Advocacy Resource Center
Nonprofits play a central role in democracy by educating policymakers and the public about issues affecting our shared well-being. These resources make it easier for nonprofits to support the communities they serve.
Step Up for the Charitable Sector
Advocacy takes many shapes and forms. Here are just some of the ways you can get involved.
Build Advocacy Into Your Daily Work
The most common reason nonprofits give for not engaging in advocacy is a shortage of time and staff. Only 31% report engaging in advocacy or lobbying, and many say they would take on policy work if they had the capacity.
Research suggests a different approach. Advocacy can be added to existing operations instead of being built alongside them. This section presents tools and resources designed to increase policy influence without requiring a new program or additional staff.
Build Relationships With Policymakers
Nonprofit leaders consistently identify relationships as the mechanism through which advocacy produces results. Nonpartisan connections with legislators, legislative staff, and agency officials give an organization a voice in key decisions that affect the organization and the communities they serve.
This section covers how to initiate contact, maintain relationships between specific requests, and involve community members in ways that remain nonpartisan.
Know What the Law Allows for Advocacy
In 2000, 54% of 501(c)(3) public charities knew they could support or oppose federal legislation. By 2022, that figure had fallen to 32%. The decline reflects growing uncertainty about the rules, not a change in the rules themselves.
Faced with overlapping federal, state, and local requirements, many organizations conclude the safest option is to say nothing. The resources in this section explain the legal framework in plain language so nonprofits can act on what is permitted rather than avoid advocacy out of caution.
Get your Board on Board With Advocacy
Board support is among the most effective ways to overcome barriers to advocacy, particularly limited capacity. Yet many organizations struggle to secure that support because staff and board members understand advocacy differently. These sections provide resources to inform that conversation with leadership.
Advocacy Tools Ready for Your Organization
Effective advocacy often depends on resources that cost money: legislative tracking systems, legal review of lobbying activity, and expertise in messaging or policy analysis. For smaller organizations and those facing increased demand for services, these costs are often prohibitive.
This section compiles no-cost and low-cost alternatives, including training, technology for tracking legislation and mobilizing supporters, and specialized expertise. Its purpose is to ensure that budget alone does not determine whether an organization can advocate.
Connect Advocacy to Your Mission
Among nonprofits that do not engage in policy, 56% report that advocacy does not apply to their mission and 18% believe their mission discourages it. The research reaches a different conclusion: Every mission operates within a policy environment that either supports or constrains it.
This section helps organizations identify where policy intersects with their work and use mission as the standard for deciding which issues warrant their attention.
- Nonprofit Advocacy & Civic Engagement Research
- Leave No Power on the Table Pledge
- Quorum Video Banking Tool (Coming Soon)
