Generating Change: 35 Years of Action for Justice

KFTC was founded in 1981 by a handful of folks with a vision for a better Kentucky. They knew they could do more working together than any of them could do alone. They were courageous, determined, and strong. That’s who KFTC was then, and that’s who we are now.

Working together, we’ve built New Power and accomplished some amazing things over the last 35 years. We’ve organized across the state, across issues, and across generations. And there’s a lot of work still to be done – for racial justice, voter empowerment, tax reform, housing justice, clean energy and more.

Join us at KFTC’s annual meeting to reflect on the stories, victories, and lessons learned in our first 35 years, and work together to generate change for years to come. We’ll strategize around issues and build our skills, have fun together, and celebrate KFTC’s birthday.

Schedule of events

Friday, August 26

4 pm: Registration Opens 

7:30 pm: Opening, Welcome, Kentucky Trivia Night Fun

KFTC's current platform has 76 planks. How many did our first platform have in 1981? Join us for Kentucky Trivia to find out this and other fun facts from KFTC’s first 35 years. Put your KFTC and Bluegrass State knowledge to the test as we work on our ninth goal of organizing – having fun! 

9:30 pm: Social Time and Birthday Party at the Lake

Join KFTC members for music, mingling and dancing by the lake at the large picnic shelter.

Saturday, August 27 

7:45 am: Breakfast

9 am: Welcome and Opening

9:30 am: Keynote Address:  State Representative-Elect Attica Scott

10:30 am: Plenary 

12:30 pm: Lunch 

2 pm: Saturday Afternoon Workshops

Racial Justice in the Work We Do

We’ll look at our current work in environmental, social and economic justice through a racial justice lens. We’ll examine practical applications of weaving racial justice and anti-oppression into all of our work and strategies as well as ways KFTC can be a good ally with other organizations on these issues. 

Voter Empowerment: How to Involve and Elevate Voices

Learn methods for registering new voters and reaching out to communities under-represented in the electoral process. We’ll learn what it takes to ensure that people go to the polls well informed about the candidates’ views on important issues and ways to plug into the 2016 election.

Bringing the Budget Home

What would our communities look like with a state budget that truly reflects our values? It’s a staggering thought, and a story that we have to tell to bring budget justice to Kentucky. We’ll learn ways to connect with folks about the potential of budget justice, and how we can create a better Kentucky together.

What Does Home Mean to You? Taking Action on Housing Justice in Kentucky

We know that all Kentuckians deserve access to safe, healthy homes. Join us to learn about the renters’ rights landscape and how to talk to your elected officials to ensure that all Kentuckians are protected when renting a home.

Shifting Power, Generating Change: A Grassroots Skills Workshop on Power Analyses and Campaign Strategies

Learn the skills to participate in and facilitate multiple forms of power analyses and to lead others in developing effective strategies for winning short-term campaigns that build long-term grassroots power.

Empower Kentucky: Shaping a just transition to a clean energy economy”

Over the past year, KFTC has asked thousands of Kentuckians to share their vision and ideas for a bright energy future in Kentucky, one that is good for all of us. In this workshop we’ll review some of the best ideas we’ve gathered and explore ways to take meaningful action.

3:30 pm: Break

Take a break and relax at General Butler among friends. Swimming, hiking, tennis, and other fun activities are available.

7 pm: Dinner & Awards Ceremony

The annual KFTC Awards Banquet is an opportunity to acknowledge and celebrate members who have made exceptional contributions to our work over the past year. These awards recognize courage, sacrifice, hard work, passion, and commitment in the pursuit of change.

9:30 pm: Cultural Sharing Showcase & Dance Party

All are welcome to join us for an evening of cultural sharing followed by an awesome dance party.

Sunday, August 28

7:45 am: Breakfast

9 am: Sunday Morning Workshops

Building Power Through KFTC Membership

Explore why membership is so important to building KFTC’s power. We’ll talk about how asking others to join, renew or become Sustaining Givers is an essential way that we build grassroots power. We’ll discuss what makes asking hard and ways we can make folks feel welcome and invested in KFTC’s work.

Making it Sing! Using Art & Culture in Community Organizing

Cultural Organizing is both a set of tools and a set of strategies that can broaden, deepen and diversify the work KFTC members are doing in their communities. Join us for some cultural sharing, brainstorming, and participatory art making and leave ready to use the power of art and culture as a strong force for positive social change in Kentucky.

Creating Agendas and Facilitating Meetings

Grassroots organizing often involves meetings – planning them, participating in them and leading them. What makes a meeting productive? Often a good agenda and facilitator make the difference. Come learn tools and techniques of developing agendas and facilitating meetings. 

Putting Our Bodies On the Line: Best Practices and Tools for Direct Action and Civil Disobedience

As Kentuckians face a political climate that feels more and more oppressive, it’s time to look at ways to directly and collectively shift the power to a greater degree of justice. We’ll explore tools and best practices for engaging in civil disobedience and direct action. Participants will leave the workshop equipped with a working knowledge of how to safely and effectively put our bodies on the line in the movement for justice.

10:30 am: Break

10:45 am: Business Meeting

Join us for this annual opportunity to vote on KFTC’s platform of issues, elect officers, and more.

12 pm: Adjourn