Nonprofit Advocacy or Lobbying

Nonprofit advocacy or lobbying is something many nonprofits stay away from. Every now and then, though, an issue comes up in the public policy realm that impacts your organization.  You then have to decide whether to participate in a nonprofit advocacy or lobbying call to action. However, you are a little hesitant. After going to a couple of training, you know advocacy has more leeway, but there are numerous limitations on nonprofits pertaining to lobbying. You also know that supporting political candidates from political parties is totally forbidden, so you will stay away from it.

As you begin to consider whether you will answer the calls to action, you think about some of the decision-makers you know in the public agencies you contract with. Most of them are very reasonable people, but there are a couple you know will have an issue with nonprofit advocacy or lobbying efforts that speak out against one of their ideas publicly. You have also heard of organizations that have been targeted for speaking out, and some that have lost their funding. After conducting an environmental scan, you decide that you cannot sit out this one. You begin to plan your strategy for engaging in a nonprofit advocacy or lobbying campaign. You try to be thoughtful about strategy, and how you invest your energy.

So how do you go about engaging in nonprofit advocacy or lobbying, while protecting your nonprofit? This is the first of a two-part series on nonprofit lobbying and advocacy. In this article, we will cover:

• Honing in on decision-makers,

• Factors policy brokers consider when selecting priorities,

• Being clear on your policy priorities, and

• Steps you should take to be prepared.

Honing In On Decision-Makers

Once you are clear on the issue you wish to impact, then you must be strategic about leveraging your resources, and influence. You must assess if the issue you want to address through your nonprofit advocacy or lobbying initiative is a problem that requires legislative, or regulatory action. This will help you determine which decision-maker you should target in either the legislature, in a government agency, or in the executive branch (i.e., mayor, governor, or president). Most of the time, you should have an outreach strategy that reaches out to various branches of government simultaneously. For example, even if a legislative remedy is required, you should also reach out to the department that would have jurisdiction over your policy solution to make sure you either get their support or have answers that explain why their opposition should be disregarded.

As you begin your outreach campaign in your nonprofit advocacy or lobbying initiative, you have to think about how you want to influence the thinking of decision-makers. You must also preemptively strategize on how to mobilize them into taking action on your behalf. First, think about why you are reaching out to them. Do they have the ability to influence a decision-maker? Do they have the ability to solve the problem through a legislative or regulatory solution? Can they provide you with background information on the issue? Can they provide you with some insight on upcoming initiatives? Can they link you to resources?

You must also have a clear understanding of where the power lies, and how decision-making occurs at each level of government. You must have a nonprofit advocacy or lobbying plan to influence both the decision-makers and the supporting staff that advise them. Why is this important? This is because even if the decision maker is onboard, staff members in key positions that do not support your initiative can pose significant obstacles. They can convince the decision-maker that staff time is better utilized in other initiatives, and they can classify your issue as a low priority, which means no meaningful or swift action will be taken.

Factors Considered by Policy Brokers in Decision-Making

As you begin to think about how you structure your messaging to both the decision-maker and the staff in your nonprofit advocacy or lobbying initiative, you should also take into consideration the factors that they think about when selecting their priority policy issues:

• Is the issue consistent with the priorities of the legislator, department, or division?

• Does this require a procedural, regulatory, or legislative remedy?

• Does the policy broker have the authority to do something about this issue?

• Is the solution contingent on intra-governmental coordination and cooperation?

• How visible is the issue?

• What is the extent of public support for this issue?

• How controversial is the issue?

• Is this a complicated issue, or easy to solve?

• How long will it take to see results?

• Do the implementing public agencies and divisions have the resources to implement this nonprofit or advocacy initiative?

• How much will the solution cost?

• How many political points can be scored on this issue?

• Does the policy solution stop action on another issue that the decision-maker cares about?

• What happens if no action is taken?

• What data exists at the moment that supports a need for action?

• Does the decision-maker actually care about this issue?

• Is your opinion on this issue just yours, or is it shared by multiple like-minded organizations?

