Engaging candidates on issues important to our organizations and communities during election season is a powerful way to ensure they prioritize those issues once in office.  At a national level, leaders — including the President of the United States — must understand public policy issues impacting the work of nonprofits. Our sector is an economic powerhouse, a trusted source of information, and an essential partner for any policymaker with big goals.

Despite American voters’ overwhelming support of local charities educating policymakers about the needs of the communities they serve, only 31% of nonprofits report engaging in advocacy or lobbying over the last five years. Nonprofits can and should educate policymakers and candidates on nonprofit sector issues, learn about policy proposals that will impact our work, and partner to advance solutions to local and national challenges.

In April of 2024, the Nonprofit Infrastructure Coalition (NIC), co-led by Independent Sector and KABOOM!, engaged ALL viable presidential candidates through a questionnaire on sector-wide policy issues. Our goal is to educate the candidates on the nonprofit sector, learn about their policy positions that will impact the sector, and demonstrate best practices for nonpartisan candidate engagement.  In keeping with those best practices, responses will only be published before the election if enough candidates respond. Below you’ll find the questionnaire and resources for you to engage with candidates for any elected office.

Questionnaire Resources

• Presidential Candidate Questionnaire
• Sector Impact One pager 
• Building Stronger Nonprofits by Building Nonprofit Voices: Launching Our 2024 Presidential Candidate Questionnaire
• Learn more about the Nonprofit Infrastructure Coalition and its effort to ensure that public policies are supporting a healthy and equitable sector.

Advocacy Resources

• Your mission might not be directly related to advocacy or elections — but it’s still critical for your organization to have a voter engagement plan! Learn why (and how you can get a plan in place).
• Read the landmark nonprofit advocacy & civic engagement research on the declining state of nonprofit influence through advocacy and civic engagement.

The NIC is a nonpartisan coalition of nonprofit organizations and neither supports nor opposes any political party or candidate for office.