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We have a new administration. We need to stop complaining about all the problems in our nonprofits and show Obama and his team that nonprofits are important and vital to society. We make up 10% of the US workforce (2008 Nonprofit Almanac) and we work in a variety of fields important to society--hospitals, human service organizations, civic associations, religious institutions and arts organizations. Our individual nonprofit's missions are important, however will not make an impact of we try to approach the new administration on our own. We must come together as a sector and influence the government!
There are three ways that nonprofits can get involved and influence our government now!
1. At the local level: Write your local representative about how important and vital your nonprofit is in your local community.
2. At the state level: Check out what your state nonprofit association is doing to influence policy to help nonprofits. For example the California Association of Nonprofits has annual policy days, monthy policy briefing calls and connects nonprofits to policies that are important to nonprofits in the state of California.
3. At the national level: The Nonprofit Congress is working to educate nonprofits that lobbying and advocacy on the national level is alright and important for the success of the nonprofit sector. They provide nonprofit advocacy and lobbying links and resources on their website. Also check our their recommendations to the new administration. Also at the national level: The Independent Sector is speaking on behalf of all nonprofits and you need to know what they are recommending to the new administration because it affects your organization! Check out the Independent Sector's 2009 policy recommendations and e-mail their public policy Vice President patr at the independentsector dot org about policy recommendations on behalf of your nonprofit.
As someone who runs a non-profit I find it a conflict of interest to try and "influence policy." I understand that it is done, but while filling out all of the necessary paperwork (a pain in the ass)you agree that any funds will not go towards political contributions (which, personally I view as funds not going towards influencing policy.
With that said, there is too much pork in the current "stimulus" package, and I personally think that too much of it is going to non-profits and "policy influencing organizations" that won't actually stimulate the economy.
But then again, my non profit doesn't really need funding because I don't make any money from it and I volunteer my time to run it. Maybe I could lobby someone in power, get a grant, and make a huge payday for myself!
I agree that NPs need to come together. In fact, many need to merge. They'd be more efficient, and more good would be done.
However, in response to Daniel: you're right that you can't make political contributions. But, you can influence legislation. And, it's in a NP's best interest to do so when the legislation would help fulfill the NP's mission.
So, if you supply clean water to Africa, you should write and call your reps when a bill is on the floor that would increase funding for that.
And, if a piece of legislation address a root cause of a symptom or effect you're addressing, then all the more reason to get involved.
Advocacy is a key way to ensure that the mission of the nonprofit is accomplished. In the book, Forces for Good, Leslie Crutchfield and Heather McLoud Grant argue that both doing the direct work to address the mission as well as advocating to government to improve the opportunities for the mission to be accomplished are crucial when you want to have a significant impact on a problem.
Heather - thanks for the Nonprofit Congress shout out! :)
You are spot on with this post. With the economy in shambles and nonprofits doing the work that government used to do/should be doing to provide a safety net to struggling Americans, its more important than ever that nonprofits unite and advocate for themselves and their constituents.
@Daniel - how can it possibly be a 'conflict of interest' to influence policy? If anything, its your duty as someone who runs a nonprofit to have an impact on policy decisions that affect your clients. Ex: if you run a homeless shelter, you should do everything in your power to see that policies are made on the local, state and national level to alleviate poverty and raise more people out of homelessness. To ignore that is to ignore the people you serve. Also, I'm confused (and concerned) about your statement that your nonprofit doesn't need funding just because you don't get paid from it. Um...how does it achieve its mission if it doesn't have funding at all?
@Sam and Kevin - you guys are singing my song! We definitely need to pursue advocacy and work together if we're going to have an impact on changing the world.
Thanks for the post. For our non-profit to achieve our mission to eliminate child abuse and neglect in WV, we have to work to influence policy. We are the ones that know how to prevent abuse. If it was up to lawmakers, they would likely just increase penalties for abusers, but research shows that approach has no effect on stopping abuse from occurring in the first place. We have to help lawmakers understand what does and doesn't work.
We don't endorse specific candidates or make political contributions, but we strongly advocate on behalf of issues and policies that will help kids grow up free from abuse. There's nothing shady about it. Some funders have restrictions against using their grants for advocacy, but many do not.
As for the IRS, my understanding is most non-profits can spend up to 10% of their budget on lobbying not just general advocacy. If your budget is $1,000,000 that's a lot of lobbying that's permitted, but most of things non-profits do wouldn't even be considered lobbying. For example issuing a report that recommends expanding homeless programs is not lobbying; it's advocacy. Asking lawmakers to vote for a specific bill (i.e. Senate Bill 123) that provides funding for homeless programs would be lobbying and subject to the 10% limit.
Wow, great comments everyone. @daniel I am totally not surprised you feel that way about influencing policy. A lot of nonprofits are hesitant to engage in lobbying activities, however I've personally worked in several nonprofits that filled out the necessary 501H form and influenced legislation. @jim provides a great example of this work as well.
There are two great organizations that train nonprofits how to engage in lobbying and advocacy activities--Alliance for Justice http://www.afj.org and Center for Lobbying in the Public Interest http://www.clpi.org.
My employer is a member of an organization that is involved in lobbying to some extent. It is extremely helpful because it maximizes "bang for your buck". Our relationships with other organizations such as the union that represents our employees is also very good at developing a clear and effective message that is easily understood and shows the impact of our system across society.
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