BLOG for ADVOCATES

We created this blog to share interesting advocacy related items that cross our desks. It can be anything from new research on funding for advocacy to examples of unusual advocacy strategies. If you have an item to share please send it to npaction@npaction.org.
NPAction Staff

Friday, March 12, 2010

NPR reports that foundations and nonprofits are taking an active role in promoting the census and making sure there is an accurate count. One of the organizations highlighted in the article is Voto Latino, which tries to encourage civic engagement by Latinos. Voto Latino is also one of two dozen groups splitting more than $1 million as part of the Illinois "Count Me In" campaign, which is funded by ten foundations.

One of Voto Latino's strategies was to develop a new mobile phone application to be used in Los Angeles County. Users download it, learn about the census and then take a quiz on what they've learned. Then they get to download five free songs by top recording artists, such as Pitbull and Morrissey. And the more they forward the link to friends, the more likely they'll be among a thousand people invited to a free "secret" concert somewhere in the L.A. area.

Those that nonprofits often serve, have the most to benefit from the census, but are also the least likely to participate. It is very important to educate the public that the census helps determine which communities get government funding for things like education and mass transit. "Charities also say an accurate census helps them with their own work, by giving them a better idea where the greatest needs are and how they might spend their charitable dollars in the years ahead."

Wednesday, February 03, 2010

President Obama has announced a proposal to help small employers, including nonprofit groups. The plan is meant to help groups hire workers and raise wages. For example, charities could receive a $5,000 federal tax credit for every net new employee added in 2010, with a $500,000 cap on the total amount of credits that can be earned. The credits will be applied to federal payroll taxes that employers pay on behalf of their employees.

Obama remarked; "I'm proposing what I believe is the best way to cut taxes while promoting hiring by small businesses: through a tax credit for companies that add workers or increase salaries this year. Now is the perfect time for this kind of incentive because the economy is growing, but businesses are still hesitant to start hiring again. The economy is growing, but job growth is lagging. Companies are recovering but not yet taking that next step and taking on somebody full time."

The proposal does have to be first approved by Congress. Independent Sector has more information on the budget and nonprofits.

Friday, December 18, 2009

The Center for Lobbying in the Public Interest (CLPI) has recently released Strengthening Civic Impact: An Evaluation of Nonprofit Public Policy Trainings, a report considering whether advocacy trainings caused participants to explore public policy as a strategy with their organization. The trainings were conducted by CLPI Fellows between 2004 and 2008. The new report details "lessons on barriers and success stories that provide promising guidance for future efforts."

Given the social and economic crisis facing underserved Americans and civil society, effective public policy involvement by the nation's almost 1 million charities is as important as ever. To meet this need with limited resources, funders and charities seek practical ways to evaluate strategies for increasing nonprofit policy capacity and impact. We believe this report represents one practical example of nonprofit policy evaluation moving forward.

They found that the trainings increased an understanding of using lobbying as a way to help achieve organizational missions. The report also notes that many cited limited staff, funding, and time as the main reasons for not incorporating more policy involvement.

Monday, November 09, 2009

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has released a 44 page compliance guide for nonprofits, excluding 501(c)(3) charities and private foundations. The publication addresses activities that could place an organization's tax exempt status at risk, for example if a group engages in political campaign activity as their primary activity. Further, it discusses general recordkeeping, reporting and disclosure responsibilities. Other topics covered include federal information returns, changes that need to be reported to the IRS, and resources for tax-exempt organizations. The compliance guide for 501(c)(3)'s is available here

Charging that this an ideal time "to get smarter about philanthropy," the Wall Street Journal has a special report on philanthropy. There are multiple articles addressing various perspectives such as those of donors and foundations. The topics speak to what each are doing during these tough economic times. The cover story is written by Pablo Eisenberg, with perspective into the troubles facing charitable giving and offers "nine changes that would go a long way toward making philanthropy do what we all claim we want it to do."

