June 24, 2004

Building Capacity for Public Policy Advocacy

by Liz Baumgarten, Charity Lobbying in the Public Interest (CLPI)

 

BaumgartenPublic policy advocacy for nonprofits can yield far greater returns for nonprofit beneficiary communities than direct service alone, and can lead to increased funding streams for organizations.  A case in point:

The George Gund Foundation in Ohio has invested in its grantees by providing grants to identify and train public policy staff. The Foundation is currently funding 25 to 30 such positions. For food banks alone, the funding of a staff position at Second Harvest resulted in a $6 million budget line item for food banks in Ohio. The Foundation estimates that the public policy positions have resulted in about $100 million in new funds for human services by the Ohio General Assembly in the last biennium.

While advocacy is on the rise among nonprofits, there is much room for improvement if we are to achieve broad, effective representation of nonprofit concerns in our government today and truly be about “Empowering the Nonprofit Sector.”  There are several key barriers to nonprofit advocacy; this article describes those barriers and ways capacity builders can help nonprofits overcome them. 

Demand for capacity building in advocacy/public policy is on the rise, and it is increasingly clear that consultants, management support organizations, universities, associations and grantmakers need to be up to speed on how to assist nonprofits in this crucial area.  In the recent Alliance for Nonprofit Management member survey, respondents indicated that the demand for capacity-building services in advocacy/public policy grew from 2002 to 2003. Indeed, when “not applicable” responses were removed to focus in on those people who do include advocacy/public policy in their work, this area of capacity building came in sixth place in increased demand, following the “basics” such as fundraising, strategic planning and governance.

In addition, recent numbers show increased participation by nonprofits in the public policy process, leading to this growing demand for capacity building. According to Internal Revenue Service (IRS) data, there was a 19% increase between 1999 and 2001 in the amount spent on lobbying by 501(c)(3)s reported on their Form 990s.  Research conducted by Tufts University, Charity Lobbying in the Public Interest and OMB Watch also show an increase in participation. The Strengthening Nonprofit Advocacy Project (SNAP) included a national survey of over 1,700 nonprofit organizations in 2000. Roughly three of four of the respondents said they have engaged at least once in key types of public policy activity such as direct or grassroots lobbying or testifying at a legislative or administrative hearing. These numbers show widespread involvement of some kind even before the state and federal budget crises of the past two years, which have led to increased nonprofit advocacy efforts.

As a result of the need being so much clearer and more urgent, participation in the public policy process is up, as is demand for services to support that participation. This article will address why further encouragement of nonprofits’ advocacy role is needed, and offer specific tips for building nonprofit capacity in this area.


What is Public Policy Advocacy?

Advocacy remains a very broad term, potentially referring to any endeavor that attempts to change government or private sector policy. Engaging in public policy advocacy can encompass many activities:  building or participating in coalitions, grassroots organizing, messaging campaigns aimed to educate and engage the public, and direct lobbying. Lobbying, often used interchangeably with advocacy, is actually a subset or form of advocacy. It is aimed at influencing specific legislation by requesting that a legislative body oppose or support it. (See "Lobbying and Advocacy: Similarities and Differences" ) The good news is that both lobbying and advocacy are legal for nonprofits (see “Confusion Over the Law” later in this article).


Why Advocacy?

Although there is a measured increase in nonprofit public policy participation, when one digs a little deeper, that participation is sporadic and somewhat shallow. The SNAP data shows that the frequency of nonprofit policy participation is generally low. Three out of five nonprofits that reported that they lobby say that they lobby with a low level of frequency. A majority of those organizations reported that they lobby at the lowest possible level on the survey. 63% of the nonprofit respondents reported that they either have never encouraged others to write, call, fax or email policymakers, or have done so infrequently; the same is true with 69% regarding lobbying.

So, it is a good news/bad news story. The good news is that participation has increased, and demand for support in the area is also up. The bad news is that the level and frequency of participation is still low — not enough for deep impact on the local, state and federal policies that affect the constituents with which nonprofits work. In addition, among Alliance members who responded to a survey early this year, demand for capacity-building services in advocacy/public policy ranks in 14th place if  “not applicable” responses are taken into account.  This finding indicates that capacity builders who do not specifically focus on advocacy are not seeing as much increased demand for these services as those who already do have an emphasis on supporting advocacy.

