50CAN (The 50-State Campaign for Achievement Now) is a nonprofit education
advocacy group
Advocacy groups, also known as lobby groups, interest groups, special interest groups, pressure groups, or public associations, use various forms of advocacy or lobbying to influence public opinion and ultimately public policy. They play an impor ...
founded in January 2011 and headquartered in
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...
According to its website, 50CAN's mission is to advocate for a high-quality education for all kids, regardless of their address. The organization aims to find, connect and support local leaders in states across the country to help them improve educational policies in their communities.
History
50CAN grew out of ConnCAN (founded in 2005) and was incubated inside the Connecticut nonprofit in 2010
before being formally spun off as an independent organization in 2011. Marc Porter Magee left his role as ConnCAN
chief operating officer
A chief operating officer (COO), also called chief operations officer, is an executive in charge of the daily operations of an organization (i.e. personnel, resources, and logistics). COOs are usually second-in-command immediately after the C ...
to establish 50CAN. He become 50CAN's first
president
President most commonly refers to:
*President (corporate title)
* President (education), a leader of a college or university
*President (government title)
President may also refer to:
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*'' Præsident ...
, later becoming the organization's
chief executive officer
A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a chief executive or managing director, is the top-ranking corporate officer charged with the management of an organization, usually a company or a nonprofit organization.
CEOs find roles in variou ...
. 50CAN employs 34 people,
[Staff]
. ''50CAN''. Retrieved January 24, 2020. and it runs education campaigns in nine states.
Affiliate offices
50CAN currently operates policy campaigns in nine states. In 2016, it announced it would grow to additional states by merging with StudentsFirst, and that former StudentsFirst chapters would retain their branding within their states.
Trainings
50CAN offers several programs to engage local leaders in the education advocacy movement, including the Education Advocacy Fellowship, YouCAN and National Voices Fellowship. The organization provides trainings to other education and advocacy groups, including Advocacy 101 and Political Advocacy 101.
In the fall of 2015, 50CAN published ''The 50CAN Guide to Building Advocacy Campaigns: 2nd Edition'' on iBooks and Kindle. In 2019, the organization published a companion book, ''The 50CAN Guide to Political Advocacy''.
CEO Marc Porter Magee, in collaboration with FutureEd at Georgetown University, launched AdvocacyLabs,
an initiative that gathers both data and the perspectives of social scientists to inform advocates about best practices in the field.
References
External links
* {{official, https://50can.org/
Educational organizations based in Washington, D.C.
Non-profit organizations based in Washington, D.C.
2011 establishments in Washington, D.C.
Advocacy groups in the United States