What Public Policy Accomplished For Nonprofits in 2021
Public policy defines what it means to be and operate as a nonprofit organization, and it is a critical determinant of an organization’s capacity to accomplish its objective. Systemic disparities and structural racism affect the ecosystems in which all organizations function, thus public policy and lobbying are essential. As a result, the quality of the public policy and advocacy environment in which we work provides crucial information about the sector’s overall health.
Prior to 2020, evidence revealed that nonprofit public policy and advocacy initiatives were not as healthy or active as they needed to be in order for the sector to increase its capacity and influence. Advocacy played a minor or nonexistent role in many NGOs’ overall strategies. Individual advocacy and voting appear to have increased in response to the crises of 2020, owing in part to nonprofit groups. Nonprofit activism also led to the adoption of legislation that gave NGOs and the communities they serve a lifeline. Regrettably, the temporary measures enacted last year may not be sufficient to assist the sector and communities cope with the pandemic’s long-term effects and rebuild.
NONPROFIT PARTICIPATION IN PUBLIC POLICY OR ADVOCACY
In 2019, 41% of nonprofit CEOs said that public policy/advocacy is a part of their organization’s strategy to some level or another.
Fifty-nine percent of CEOs say public policy/advocacy is a little or nonexistent aspect of their organization’s strategy.
ADVOCACY
Advocacy is the process of ensuring that the voices of community members are heard in choices that affect the people, animals, and natural environment of those communities.
Because civic participation improves the quality of corporate and government decisions, it is in the sector’s best interests to increase the number of volunteers, contributors, and employees involved in lobbying.
ADVOCACY OVERVIEW
ROI in nonprofit advocacy.
Return on investment is $115 to $1. Total benefits to communities and taxpayers are $26.6 billion.
Individuals advocating for a cause, 2021.
- 51% of poll participants said they advocate for issues or causes.
- Nonprofits may act as a major infrastructure enabling overall community advocacy, as 31% of survey respondents said they advocated explicitly through them.
- Survey respondents reported dedicating three hours per month advocating for a cause through a nonprofit.
- The number of individuals who participated in racial justice protests in the summer of 2020 was between 15 and 26 million, the largest in the country’s history.
ADVOCACY DRIVERS
The extent to which NGOs engage in advocacy is directly influenced by other health variables discussed in this research, such as financial resources, human capital, and governance.
According to several studies, nonprofit advocacy participation is influenced by available resources, which is one reason why the scope of an organization’s advocacy is influenced by its budget size.
Increased direct participation of members and citizens in the governance and operations of charities [i.e. community participation] would result in more advocacy interaction by these organizations and their volunteers.
BOARD POLICY AND ADVOCACY ENGAGEMENT
Nonprofit leaders who engage in public policy through lobbying ensure that their mission and the people they serve are not forgotten when crucial choices are made.
NONPROFIT OVERSIGHT
Because public confidence is the nonprofit sector’s currency, it’s crucial that the sector is properly regulated to prevent waste, fraud, and other misdeeds that can jeopardize the public’s trust. Unfortunately, government agencies in charge of nonprofit monitoring have seen their resources dwindle over the years, jeopardizing their ability to oversee a fast expanding industry.
DATA RECOMMENDATIONS FOR PUBLIC POLICY AND ADVOCACY
- A nationally representative survey of nonprofits is needed to collect an annual measure of advocacy participation, nonpartisan civic engagement, and to determine whether barriers identified 20 years ago still exist in order to better understand the health of nonprofit advocacy and influence on the policy process.
- Analysis of the links between advocacy and voter engagement, as well as other indicators of nonprofit health, may reveal potential hurdles to nonprofit participation in these activities. This type of research may also uncover potential positive associations that the nonprofit sector may use to urge more nonprofits to participate in advocacy and voter engagement.
- A nationally representative survey of individual civic activity, including volunteerism, advocacy, and voting, would be beneficial to the industry. This poll would complement a nationwide survey of nonprofit advocacy, and the conclusions from the two sets of data could reveal significant gaps in civic action reported by charities vs individuals.
- Infrastructure practitioners and researchers can collaborate to establish evidence-based approaches for increasing advocacy engagement rates or clarifying data gaps on this topic.
- Relying on IRS funding levels does not provide organizations with adequate information to determine the steps necessary to maintain public trust in the sector. Practitioners and scholars working together to gather data about the nonprofit regulatory framework, set a data development agenda, and design a streamlined system of assessment to assess the “health” of nonprofit oversight on a regular basis would be beneficial to the sector.
- The confluence of a worldwide economic and health crises, cases of racial and social injustice, and natural disasters resulted in a list of nonprofit and community needs so large that campaigning to gain support or effect systemic change became a need rather than a best practice. Researchers should look at 2020 as a case study to see how much the sector and people boosted advocacy, what processes or practices enabled that growth, and what hurdles remained to discourage civic activity even during a crisis. An examination of how the advocacy industry and individual advocates used coalitions to promote new or expanded advocacy in 2020, including as a form of cost-sharing, could help to guide future financial investments in advocacy and best practices.
Learn how to assure that your organization is a leader in civic engagement in the Discovering Trends Through Civic Engagement class on Saturday, April 24 at 1 pm as part of the Sunshine Certificate in Nonprofit Management.
Source: Independent Sector – https://independentsector.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/sector-health-report-2021-101421.pdf