Policy Circle CO
Inform. Inspire. Build Civic Leaders.
Programs and results
What we aim to solve
In the United States, women make up approximately 51% of the voters, yet women only make up: 7.4% of CEOs of Fortune 500 companies, 25% of the Senate, 23.2% of the U.S. House of Representatives, 29.3% of State Legislators, 28.9% of Statewide executives, 22% of Mayors. Studies show that a lack of confidence is a key barrier to women speaking up or taking action. The Policy Circle is on a mission to solve this. We're committed to investing in women's civic leadership and increasing women's participation on a local, state and federal level. We focus on meeting women where they live and work, providing a forum for them to connect with others in their communities. The Policy Circle empowers women to speak up about the limited role that government should have, and the value of personal responsibility in a free society.
Our programs
What are the organization's current programs, how do they measure success, and who do the programs serve?
Building The Policy Circle Community
Building confidence in women is the core activity of The Policy Circle, gathering women who wish to be more engaged in the issues and public policies affecting their values, families and communities. The Policy Circle provides full-time staff who are focused on equipping Leaders with the resources that will help each of them to lead and engage.
To equip our members with resources to go beyond the headlines and make informed decisions on the issues and policy proposals that impact us all, we build our community through our proprietary website, a framework to train our members to facilitate difficult conversations, and regional events in which we discuss our thoughtfully curated briefs.
Informing and Equipping The Policy Circle Community
The Policy Circle offers a variety of programs that provide women the tools to become impactful civic leaders. Our virtual programming offers experts and inspire discussions about our 60+ policy briefs, ranging on topics from Mental Health, Foreign Policy, Education, and Housing. The Civic Leadership Engagement Roadmap (CLER) is a proprietary, experiential leadership program that takes participants from having general civic knowledge to becoming civic leaders. In 2022, The Policy Circle will launch our newest course of the CLER program, focused on Education, School Boards, Funding and Curriculum. CircleUp America is a nationwide initiative focused on gathering women across the country to host conversations about a chosen brief.
Activating The Policy Circle Community
The Policy Circle hosts in person and virtual events across the country to motivate and energize members to become engaged. Move the Needle Virtual Experiences are thoughtful virtual programs which explore a wide range of timely topics and highlight the impact of public policy on individuals, families, businesses, and the broader community. Our seven State Leadership Councils are instrumental in hosting regional events to foster our community at the local level. Our signature event, the fifth Annual Leadership Summit held in Palm Beach in November of 2021 focused on The Confluence of Essentials: Power, Water, & Leadership. This event gathered over 700 virtual and live attendees to participate in over 24 sessions with 35 speakers across three days.
Where we work
External reviews

Photos
Videos
Our results
How does this organization measure their results? It's a hard question but an important one.
Number of research or policy analysis products developed, e.g., reports, briefs
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
Women and girls
Type of Metric
Input - describing resources we use
Direction of Success
Increasing
Context Notes
The Policy Circle Briefs are developed using a structured methodology to provide substantive yet approachable 360 view of issues that impact people and businesses' ability to innovate and grow.
Number of conferences held
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
Women and girls
Related Program
Activating The Policy Circle Community
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Increasing
Context Notes
Our Annual Leadership Summit provides reliable information, build leadership and critical thinking skills, and fosters and ecosystem of membership nationwide.
Number of training workshops
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
Women and girls
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Increasing
Context Notes
Our virtual, live and grassroots initiatives frame the issues, provide historical context, explore avenues for reform and encourage local engagement.
Number of participants attending course/session/workshop
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
Women and girls
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Increasing
Context Notes
In 2020, we hosted 40 programs and events with 60 thought leaders and policymakers.
Goals & Strategy
Learn about the organization's key goals, strategies, capabilities, and progress.
Charting impact
Four powerful questions that require reflection about what really matters - results.
What is the organization aiming to accomplish?
Founded in 2015, The Policy Circle is committed to providing pathways for women to become courageous, knowledgeable and active citizens who identify and take ownership of local solutions to the issues facing their communities. The Policy Circle is a starting point for people who feel on the sidelines or boxed in and want to have an impact. Our initiatives are built around original, thoughtfully curated Policy Circle Briefs that provide a substantive yet approachable 360 view of issues that impact people and businesses' ability to innovate, grow and be self-reliant. Our growing and thriving community is a diverse group of aspiring leaders who regularly go beyond the headlines to transform conversations and their communities by advancing policies that provide greater opportunity and better lives for all - especially the most vulnerable.
What are the organization's key strategies for making this happen?
The Policy Circle focuses on three distinct pathways to build women into courageous and engaged leaders:
1. Recruiting Women to Lead. The Policy Circle is a starting point for women to engage in dialogue on the impact of public policy on human prosperity in an open economy. Our strategic, grassroots model gives a forum for women to lead in their communities by building confidence to voice their informed opinions on policy issues through leading Policy Circle discussions centered around thoughtfully curated Policy Circle Briefs.
2. Live and Virtual Programming. Through in-person and virtual events, members connect and build relationships with each other, thought leaders and strategic partners who help go beyond the headlines and advance our shared principles.
3. World-Class Civic Leadership Training. We work with emerging leaders to grow their impact through civic engagement. Our Civic Leadership Engagement Roadmap (CLER) boasts an innovative, action-oriented curriculum designed to educate, prepare and build the next generation of public leaders.
By focusing on these three areas, The Policy Circle is able to make a meaningful impact on women's leadership and representation on a local, state and federal level across the country.
