Nonprofit Advocacy Research Advisory Group

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, recent landmark research shows an alarming decline in nonprofit advocacy over the past two decades, while providing additional information about challenges and bright spots for our sector’s voice. This research calls for concerted and coordinated action, because these issues cannot be solved by any single organization.

Our Response

Independent Sector has launched a Nonprofit Advocacy Research Advisory Group composed of experienced nonprofit executives and policy practitioners. Through a series of convenings, this group will collectively inform and co-create an intervention plan, which could include capacity-building tools, resources, and standards. 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 hope to achieve the following objectives:

• 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 nonpartisan 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*

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

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