About NC DAN

The NC Disability Action Network (NC DAN) was started by a group of individuals with disabilities who had a vision.  They wanted bring members of the disability community together to claim their power as citizens and take ACTION as a unified force on issues of local, state and national concern for North Carolinians with disabilities. 

In 2002, NC DAN was funded as an in-house project of the NC Council on Developmental Disabilities.  Since that time, NC DAN supported the grassroots efforts of North Carolinians with disabilities in the following ways:

• (Membership)  established a membership of more than 800 individuals in 78 North Carolina Counties and collaborated with more than 20 grassroots organizations led by people with disabilities;
• (Communication) developed the beginnings of an accessible communication system to disseminate information from and about grassroots efforts;
• (Training)  sponsored, co-sponsored, advertised and linked individuals to training opportunities that increased knowledge of disability issues and enhanced advocacy skills to address those issues;
• (Legislative action)  Linked individuals with disabilities to local or state committees, boards, task forces or advisory groups / recruited NC DAN members to attend local and statewide community forums and public policy meetings / supported rallies and other efforts to promote specific legislative issues; and
• (Collaborative efforts) developed collaborative efforts with local and statewide grassroots groups and initiatives led by people with disabilities.

While NC DAN supported grassroots efforts, there remained the need for NC DAN to be firmly rooted in the grassroots disability community.  In order for NC DAN to grow and truly represent the grassroots disability community, it needed to be housed and managed by a grassroots organization instead of a state agency. 

In response to this need, NC Council on Developmental Disabilities released a grant in 2007 that would provide funding for a grassroots organization to house and manage NC DAN.  A collaborative of the NC Centers for Independent Living and two grassroots organizations received the grant funding and is now the new home for NC DAN as it transitions itself into a non-profit organization lead and govern by the disability community.

The Center in Charlotte, Disability Rights & Resources, will serve as host for the project during this transition. As we organize ourselves to share stories and identify issues in our community. Build partnerships with other organizations, state agencies, and individuals in order to fund and set the priorities for supporting people with disabilities in taking civic action in our ever changing society. Then coordinate the actions under one united effort to bring better opportunities to North Carolinans of all abilities.