• Does your organization have a reputation for reliability?

• Can your organization organize a serious and contentious media campaign that will have negative consequences if no action is taken?

• Does the political climate demand action on this particular issue?

Whether you are acting independently or in a coalition, you must be clear on the outcomes you want from each meeting in your nonprofit advocacy or lobbying campaign. This clarity will help you stay focused while navigating the complicated, and counter-intuitive policy process.

CLARITY IS KEY!

Policymakers have a lot on their minds. Thus, when you finally meet with them to advance your nonprofit or lobbying initiative,  they may be coming out of another meeting that they are still thinking about. Therefore, when you go to meetings with policy brokers, if other topics are brought up, you should acknowledge them. Then, respectfully redirect the meeting participants back to the issue that you care about.

In order to remain laser-focused in these meetings, you must go through an internal preparation process beforehand that helps you sift out the priorities of your nonprofit advocacy or lobbying initiative. You should begin by asking yourself the following questions that should serve as the basis for your nonprofit advocacy or lobbying campaign strategy.

Before Developing Your Outreach Objectives

• What is currently working and what is not?

• What will be the top negotiation points?

• How will concerns be expressed?

• What will the opposite side say, and what they will ask for?

• What, if any, concessions are you willing to make?

• What do you want versus what do you need?

Be Prepared!

Once there is clarity on your nonprofit advocacy or lobbying initiative’s priorities, messaging, facts, and objectives, it is time to get ready for the meeting. Your strategy should be driven by the following steps:

• What do you want to come out of the meeting with a decision-maker,

• If you are in a coalition, make sure you practice who will say what, and in what order beforehand (also, be prepared for a renegade member that will address their own issues in the meeting),

• Find out beforehand who will attend the meeting from the policy broker's team and conduct intelligence work on all participants,

• Identify your top three talking points,

• Recognize the opposing point of view and address it during the meeting, and

• Take advantage of policy windows.

It is important for you to do your own due diligence on the facts surrounding your nonprofit advocacy or lobbying initiative so that you are prepared to provide answers in the meeting for policy brokers at all levels. If you do not know the answer to a question, then indicate you will provide an answer after the meeting. You want to be a reliable source of accurate information. The following are some of the steps you should take to be prepared for the discussion portion:

• Conduct an analysis of your nonprofit advocacy or lobbying obstacles and develop a strategy to overcome them: You must determine if there are any legislative, regulatory, legal, or administrative obstacles at the local, state, or federal levels. You find this out by going to a library that has the capacity to do legal research.  If there are any obstacles in the aforementioned categories, you must be ready to propose a solution for the decision-maker(s) you are going to try to influence. If you leave the solution up to the elected officials or policymakers, they might not address the issues you are concerned about in your nonprofit advocacy or lobbying initiative in a manner that is aligned with your needs.

• Limit your nonprofit advocacy or lobbying asks to three or four in one meeting: One of the biggest mistakes that community organizations make is going to a nonprofit advocacy or lobbying meeting with a list of every issue that they care about. This allows the decision-maker to pick and choose whatever issues she/he wants to work on. If she/he is not interested in addressing your core issue, she/he will choose to work on the least consequential issue on your extensive list. At that point, that decision-maker will be able to say that she or he is working with you on an issue you brought to them. Your ability to exert influence on the core issue you care about will then be compromised.

• Conduct an assessment of your supporters and opponents:  In this assessment process, you must determine the following:

  • Who would be a good partner in supporting your efforts?

  • What degree of influence and resources do your supporters, partners, and opponents have?

  • What is the agenda of your supporters, and your opponents?

  • Finally, what do your supporters and opponents stand to gain or lose?

• Have a plan for winning over staff: Just because you win over a decision-maker in a nonprofit and advocacy meeting does not mean that his/her staffers are going to buy into your argument.  They have their own agendas that they are pushing forward, and they do not want to divert resources from them.  This means that they can pose internal obstacles for you that will result in the failure of your initiative.