What are the organization's capabilities for doing this?
Over the last six years, The Policy Circle has achieved great growth using a sustainable model through efficient operations to:
- Provide governance of the hundreds of circles across the country, The Policy Circle national board oversees the management of the organization and sets the strategy for the future.
- Fund the infrastructure of The Policy Circle, fundraising, stewardship and grant writing activities are needed to continue the growth of the organization.
- Leverage our network of thought leaders and aspiring leaders to bring The Policy Circle community together to create meaningful change.
The Policy Circle is operated by a lean, efficient team utilizing cloud technologies and remote associates to reduce costs. Good governance policies and procedures are enforced, such as accounting audits and internal financial controls, along with proper legal services and insurance coverage. Importantly, The Policy Circle communicates regularly with its donors and supporters to keep them informed on the progress and outcomes of The Policy Circle.
What have they accomplished so far and what's next?
In six years, our ecosystem has grown to more than 11,000 subscribers in 350 circles in 44 states and four countries.
The Policy Circle offers regional events, engagement opportunities, and circle leader training in Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, Indiana, Montana, New York, Ohio, Texas, Wisconsin, Florida and Washington and the District of Columbia. A pivot in 20201has lead The Policy Circle to host monthly virtual experiences featuring topics such as Free Speech, Mental Health, Schools & Communiiities, and Healthcare.
The Policy Circle hosted its fifth Policy Circle Leadership Summit in Palm Beach in November of 2021, bringing together over 700 live and virtual Policy Circle leaders, members and supporters with outstanding speakers and panelists -- to explore the theme : The Confluence of Essentials--Water, Power and Leadership. The Summit was a mix of networking opportunities combined with plenary sessions and how-to workshops. 25 different sessions featured 34 different speakers, including Tiffany Smiley, Dina Powell, and Ina Kim-Schaad. Following The Policy Circle Annual Summit, attendees will return to their communities energized and ready to share their experience with their friends and neighbors. The Annual Summit inspired members to become more vocal proponents for freedom and free enterprise policies. The next Policy Circle Summit will be in September of 2022 to explore the theme: Building Thriving Communities.
How we listen
Seeking feedback from people served makes programs more responsive and effective. Here’s how this organization is listening.
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How is your organization using feedback from the people you serve?
To identify and remedy poor client service experiences, To identify bright spots and enhance positive service experiences, To make fundamental changes to our programs and/or operations, To inform the development of new programs/projects, To identify where we are less inclusive or equitable across demographic groups, To strengthen relationships with the people we serve
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Which of the following feedback practices does your organization routinely carry out?
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What challenges does the organization face when collecting feedback?
It is difficult to get the people we serve to respond to requests for feedback, We don’t have the right technology to collect and aggregate feedback efficiently
Financials
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Operations
The people, governance practices, and partners that make the organization tick.
Connect with nonprofit leaders
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- Analyze a variety of pre-calculated financial metrics
- Access beautifully interactive analysis and comparison tools
- Compare nonprofit financials to similar organizations
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Connect with nonprofit leaders
SubscribeBuild relationships with key people who manage and lead nonprofit organizations with GuideStar Pro. Try a low commitment monthly plan today.
- Analyze a variety of pre-calculated financial metrics
- Access beautifully interactive analysis and comparison tools
- Compare nonprofit financials to similar organizations
Want to see how you can enhance your nonprofit research and unlock more insights? Learn More about GuideStar Pro.
Policy Circle CO
Board of directorsas of 07/21/2022
Sylvie Légère
The Policy Circle
Term: 2015 -
Kathy Hubbard
Angela Braly
Laura Cox Kaplan
Carol Greene
Board leadership practices
GuideStar worked with BoardSource, the national leader in nonprofit board leadership and governance, to create this section.
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Board orientation and education
Does the board conduct a formal orientation for new board members and require all board members to sign a written agreement regarding their roles, responsibilities, and expectations? Yes -
CEO oversight
Has the board conducted a formal, written assessment of the chief executive within the past year ? Not applicable -
Ethics and transparency
Have the board and senior staff reviewed the conflict-of-interest policy and completed and signed disclosure statements in the past year? Yes -
Board composition
Does the board ensure an inclusive board member recruitment process that results in diversity of thought and leadership? Yes -
Board performance
Has the board conducted a formal, written self-assessment of its performance within the past three years? Yes
Organizational demographics
Who works and leads organizations that serve our diverse communities? Candid partnered with CHANGE Philanthropy on this demographic section.
Leadership
The organization's leader identifies as:
Race & ethnicity
No data
Gender identity
Sexual orientation
No data
Disability
No data
Equity strategies
Last updated: 01/22/2021GuideStar partnered with Equity in the Center - an organization that works to shift mindsets, practices, and systems to increase racial equity - to create this section. Learn more
- We disaggregate data to adjust programming goals to keep pace with changing needs of the communities we support.
- We employ non-traditional ways of gathering feedback on programs and trainings, which may include interviews, roundtables, and external reviews with/by community stakeholders.
- We have long-term strategic plans and measurable goals for creating a culture such that one’s race identity has no influence on how they fare within the organization.
- We seek individuals from various race backgrounds for board and executive director/CEO positions within our organization.
- We have community representation at the board level, either on the board itself or through a community advisory board.
- We help senior leadership understand how to be inclusive leaders with learning approaches that emphasize reflection, iteration, and adaptability.