This post first appeared on Bolder Advocacy’s blog on October 21, 2015.
Have you ever heard a foundation staff member, trustee or consultant warn of the risky waters for funding lobbying? I’ve heard this numerous times, which is why I’m excited about an excellent new resource to recommend to advocacy skeptics on what is allowed in clear, easily digestible language: the Alliance for Justice’s Bolder Advocacy initiative’s Philanthropy Advocacy Playbook.
Here’s a hint about the Playbook’s conclusions: “The overwhelming majority of advocacy activities, including lobbying and nonpartisan electoral activity, are permissible.”
In her preface, AFJ President Nan Aron declares, “The record is clear: for foundations seeking to leverage the impact of their limited grant monies, the highest payoff comes from investing in advocacy strategies.” At NCRP we couldn’t agree more. Indeed, the Playbook cites NCRP’s report Leveraging Limited Dollars: How Grantmakers Achieve Tangible Results by Funding Policy and Community Engagement that found a $115 return in community benefit for every dollar invested in policy advocacy, community organizing and civic engagement!
These social justice strategies help foundations and their grantees address the root causes of social problems. NCRP’s research suggests that for any foundation committed to real and lasting social change, multi-issue advocacy and organizing are among the most powerful means to achieve its mission. The Playbook is a stellar resource on the continuum of advocacy roles that grantmakers can play to generate change, dispelling common myths and misconceptions while making simple the tricky process of what roles your foundation can play.
Need a definition of advocacy to guide your next discussion? The Playbook has you covered: “Public advocacy aims to address an injustice or create systemic social change through changes in the law or how the law is interpreted or applied.” Even better, the last page of the guide is ready to be your next meeting handout with a list of the ten best practices for effective grantmaking to support advocacy. Featured photos from AFJ member advocacy efforts greet you at the beginning of each section, and additional resources are provided at the end, including tools for planning and measuring advocacy work.
Maybe your foundation is just looking to get its feet wet in advocacy, in which case, the Playbook provides initial and institutional considerations. More importantly, it outlines the legal rules and tools for both private and public foundations to fund advocacy efforts, and how to conduct and sustain advocacy through different avenues. To illustrate the work, the Playbook features foundations that have successfully supported grantees actively engaged in advocacy, such as the Rockefeller Family Fund, the Marguerite Casey Foundation and the Boston Foundation. Need more examples? Eleven foundation leaders have signed on to support the playbook, including The California Endowment and the Public Welfare Foundation, both signatories to NCRP’s Philanthropy’s Promise initiative.
Since our founding in 1976, NCRP has been led by the value that those most affected by a problem should be in charge of coming up with the solutions. The more foundations that get behind funding advocacy, the better, and we at NCRP are excited about the way AFJ’s Philanthropy Advocacy Playbook is changing the game.
Caitlin Duffy is the project associate for Philamplify at the National Committee for Responsive Philanthropy (NCRP). Follow @NCRP and @DuffyInDC on Twitter and join the #Philamplify conversation.
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