1629 K Street NW Suite 503 Washington, DC 20006 202-457-0046

American Association of People with Disabilities
GOALS 2015

Vision Statement

The vision of the American Association of People with Disabilities (AAPD) is a world where all people with disabilities are able to make choices, have careers, live independently, and contribute as full participants in all aspects of society.

Mission Statement

The mission of AAPD is to empower, politically and economically, all people with disabilities in the United States.

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In pursuit of its vision and mission, AAPD will work externally with its members, the broader disability community, and diverse partners so that people with disabilities will:

• Exercise power through civic participation.
  
  • AAPD will build and work with cross-disability coalitions, including parent groups, to increase the participation of voters with disabilities across the country, resulting in staffed efforts at the national and/or state levels to reach over 10 million voters with strong disability interests
    
  • AAPD will spearhead efforts to make voting easy, accessible and secure for all voters
    
  • AAPD will advocate for full and timely implementation of accessibility requirements in the Help America Vote Act and Americans with Disabilities Act
    
  • AAPD will ensure that voters with disabilities are identified in political polling and exit polling
    
  • AAPD will promote public and community service among people with disabilities throughout the U.S.
    
  • AAPD will help launch an association of elected and appointed officials with disabilities
    
    
• Achieve economic success.
  
  • AAPD will lead an effort to transform public and private disability benefits and health insurance policy so that people with disabilities have real opportunities to earn a living wage and,
  • regardless of employment status, acquire assets, achieve financial security, and obtain quality, affordable health care and long-term services and supports in the community
    
  • AAPD will leverage its partnerships so that people with disabilities have access to a range of financial services and other critical services that can help them live more independently
    
  • AAPD will aggregate the disability market and build a stronger business case for incorporating universal design into products and services and making disability a critical element in diversity recruiting and marketing strategies of leading companies
    
    
• Transform society by changing attitudes and improving access.
  
  • AAPD will significantly enhance its communications capacity to take its message of empowerment and full participation to average Americans across the country
    
  • AAPD will work with policymakers to improve enforcement of and, where necessary, to strengthen civil rights and accessibility requirements in federal law
    
  • AAPD will promote the full implementation and enforcement of the civil rights of children with disabilities and their families at home, at school, and in the community
    
  • AAPD will launch a public awareness campaign, possibly in conjunction with an annual fundraising campaign
    
  • AAPD will develop and market disability awareness curricula and disability rights training materials for diverse audiences
    
  • AAPD will grow its mentoring and career exploration programs to expose employers to the goals and capacities of students and workers with disabilities
    
  • AAPD will collaborate with like-minded organizations around the world in changing attitudes and improving access
    
    
• Support children with disabilities and their parents and families.
  
  • AAPD will strengthen the capacity of parents to advocate effectively for policies and practices that will lead to dramatically better educational outcomes, quality health care, and long-term services and supports for children with disabilities and their families
    
  • AAPD will build on its mentoring and leadership programs to help children and youth with disabilities prepare for careers, community service, higher education, independence and economic self-sufficiency, safeguarding the principles of individual choice and self-determination
    
    
• Build disability pride and cultural identity.
  
  • AAPD will support the growth of disability pride parades and campaigns across the country
    
  • AAPD will collaborate with leaders in the growing disability studies field to use its website and communications to share information about and foster greater awareness of disability culture and history among people with disabilities and their families
    
  • AAPD will encourage Paul G. Hearne awardees, Betts laureates, and participants in AAPD’s internship and mentoring programs to learn about disability history and culture and to reach out to diverse communities and expand cultural awareness
    
    

To most effectively pursue its mission and vision, AAPD will work internally to:

• Maintain and develop a diverse disability leadership and control of the organization.
  
  • AAPD’s governance committee will ensure an ongoing commitment to promoting diversity and excellence as it develops candidate slates for Board elections, always safeguarding AAPD’s credibility and authentic leadership as a non-partisan disability-controlled organization
    
  • AAPD’s management will recruit, retain and promote diverse staff to carry out the organization’s activities
    
  • AAPD will partner with and collaborate with other organizations with a similar commitment to diverse disability leadership and control
    
    
• Achieve long-term fiscal strength.
  
  • AAPD will grow a reserve fund for operating needs/purposes that is equal to at least one-half of the organization’s annual budget
    
  • AAPD will conduct a separate endowment campaign to build a reserved programmatic endowment and create funding in perpetuity for AAPD’s core program areas
    
  • AAPD will model best corporate practices for fiscal oversight and accountability, and grow the staff’s capacity in this area under the President and CEO’s leadership
    
  • AAPD will continually increase the amount of the annual budget attributed to member dues
    
    
• Foster a culture of excellence, leadership, creativity, professionalism, and ethics in its staffing and management practices.
  
  • AAPD will recruit, train and retain top quality staff to carry out programs and activities
    
  • AAPD will model management practices that support optimal staff performance, professionalism and accountability
    
  • AAPD will use qualified vendors, professionals and contractors with disabilities wherever possible in the execution of its business
    
    
• Establish its long-term presence as a leading national organization through the acquisition and construction of a universally-designed headquarters facility in Washington, D.C.
  
  • AAPD will launch a building campaign, and work with top-quality architects to design and build a state-of-the-art universally-designed facility
    
  • AAPD will use its headquarters building to showcase its programs, broaden its collaborations with other advocacy groups, and elevate the national presence of the disability movement
    
    
• Deepen the relationship between AAPD and its members and other stakeholders around the U.S.
  
  • AAPD will leverage technology to communicate regularly with its members and to facilitate their communication with each other on a state, local, or regional level
    
  • AAPD will establish physical offices and/or strategic affiliates in key locations where those offices can be self-sustaining and will expand AAPD’s capacity to accomplish its mission
    
  • AAPD will regularly seek input and feedback from its members regarding organizational priorities, strategic initiatives, and programs
    
  • AAPD will continually take steps to identify and keep updated on the demographics and priorities of its membership and the broader disability community
    
  • AAPD will obtain key tangible benefits like affordable health, life and long-term care insurance that significantly enhance the quality of life of our members and their families
    
  • AAPD will launch a national campaign to heighten awareness of AAPD, its programs, its policy advocacy, and its member benefits
    
    

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This plan will be reviewed annually by the AAPD Board of Directors and modified as needed to reflect the strategic direction and priorities of the organization.