Getting Started - About Nonprofit Advocacy and Lobbying

Make a Difference for Your Cause: Strategies for Nonprofit Engagement in Legislative Advocacy
This resource and discussion guide takes readers through the steps of the CLPI Road Map, provides examples of nonprofits that have successfully used public policy engagement to meet their missions, and presents six questions readers can use to stimulate discussion with others in their organizations.

CLPI Roadmap for Engagement in Legislative Advocacy
The CLPI Roadmap provides guidance on the questions nonprofits should consider in building their capacity for legislative advocacy and developing a strategy for engagement.

10 Reasons to Lobby for Your Cause
For many of us, lobbying is something other people do -- people who wear fancy clothes and buy politicians lunch at expensive restaurants.  But, lobbying, or more simply, trying to influence those who make policies that affect our lives, is something anyone can do.

Smart and Ethical Principles and Practices for Public Interest Lobbying NEW!
We invite nonprofit lobbyists and advocates to use the following principles and practices to benchmark and continuously improve their own efforts to advance public interests and improve public policy. Consider incorporating them into strategic planning, staff and volunteer training, and other organizational capacity building, as well as opportunities for dialogue with coalition partners, constituents, board members and other stakeholders.

Make a Difference in 3 Hours Per Week
Lobbying, advocacy and playing an active role in the public policy process are not just for experts!  Your organization can raise public awareness of your cause, build relationships with government and help shape laws and policies that affect its mission by dedicating at least one staff person or volunteer to spend just 3 hours per week doing public policy work.  Following are activities a member of your team can do to make a difference. 

Strengthening Nonprofit Advocacy Project Research Summary
Tufts University, OMB Watch, and the Center for Lobbying in the Public Interest launched a multi-year research to action project, called the Strengthening Nonprofit Advocacy Project (SNAP), to investigate factors that motivate nonprofit organizations to engage in public policy matters.  The SNAP initiative aims to address the following four major questions ...