• Prepare data-based materials that support the top three or four talking points of your nonprofit and advocacy initiative: You want to have a clear idea of what you will ask for ahead of time and, ideally, let the decision-maker know what that is.  Often, if you request a meeting, they will ask for a letter that outlines what you want to discuss anyway. Nevertheless, you should conduct research to find out what has happened on your issue in other states, what are the national trends, and what research is out there that supports your point of view. Although local policy brokers are less likely to look beyond local politics, the more prepared you are the better case you will make.

• Always have a staff person assigned to you: It is important to remember that policymakers do not have the time to deal with the implementation of any issue. If it seems that a policy broker has not assigned you a staffer at the end of a meeting, and she/he indicates that they will follow up with you, it is critical that you take the initiative to ask, “Whom should I follow up with on your staff on this issue?”  It is also important to get a time frame of when you can expect to hear back from the staffer.  If you do not get one by the end of the meeting, you must take the initiative to ask, “When can I expect to hear from you, and whom should I follow up with?”

• Be clear on the limitations of each branch of government you are working with: Incorporate into your nonprofit advocacy or lobbying planning the limitations of government and the legislature. The legislature is limited to legislative solutions. They also have to work inside their committee structures and contend with their internal politics for issue prioritization. Depending on the municipality or state or federal department, obtaining information regarding the power structure or the decisions made by the local government may be a complicated and lengthy process. In some municipalities, for example, employees may not have the information readily available, and/or they may not understand how the system works themselves so they give erroneous information. Nonetheless, follow the internal bureaucratic processes for decision-making and appeals at all levels of government. This will allow you to take legal action later. At that point, you will have to prove that you followed the proper channels to address your issue and that you followed the public agency’s appeal process to redress your issue.

• Establish an internal timeline for when you want certain policy outcomes to be accomplished: Bureaucrats and politicians have many different strategies for dealing with groups. If they support a particular group's ideas, they will work with them quickly to accomplish their nonprofit advocacy or lobbying policy objectives.  If, on the other hand, they are philosophically opposed to the ideas of that group, then they can pose many obstacles. The greatest one is to pretend that they are working with that group by meeting with them endlessly without a remedy for the issue at hand.  Instead, they “study” the issue for what can feel like an eternity without a resolution.  In situations such as this, one has to have a date by which one wants to see a result.  If by that date the administration you are working with has not yielded a result, you have to re-evaluate your strategy. The following are a couple of approaches to consider:

  • Decide to continue with a warning of when one wants to see a result,

  • Begin a media campaign against the administration,

  • Mobilize large groups of people to attend the local public sessions,

  • Pursue other decision-makers, and/ or

  • Attempt to persuade those that have influence over the key decision-makers to convince them to adopt your policies.

• Do not take anything personally and work with everyone: Nonprofit advocacy or lobbying can be very trying. You will find people that are rude to you, and extremely disagreeable, especially if you are reframing the issues effectively.  Do not take it personally, and do not fall into the trap that has been laid out for you to give that person a good piece of your mind. Focus on the process, remain calm, and never disrespect the other person(even if you feel they deserve it). You might need to work with her/him in the future on another issue. In addition, do not assume that just because you do not agree with another person or organization on many issues, that you cannot partner on other issues in the future.

Conclusion:

The policy process is long and complex, so when going into a nonprofit advocacy or lobbying initiative you must understand how the system works.  This requires having a strategy in place before any meeting.  Many issues and options are discussed throughout the negotiation process, thus, it is important to always keep one’s goals in mind.  Although this seems instinctive, when you begin exploring different options with the other side, if you don’t keep in mind the difference between want and need, you can end up not adequately representing your issue.

Next time, we will focus on the differences between nonprofit advocacy versus lobbying. Also, if you have not done so already, please subscribe to my blog where you will get articles on the latest nonprofit trends. When you subscribe, you will also receive more resources and tips on how to manage the ups and downs of the nonprofit cycle. You will also be updated on what I have been up to.

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