The historical role of charities and organized, collective activity has long been recognized as an important element of American civic and political life. Today, nonprofit involvement in public policy is considered critical to the healthy functioning of democracy, making it possible for the voice of all Americans, particularly those without advocates, to be heard in decisions that affect them.

Nonprofits face a wide range of barriers to nonprofit policy participation. The most cited culprits include restrictions from legislative, legal, regulatory, and internal organizational constraints. A more troubling barrier is the thin level of nonprofit understanding around what is permissible, and what is possible. This feeds into the confidence, and willingness of organizations to participate, and an inability to connect with those on whose behalf participation is undertaken.

There is a need within the sector to consolidate, coordinate, identify, and develop resources that deal with the intersection of various approaches to advocacy. Nonprofits cannot afford to devote much time to seek out information relevant to their needs and circumstances. The sector also cannot develop sustainable public policy learning communities around barriers to participation, which can transcend traditional obstacles around geography, specific policy issue areas, and organizational disparities among internal capacities and resources.

There is also a lack of opportunities for effective intra- and inter-sector collaboration as a means to pool limited resources, lack of planning and examples around which to follow effective participation, and an inability to engage strategically and proactively to affect change on issues and attack problems. To better engage these interests, there is a need for nonprofits to share research, information, and tools, and also to begin talking to one another about policy participation, regardless of their location, issue areas, or other traditional considerations.

NPAction is posited as an online collaborative vehicle for nonprofits, their staffs, and supporting entities to increasing their level and frequency of participation in the policy process, while also contributing to efforts to develop a more substantive advocacy knowledge base for the sector. By sharing information, identifying what works, and facilitating awareness around the steps and resources necessary to ensure effective-- and ultimately successful-- outcomes, we hope to position nonprofit dialogue and activity on strategic, proactive engagement rather than reactive engagement.