One of the primary challenges is to move nonprofits to view public policy advocacy efforts as integral to the meeting of their organization’s mission and to embrace their role as experts in their issue area. Frequently, nonprofits are the only institutions with a view of both the concerns most important to their constituents and the day-to-day realities of how government programs function and impact those constituents. It is necessary to challenge nonprofit leaders to step beyond the immediate problems and concerns with which they deal, usually on a one-to-one basis, to the larger social issues to which those individual problems are connected.  In order to connect advocacy to mission, nonprofit leaders should be encouraged to review their mission and vision statements with their board and staff. Often, to truly meet its mission, a policy component will need to be addressed. For most, mission and vision statements envision social change - be it a better, healthier environment, alleviation of homelessness or hunger, or equal opportunity in education.

Why advocacy as a path to these changes? Because the government’s role is so critical, in terms of taxing and spending priorities, standard-setting, technical assistance (directly and through supporting TA) and enforcement. And if nonprofits don’t do it, who will? Who but these organizations has the knowledge or the mission to advocate on behalf of those served - those with the least representation in the political process?

Indeed, cultivating the capacity in communities of color to make policy change is the work of Alliance member Makani Themba-Nixon’s organization, The Praxis Project.  A recent toolkit, for instance, focuses on fighting state budget cuts.  (See her commentary on the value of a racial justice lens, in this issue of ENHANCE.)


Building Public Policy Advocacy Capacity:
Making the Extraordinary Ordinary

The SNAP research mentioned earlier addressed persistent barriers to nonprofit participation in the public policy process. These barriers and how to address them are instructive in building capacity. The top three barriers to policy participation reported in the research were limited financial resources, confusion regarding the law, and limited staff or volunteer skills.


Limited Financial Resources

This barrier to participation has two primary forms - (1) sources of funding that preclude lobbying with funds they provide — through government contracts or private foundation grants — and (2) limited financial resources to dedicate to advocacy efforts.

It is true that government funds, with few exceptions, cannot be used for lobbying. However, many foundations are overly restrictive in their grant agreement language - often stating that no monies can be used for lobbying. In fact, monies provided as general operating support by private foundations can be used for lobbying. Private foundations cannot, however, dedicate specific project grants for lobbying efforts.

Diversifying funding is a crucial capacity to engage in advocacy - not to mention good management practice. Since government money is rarely available to pay for advocacy - raising funds from individual donors, writing grants to foundations for general operating support and recruiting volunteers or staff members to donate their time when they are not working become important options. Indeed, many organizations could see individual donations increase as donors are drawn to organizations that are doing something about the issues about which they care.

Diversity of funding is not the only solution — nonprofits are also hampered in their participation because they do not want to bite the hand that feeds them. Government funds pay for more than 50 percent of the entire budgets of nonprofits providing social and legal services today. Many organizations that receive government money express fear of retribution for engaging in public policy matters.

However, organizations that both provide services and engage in advocacy see themselves as partners with government on common issues of concern. Discussion with policymakers regarding disagreements over policy and/or solutions to those problems should be based on the assumption that nonprofit leaders and those policymakers are peers. This is sometimes a matter of presentation — holding one’s head high when meeting with government officials — and always a matter of recognizing the power an organization wields. The knowledge and understanding of constituents’ needs is crucial information for policymakers, as is the ability to assure voters that those needs are being met through combined government-community efforts. Thus, nonprofits should be encouraged to embrace a major source of power: the reality that they represent a block of voting constituents and stakeholders (such as board members and even funders) who are well-connected and willing to use those connections.

Limited financial resources serve as a barrier also to the extent that there is a dearth of funds available to be dedicated to advocacy efforts when an organization is struggling to provide critical direct services.  Yet, as mentioned above, a plan to advocate change in policies and seek long-term solutions can actually attract funding - especially individual donations and even foundation support. Nonprofit leaders who engage in the policymaking process are seen as experts in their area and leaders in the community. Indeed, every fundraising course should include participation in the public policy process as an effective strategy.

