By the numbers

Using 2008 data reported by the Chronicle of Philanthropy, there are over 1 million charitable organizations in the United States. According to a Johns Hopkins University and Aspen Institute publication, the nonprofit and voluntary sector account for over 7.2% of the Gross Domestic Product, which more than the entire construction and utility industries combined. Add to that the large number of nonprofit staff, volunteers, board members, clients, and other constituents and you have a sector that has the potential to be incredibly powerful.

Yet, tragically, the nonprofit sector's influence on relevant public policy and private decision making comes nowhere close to its potential. What a difference it would make to the lives and communities most affected by these decisions.

Nonprofit advocacy is a vastly under-utilized, under-researched, and under-funded strategy for solving social problems and improving the lives of ordinary people. The need for increased advocacy is illustrated by a 2008 survey report developed by CLPI with Johns Hopkins University’s Center for Civil Society.  View report. According to this study, while many charitable nonprofits indicated an interest and even duty to engage in the democratic process most devote less than 2% of their budget to this activity. The survey participants identified increased funding for dedicated advocacy staff and for general support as the top two changes that would enable them to engage more robustly in public policy.

The CLPI-Hopkins study built upon a larger 2000-2001 survey of charitable nonprofits conducted by CLPI, OMB Watch and Tufts University as part of the Strengthening Nonprofit Advocacy Project. The Aspen Institute published the findings of this survey in a 2008 book entitled Seen but not Heard: Strengthening Nonprofit Advocacy. The book provides a wealth of data and analysis of what motivates nonprofits to get involved in advocacy efforts.

As the CLPI-Hopkins study drives home, the most important changes to strengthen nonprofit advocacy would be dramatically increased funding for nonprofit advocacy staff and general support. While it is a very difficult thing to measure, the Foundation Center and Independent Sector estimated that about 11% of private and community foundation grants went toward "structural change" to improve the lives of lower-income Americans. Apparently, that percentage did not change much through 2006.

Since the government generally prohibits lobbying and discourages advocacy with public funds, that means the private sector must do even more to provide a reasonable balance between advocacy and service. View the report here. In his personal capacity, Michael Edwards, former Director of Governance and Civil Society at the Ford Foundation, urges foundations to set a benchmark of 50% of funding for this type of "structural change" advocacy efforts. Just an Emperor: The Myths and Realities of Philanthrocapitalism http://www.justanotheremperor.org/

Solving our society's most challenging problems requires more than an 11% solution. CLPI will partner with sector leaders to create much-needed, systemic change in how nonprofits and philanthropy engage in "charity." It is our goal to make advocacy an "ordinary, not extraordinary" part of what civil society is all about.