National Wic Association

Nwa communications: nwa communications creates resources and tools to support nwa members in their outreach efforts to recruit and retain Wic participants. This includes a recruitment and retention campaign. The campaign includes creative assets that nwa members can leverage to promote Wic participation. In addition, the communications team creates and markets a Wic recipe book. The recipe book is an outreach tool and nutrition education tool for Wic providers. This collection of recipes uses ingredients that can be purchased using Wic available foods, is purchased by state and local Wic agencies and provided to Wic participants in Wic clinics and at outreach events, empowering families to prepare nutritious meals while maximizing their Wic benefits.

Center for innovative practices in Wic + public policy teams: nwa receives grants from charitable foundations that support progress towards nwa's mission. Grant-funded work at nwa builds capacity for nwa members to reduce barriers to Wic participation, drives Wic research and innovation, and elevates Wic to a range of stakeholders through communications activities. Specifically, the grant-funded portfolio enables nwa to provide subgrants to pilot innovative practices in Wic state and local agencies; build grassroots advocacy capacity through education, advocacy programming, resource development, reports, and webinars; (continued on schedule o)(continued from form 990, part iii, line 4c) story collection campaigns and more recently, elevating Wic participant voices through initiatives such as the participant advisory council and a multistate participant satisfaction survey. Additionally, grant funding has enabled nwa to lead groundbreaking research on equity, diversity, and inclusion in Wic and build a health equity champion program. Ultimately, grant-funded work at nwa supports the Association to provide additional support and resources to members and build internal capacity to enhance core services. Nwa also directly advocates for policy enhancements in the Wic program, including science-based updates to the Wic food package.

Member services: nwa conferences offer an excellent opportunity for Wic agency leaders and staff, nwa partners and other Wic stakeholders to acquire new skills and to network with an estimated 1,000 peers, and colleagues from across the country. In addition, exhibitors will share examples and information on the newest wic-related products and services for Wic staff and participants. Nwa offers both in-person and virtual conferences. Nwa conferences also offer an opportunity for attendees to hear from usda officials and to dialogue on relevant updates and challenges that the program faces. Content for is solicited through a competitive abstract process and curated by a conference committee and nwa staff. (continued on schedule o)(continued from form 990, part iii, line 4b) moreover, nwa's conferences support ongoing professional development by offering continuing education credits for registered dietitians and international board certified lactation consultants. The core function of member services revenue is to ensure a positive nwa member experience and to support the operating expenses of nwa. This includes staffing expenses across the organization. The nwa staff are organized into five teams: member services, communications, the center for innovative practices in Wic, public policy, and operations. The nwa staff are core to delivering crucial Wic advocacy, member engagement activities and education, technical assistance, and driving Wic research and innovation. Collectively they support the nwa membership to protect and promote Wic and effectively and efficiently provide Wic services to over 6-million mothers, babies, and young children.