A new block of discounted accessible guestrooms is now available at the Fairfield Inn & Suites Washington, DC / Downtown, six blocks from the NCIL Conference at the Grand Hyatt. These reduced rate rooms are available to NCIL attendees starting at $219 / night plus tax. All of the ADA accessible rooms have sold out at the Grand Hyatt and Marriott Metro Center, so we’ve opened up this new block of 8 accessible and 2 standard guestrooms.

To book a room at discounted group rate at the Fairfield Inn by phone, call 1(888)-236-2427 and use the code ‘ACI’ or state our group name, ‘NCIL Annual Conference’. You can also book rooms directly using NCIL’s custom link – Fairfield Inn.

Additional details are available on our conference webpage. See you in July

Thursday, July 14, 2016; 3:00 – 4:30 p.m. Eastern

Register online.

NCIL is happy to announce our 11th Annual Policy Briefing.

This important presentation will to bring advocates up-to-date on national issues and federal policies that affect people with disabilities and provide participants with question and answer sessions with national leaders to ensure you have in-depth information on the issues you care about most.

The Policy Briefing will ensure that we are fired up and prepared for NCIL’s 2016 Day on the Hill! For those of you who will not be at the 2016 Annual Conference on Independent Living, this will provide you with valuable and timely information that you can use in your community. Please share this training announcement far and wide so that our issues reach many people.

This teleconference is free for NCIL Members. There is a $25.00 registration fee for Non-Members, per call-in site. Fee does not apply per participant in group, provided the group uses the same conference line. 

The Policy Briefing will be available via teleconference and CART (captioned) webcast. You must register by 12:00 Noon Eastern on July 14 to participate in the call.  [Read more…]

Sign Up Today!

NCIL’s Standard Operating Procedures require that CILs and SILCs pay their dues in full thirty (30) days prior to the Annual Council meeting to be eligible to vote at that meeting. If your organization has not yet joined or renewed for 2016, you must sign-up and pay your dues in full by 12:00 Midnight on Monday, June 27, 2016 in order to vote at the Annual Council Meeting.

If you do not join or renew by June 27, your organization will not be able to vote for the Governing Board members and Resolutions that guide NCIL’s actions and priority issues.

Don’t worry if you can’t make it to the Conference, you can still have a designated NCIL member vote for you by proxy.

Make sure your voice is heard: sign up today!

You can purchase your membership using our secure online store, or by using the printable membership form (PDF).  [Read more…]

By Karen Eber Davis

Your board chair introduces Rob, the sponsor of the day. Polite applause ushers Rob to the microphone. Rob captures the room when he shares how glad his firm is to sponsor the event. He announces three surprising facts about his firm before issuing a challenge to find a quiz on the table to submit for a prize, and he introduces the speaker. As the event concludes, Rob and his coworkers linger to meet even more people. Back at the office, they compare notes, distribute a lot of prizes, and make a dozen follow-up appointments.

Rob and his firm engage in sticky sponsorships. Sticky sponsorships squirt glue all over participant’s minds. The glue dries clear and flexible with the sponsor’s name glowing through. Sticky sponsorships generate new relationships. They move existing ones upward in the customer acquisition process. Stickiness creates a positive association between the event, the nonprofit, the business, and potential customers. Sticky sponsorships return every dollar and more that sponsors invest in them.  [Read more…]

July 25-28, 2016; Grand Hyatt, Washington

Open our Annual Conference Guide (in PDF or plain text) to find everything you need to know about the 2016 Annual Conference.

Then, register online or by using the printable Registration Form (PDF or plain text). Online registration gives you the ability to register up to three attendees with one transaction and accepts Discover, American Express, Visa and MasterCard.

All registrations received and paid before April 29, 2016 are eligible for the Early Bird registration rates.

This year, you can use NCIL’s custom links to reserve your room at the Grand Hyatt or Marriott Metro Center.

Additional details are available on our Conference webpage. See you in July!

To: NCIL Members
From: NCIL Regional Representatives
Date: April 8, 2016

Nominate someone from your region online.

Each year at the Annual Conference, NCIL recognizes individuals and / or organizations for outstanding advocacy efforts. NCIL encourages you to nominate someone in your region who you believe is deserving of this award. Please take a few minutes to complete the nomination form by May 17, 2016.

Purpose of the NCIL regional advocacy award: To recognize individuals or groups/organizations within each region for outstanding systems advocacy efforts consistent with independent living goals and philosophy at a national, state, or local level.

Eligibility for the regional advocacy award: The nominee does not have to be a member of NCIL. In the event that the winner is not a member of NCIL, upon receiving the award he or she will receive a complimentary Individual Membership to NCIL for the remainder of the year.

Selection process: The Regional Representative will solicit written nominations from membership within their region. Regional Representatives are strongly encouraged to solicit input from the members in their region in selecting the award winner. To the greatest degree possible, the selection process should be free of actual or perceived conflicts of interest. One award winner will be selected from each region.

Recognition: Regional Advocacy Awards will be presented to the winners at NCIL’s 2016 Annual Conference on Independent Living, during the Awards Luncheon at Noon on Wednesday, July 27, 2016.

On March 16, 2016 President Obama nominated Merrick Garland, Chief Judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, for the vacancy in the U.S. Supreme Court. Now it is the Senates’ Constitutional duty to give the President’s nominee fair consideration with a hearing and a vote. Below is the National Council on Independent Living’s statement on the SCOTUS nomination process.

March 25, 2016

Dear Senators of Congress,

The National Council on Independent Living writes to express our support of President Obama nominating a potential Supreme Court Justice to succeed Justice Antonio Scalia. At this point, President Obama has nominated Chief Judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, Merrick Garland. Now it is the Senates’ Constitutional duty to give the President’s nominee fair consideration with a hearing and a vote.  [Read more…]