Integrating
Advocacy into
your Direct
Service
Organization
Using Your Whole
Team
What do we mean by
‘advocacy’?
Advocare:
Rally
“to call to aid”
around a cause
Engage stakeholders
Promote social change
Address root causes
Building Movement Project’s
5% Shift
 Modest
impact
changes that can have big
 Building
Community from the Inside Out
 Developing the Leadership of Recipients
 Asking Powerful Questions
 Advancing Community-level Impact
 Crossing Organizational Boundaries to Build
New Partnerships
 Building
Movement Project
Advocacy and the 501(c)3—Nonlegal Advice to Get Started

Advocacy v. lobbying

Advocacy that does not include a ‘call to action’ is not lobbying:
educating, tracking bills, leadership development, nonpartisan voter
work
 501(c)3

For “non-electing” organizations, lobbying must be “no
substantial part of a charity’s activities.”


This includes expenditures, time and energy devoted by staff and
volunteers.
The 501(h) election allows nonprofit organizations to lobby
with greater clarity and less worry.


organizations are allowed to lobby.
These nonprofits have no limits on their volunteer lobbying
activities and can spend up to 20% of the first $500,000 of their
annual budget on lobbying (no more than 25% of this can be
grassroots lobbying).
Resources to help:


Bolder Advocacy
Center for Lobbying in the Public Interest
“Here’s what we can and can’t
do”
 Safe





Activities
Public education
about policy issues
(with a ‘call to action’,
it counts as lobbying)
Nonpartisan voter
registration drives
Candidate surveys
(with guidance)
Lobbying within legal
limits
Policy analysis without
a “call to action”
 Unsafe






Activities
Candidate
endorsements
Campaign contributions
Candidate pledges
Partisan GOTV
Exceeding lobbying
limits, or failing to keep
track of lobbying
activities
Failing to distinguish
between “grassroots”
and “direct” lobbying
WILL
AWARENESS
OUTCOMES
ACTION
A Broad Advocacy Landscape: One Framework
Lobbying
Litigation
Community Mobilization
Model Legislation
Coalition Building Regulatory Feedback
Community Organizing
Champion Development
Media Advocacy Political Will Campaigns
Public Will Campaigns
Communications and Messaging
Advocacy Capacity Building
Public Forums
Leadership Development
Voter Outreach
Demonstration Programs
Public Awareness Campaigns
Public Polling
Policy Analysis/Research
Public Education Influencer Education
PUBLIC
Policymaker Education
7
DECISION MAKERS
INFLUENCERS
AUDIENCES
WILL
AWARENESS
OUTCOMES
ACTION
Where are you working? Where could you, if
you used your whole team?
Lobbying
Litigation
Community Mobilization
Model Legislation
Coalition Building Regulatory Feedback
Community Organizing
Champion Development
Media Advocacy Political Will Campaigns
Public Will Campaigns
Communications and Messaging
Advocacy Capacity Building
Public Forums
Leadership Development
Voter Outreach
Demonstration Programs
Public Awareness Campaigns
Public Polling
Policy Analysis/Research
Public Education Influencer Education
PUBLIC
Policymaker Education
8
DECISION MAKERS
INFLUENCERS
AUDIENCES
Examples: Building Capacity
with your Whole Team
Service
Participants
Direct-Service Staff
Volunteers
Donors
What do you need to
make these shifts?
Board
buy-in and how to get it
Technical assistance—around what?
Staff capacity—to do what? How to
cultivate it?
Partnerships/mentorships—where
are there organizations positioned to
guide you?