My own experience as a past executive director of a statewide nonprofit organization illustrates the link between advocacy and fundraising. The organization was dedicated to the establishment of service-learning programs at colleges across the state. There were many programs established to this end. However, given the organization’s close proximity to Washington D.C. and my own background in policy work, I became involved in the effort to draft and pass legislation to create a national community service corps - what eventually became AmeriCorps. I participated in working groups to draft the legislation - lending expertise from the state level and representing higher education. Once the legislation was drafted, I developed relationships with our state’s delegation and their staff and lobbied for passage of the bill. By the time the bill was enacted as law, I was seen by the federal agency leadership in Washington as well as my state’s leaders as the primary contact for service learning and higher education in Virginia. Accordingly, when the first grants were awarded under Americorps, my organization received the largest grant for the state in higher education and I was asked to chair the state working group for implementation.

I made this advocacy activity a priority, but it cannot be an immediate priority for all nonprofit leaders. For those beginning their involvement and with limited financial resources, participation in coalitions is an effective tool. Coalitions can lessen advocacy costs and are a good way to become more involved in smaller steps. Alliance members are already very active in helping form or facilitate coalitions of organizations.  An inspiring example is offered by Mark Rosenman, who directs the Exploratory Project on Human Services and Civic Engagement with his colleague Linda Nguyen.  (See “Bringing Advocacy to Human Services” in this issue of ENHANCE.)  Adding a public policy component to coalitions that do not already devote significant energy to it is a great way to build capacity.  Sixty-seven percent of Alliance members surveyed indicated that they create or facilitate coalitions of organizations, and 22% indicated they want more information on this. 


Confusion Over the Lobbying Law

Another barrier to nonprofit public policy advocacy is confusion over what is legal activity for nonprofits. The SNAP research found that there was broad understanding of the general laws governing public policy participation. For example, 94% of nonprofits reported that they know they cannot use federal funds to lobby. However, nonprofit understanding of the laws is somewhat thin. Only 72% of survey respondents knew that they can support or oppose legislation. And half of the respondents incorrectly thought that they cannot lobby at all if part of their budget comes from federal funds.

It is important to be clear and unequivocal that advocacy and lobbying by nonprofits is legal. Indeed, Congress has encouraged lobbying by nonprofits. Under a 1976 law and subsequent regulations, if a nonprofit registers as planning to lobby, it can spend up to 20 percent of its first $500,000 in annual exempt-purpose expenditures on lobbying, 15 percent of the next $500,000, 10 percent of the next $500,000, and so on up to an expenditure of one million dollars.  To take advantage of this law, nonprofits must register by filing Federal Form 5768, available online at http://www.clpi.org/pdf/f5768.pdf. Even if it does not register, an organization can still lobby, as long as it is an “insubstantial” portion of its total activities.

There are also several examples of what ordinary people might think of as lobbying, but which are not considered lobbying by regulators, including:

  • Contact with government agencies and legislators regarding regulations already in place;
  • Educating members about pending legislation as long as the information doesn’t include a specific call to action;
  • Providing testimony in response to a written request from a legislative committee; and,
  • Discussing broad policy issues in newsletters and forums, so long as the information doesn’t make a case using the pros and cons of specific legislation.

The lobby law provides generous leeway for nonprofits and its members to lobby – both directly talking to legislators and through “grassroots lobbying.”  An organization engages in DIRECT lobbying when it attempts to influence specific legislation by contact with legislators (or their staff).  The limitations on direct lobbying expenditures are outlined above. GRASSROOTS lobbying occurs when an organization urges the public to take action on specific legislation.

You don’t have to be a lawyer to help nonprofits understand their legal capabilities in advocacy.  It is important to familiarize yourself with the issues so that you are able to provide accurate answers to the questions of your boards, clients, members or grantees.  There are many good resources to convey the legality of nonprofit lobbying and advocacy and capacity-building tools to increase knowledge and skills in this area.  These are some ways to provide support and awareness of advocacy/public policy law for nonprofits even if you do not plan on becoming an expert or providing in-depth services in this area.