Friday, October 16, 2009

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has launched a new case study and video program to help exempt organizations better understand the newly revised Form 990. "The New Form 990: Getting Started," is a case study about a hypothetical organization (Exempt Organization for Disaster Relief), with a set of facts describing the organization and its finances. The video series goes through common reporting issues, offering seven videos explaining different sections of the Form 990 with facts from the case study. There is also an already filled-out Form 990 with two schedules that illustrate how the hypothetical organization would complete the annual return.

Thursday, September 03, 2009

The Pew Internet & American Life Project released a report which found that the internet is not changing the traditional socio-economic make up of civic engagement. Those who engage in online political activities, such as contributing money, contacting a government official or signing an online petition, tend to be more wealthy and well-educated. According to the report, which used data from a phone survey of 2,251 adults 18 and older, "these disparities result from differences in internet access—those who are lower on the socio-economic ladder are less likely to go online or to have broadband access at home, making it impossible for them to engage in online political activity." 35 percent of U.S. adults making at least $100,000 participated in two or more online political activities in the previous 12 months, compared with just 8 percent of those making less than $20,000.

However, there was some sign that this could change with the use of blogs and social networking sites. "Some 19% of internet users have posted material online about political or social issues or used a social networking site for some form of civic or political engagement. And this group of activists is disproportionately young."

Thursday, August 27, 2009

State legislators across the country face declining revenue, and are forced to cut their budgets and either end or reduce payments to nonprofit groups. As the Wall Street Journal reports, "state budget gridlocks are halting payments to basic human services and causing thousands of homeless shelters, food pantries and senior centers to cut staff, reduce services or shut their doors." Some states have set up budgets giving less money to nonprofits that are expected to perform the same services for less or for nothing.

This comes at a time when nonprofits are already struggling to meet increased demands for help amid declining donations from individuals and foundations stung by last year’s market downturn. Collectively, state governments owe these nonprofits more than $15 billion in backlogged payments, according to Independent Sector, a coalition of 600 nonprofit groups and foundations. I coalition has petitioned the Treasury for funds from the Troubled Asset Relief Program, or TARP, to bypass state governments and go directly to nonprofits.

For example, in Minnesota organizations face an increasing demand for services, but are having to cut back on staff. The Minnesota Council of Nonprofits surveyed nonprofit managers to find out how the economy is affecting their programs. Click here to read more.

Current economic pressures are also reducing volunteer time, and "Americans are suffering from a 'civic foreclosure' that is limiting the range and depth of their civic engagement." According to a new survey conducted for the National Conference on Citizenship, many have reduced their volunteer work. "The survey's results reflect the hard choices Americans have made during the downturn, with 72 percent of respondents saying they have cut back on time engaged in civic participation, which includes time spent volunteering, participating in groups or performing other civic activities in their communities." Opportunely, the report also found that Millennials had the highest rate of volunteering, at 43 percent. In addition, low-income Americans are still finding ways to give back to their communities.

Thursday, August 06, 2009

The Nonprofit Voter Engagement Network (NVEN) has launched its 2010 Nonprofits Count! campaign, promoting the engagement of nonprofits to ensure a correct count in the 2010 Census. Nonprofits serve millions and can work to reach hard-to-count communities, those that are often served by nonprofits. If the count is not precise, communities are at risk of receiving less funding and fewer resources.

Nonprofits have a unique role to fill in making sure their constituents are fully counted by educating them on the importance of the Census and how to participate. Nonprofits Count provides tools and resources to get nonprofits involved and to engage their communities. For example, there is a series of fact sheets including, Seven Things Any Nonprofit Needs to Know about Census 2010, Why Nonprofits: Key to a Complete Count, and more.

Thursday, January 08, 2009

The Federal Election Commission (FEC) will hold a hearing on January 14, 2009 on ways to improve compliance, policies, and enforcement procedures. Written comments were due on Jan. 5 and have been posted on the FEC website.

To see the comments that OMB Watch submitted, click here.