Grassroots Advocacy Conference FAQs

The 2022 event will take place June 13 – June 16, 2022. The conference is tentatively scheduled to take place in Washington, D.C. at the Hilton Hotel located at 480 L’Enfant Plaza SW, Washington D.C. 2004.

All producing nonprofit agencies in the SourceAmerica network are encouraged to apply to attend. Similar to past years, about 50 nonprofits will actually participate in the event. NPAs will be selected in December.

As of the published date of these FAQs, the conference is scheduled to be in-person. SourceAmerica continues to monitor the situation of “live” events and will inform all attendees as soon as possible should that change.

There are several factors that will impact whether congressional meetings will be held in person, including the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and the restrictions posed by some members of Congress on in-person meetings. Additionally, security procedures at the Capitol have changed. Capitol visitors may not remain in the building in between meetings. In addition, the underground tunnels that typically ease and expedite travel between buildings are no longer accessible to visitors. The situation is fluid, and SourceAmerica will continue to monitor these restrictions to determine whether the congressional meetings will be able to be held in-person.

Yes. SourceAmerica will reimburse NPAs for travel, food, and lodging.

Nonprofit agencies will be required to send one team consisting of a self-advocate, family member or support professional, and an NPA executive to the conference. If the conference ends up being held virtually, NPAs will be required to provide self-advocates with the technology needed to participate in the event.

The SourceAmerica Grassroots Advocacy Conference will be hosted by the Government Affairs Department. If you have questions regarding the event, please contact advocacy@sourceamerica.org. This email account will be checked on a regular basis and someone will get back to you.

The hotel will honor the group rate 7 days prior and 7 days after the event dates at the following rates:

Single or Double: $305.00
Triple: $315.00
Quad: $335.00
Suite: $305.00

We will be monitoring the mandates and protocols in Washington, D.C., and we will update attendees as we get closer to the event.

Registration will open in April and close at the beginning of May. Please keep an eye on the Weekly Update and your email for more information about registration.

NPAs are strongly encouraged to recommend two to three self-advocates to attend the virtual self-advocacy trainings that will be held prior to the conference. While only one participant will travel to Washington, D.C., the other selected individuals will have an opportunity to receive self-advocate training in virtual settings.

SourceAmerica wants to provide more in-depth training to self-advocates and expand the number of people trained throughout the year. To achieve that goal, every nonprofit should identify two to three self-advocates to participate in the virtual training during the 2022 conference. Although only one self-advocate will attend the conference in-person, we hope to empower every participant so they can be part of other advocacy opportunities throughout the year.

NPAs will be responsible for selecting the best candidates for the conference. We respectfully ask that NPAs select a different participant from past years and that they be employed on an AbilityOne contract.

The virtual trainings will take place in two parts. The dates for part one are tentatively scheduled for January 18 and February 22. Part two of the trainings will take place on March 24 and April 12. An additional training session on May 4 will be available for those self-advocates who will be attending the conference in person. Self-advocates are encouraged to attend both parts one and two but participation in both sessions is not a requirement to attend the Grassroots conference.

Google Chrome is the recommended internet platform to access the conference. Download it here if you do not currently have it set up on your computer. Mozilla Firefox or Safari will also work with the platform. Internet Explorer and Edge are not compatible with our systems.

Make sure that your systems meet our minimum requirements below. You can test your internet speed, firewall, operating system, web browser, microphone, and webcams that you will need to use during our conference here!

Computer System Requirements:

• An internet connection – broadband wired/hardwired (preferred) or wireless (3G or 4G/LTE)
• Speakers and a microphone – built-in or USB plug-in
• Any webcam or HD webcam - built-in or USB plug-in
  Note: See the list of supported devices.

Supported Operating Systems:

• macOS X with macOS 10.9 or later
• Windows 10
  Note: Devices running Windows 10 must run Windows 10 Home, Pro, or Enterprise
• Windows 8 or 8.1