Through their advocacy, nonprofits have long served as a catalyst for democracy and systems change in the United States — educating policymakers and helping people use their own voices to elevate problems and find solutions.

Unfortunately, landmark research from Independent Sector shows an alarming decline in nonprofit advocacy over the past two decades, while providing additional information about challenges and opportunities for our sector’s voice. These findings suggest the need for concerted and coordinated action across the charitable sector. Accordingly, Independent Sector initiated a collaborative process to build data-driven, clear, implementable recommendations for strengthening nonprofit advocacy and civic engagement.

The recommendations below are intended to form the basis for coordination and capacity building across the sector. Independent Sector will work with funders, partner organizations, and coalitions to identify, curate, and build resources around these recommendations, focusing on those where we are best positioned to have an impact. We encourage you to reach out to Independent Sector’s team if you have ideas for implementation or partnership.

The Recommendations

• Develop training to help nonprofits adopt and adjust daily practices to influence policy.
• Craft best practices for building and maintaining policymaker relationships.
• Provide resources that simplify language and jargon.
• Educate nonprofit leaders and boards on the role of advocacy in mission success.
• Expand access to specialized advocacy resources and tools.
• Demonstrate how advocacy advances all types of nonprofit missions.
• Provide increased, flexible funding for advocacy and civic engagement.

For more about these recommendations, please review the report and stay connected with Independent Sector as we build on these recommendations.

The Process

Independent Sector launched a Nonprofit Advocacy Research Advisory Group composed of experienced nonprofit executives and policy practitioners. Through a series of convenings, the group collectively co-created an intervention plan with recommendations for the sector. These recommendations will help ensure the voices of our organizations and the people we serve are heard clearly by community leaders and policymakers now and in the future.

By inviting the expertise and experience of this key group of nonprofit stakeholders, we sought to:

• Apply learnings from quantitative and qualitative research to improve nonprofit sector advocacy practices.
• Chart a path forward for nonprofit organizations of all sizes, subsectors, and geographies to engage in advocacy and civic engagement.
• Empower nonprofit organizations to engage in advocacy to achieve sector-wide progress toward their missions, collective action, and capacity building.

Advisory Group Members*

• Kalia Abiade, vice president of programs, Pillars Fund
• Amanda Caughran, director, advocacy and public policy, Cornerstones
• Josh Davis, vice president of policy and partnerships, StriveTogether
• Hillary Evans, vice president of policy and advocacy, United Way of Metropolitan Dallas
• Tara Huffman, chief program and strategy officer, BoardSource
• Kristin Hurdle, senior director of state relations, Government Relations & Policy Office of YMCA of the USA
• Natalie Jones, director of advocacy and research, Tennessee Nonprofit Network
• Heather Noonan, member, Performing Arts Alliance
• Joy Ossei-Anto, managing director of funder engagement, Philanthropy for Active Civic Engagement
• Jessica Pizarek, director of federal policy and advocacy, PolicyLink
• Ethan Spurling, vice president of policy and government relations, SparkWheel
• Ted Stiger, chief external affairs and policy officer, Rural Community Assistance Partnership

*Serving in their personal capacity. Organization listed for identification purposes only.