Limited Staff and Volunteer Skills

The third barrier to nonprofit public policy participation is limited staff and volunteer skills. Not surprisingly, staff and budget size are strong predictors of public policy participation. The majority of nonprofits responding to the SNAP survey (58%) identified the executive director as having responsibility for public policy activities. Those organizations, however, were less involved in public policy than organizations that assign the responsibility to others.   Organizations most involved in public policy have staff, a board committee or an outside lobbyist assigned the responsibility. This is a useful guidepost for consultants working with nonprofits that want to ramp up their advocacy efforts – be sure to get beyond the executive director for advocacy responsibility.

The initial investment in staffing and board development can lead to long-term gains.  Many Alliance members are already engaged in board and staff development with nonprofits.  When boards are thinking about committee structures, help them consider an advocacy committee.  When thinking about board or staff development, help point to advocacy/public policy training, publications, peer organizations and other resources that can help strengthen their understanding and skills.

Expanding staff capacity for advocacy can bring real returns for organizations and the communities they serve.  For example, when the Alzheimer’s Association chapter that serves Washington D.C. received a $140,000 annual gift with few restrictions, the initial reaction was to dedicate the money to direct services and research. However, a few board members advocated dedication of the unexpected gift to fund a government relations position at the chapter to educate policymakers on their issues. The decision was made to hire a part-time person to lobby at the state level in Maryland and D.C. This decision saw tremendous long-term impacts – the most concrete of which was the passage of a law to subsidize respite care for Alzheimer’s patients’ families. The law provided about $1 million a year in respite care subsidies for families who could not otherwise afford it. In other words, investing some of that $140,000 in lobbying has produced much more in services for Alzheimer’s families than if all of that money had been put into direct services.

As noted above, the George Gund Foundation’s investment in public policy staff for grantees has already brought results such as a $6 million budget line item for food banks in Ohio.

Investment in staff skilled in public policy advocacy can go a long way. So can board development in this area. Boards are typically comprised of community leaders – the type of people who are generally well-connected politically. In developing their boards, nonprofit leaders should recruit members who contribute to local political campaigns and are gatekeepers to policymakers. It is not difficult to find politically active community leaders who care about the issues with which nonprofits work. A board public policy committee can often take the lead on policy issues and spearhead an organization’s advocacy efforts.

Finally, working in coalition is again a critical capacity to supplement lack of financial as well as staff resources. Pulling together the resources and skills of many organizations, some more sophisticated politically, can be very effective and go a long way to finding legislative gains.


Summary – Tips for Capacity Builders

  • Help nonprofits find resources for lobbying by diversifying their funding base and seeking general operating support from private foundations;
  • Help nonprofits see themselves as experts in their subject area and partners with government in addressing issues facing their constituencies;
  • Familiarize yourself with the laws related to public policy advocacy so you can help nonprofits be more effective in advocacy and lobbying, knowing that both are legal for nonprofits (see http://www.clpi.org/lobby_law_hm.html);
  • Build advocacy/public policy considerations into board and staff development plans; and,
  • Facilitate and encourage coalitions of organizations to engage in advocacy.


Conclusion

Nonprofits are at a crossroads. Many have entered the public policy fray due to budget crises and cuts at the federal, state and local levels. This is a perfect teaching moment for those providing support services to those organizations. A moment in which nonprofits might see that their role as advocates and experts in their issue area is vital to policymakers. If they can diversify their funding base, work in coalition with other like-minded organizations, gain clarity on the law, invest in staff capacity and/or develop their boards with an eye toward public policy involvement, the sector could be strengthened for true social change.


Liz Baumgarten is Executive Director Elect of Charity Lobbying in the Public Interest. CLPI is a national organization based in Washington D.C. that promotes, supports and protects nonprofit advocacy and lobbying as a means of achieving charitable missions. www.clpi.org - It’s All Here.

 

For more on this topic, join us at the 2004 Alliance Annual Conference, where Liz Baumgarten and other leading advocacy capacity builders will present on "Turning the Extraordinary into the Ordinary:  Public Policy Advocacy for Nonprofits," Friday, August 13, 9:00am - 10:30am.

 

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