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

Tuesday, August 12, 2008

Nonprofit leaders have engaged in a movement to simplify the language that charities use to describe their mission or goals. According to the leaders, many charities use language that does not make sense to the individuals who they are trying most to reach---those who need and can benefit from the charities' services. The Chronicle of Philanthropy published an article that highlights the 'rebellion' that is ensuing as a result of the excessive jargon used by nonprofit leaders.

Many leaders are now going out of their way to promote plain talk. They feel that jargon often gets in the way of the message. In many cases, the organization has a very laudable goal or message, but the jargon prevents individuals outside of the organization from understanding the message or the issue. Also, some nonprofit leaders feel that the use of jargon can give the impression that the person using the jargon is an elitist or thinks he or she is intellectually superior to other people.

In the Philanthropy article, Gerard Broaud, a communications consultant and former television reporter, states that jargon is sometimes used because organizations "don't want to hurt the feelings of the people they're trying to help, so they end up inventing words that aren't just hard to understand but don't really mean anything."

As a result, words and phrases such as "situational awareness," "barriers to employment," "sustainability," and "reducing disparities" are used instead of simpler phrases that would more adequately describe what the organization does or what issue they are attempting to address.

However, even though more nonprofit leaders are aware of the need to reduce jargon, they still face resistance.

Wednesday, June 25, 2008

While the age old Washington practice of coddling elected officials with large sums of cash is now looked upon with great disdain, the ethical advocacy efforts of nonprofits must not be placed alongside the actions of unethical and opportunistic lobbyists. A recent op-ed in The Chronicle of Philanthropy , by David Cohen and Larry Ottinger, provides ample justification for not drawing a parallel between the advocacy efforts of big businesses and the advocacy work of nonprofits. Aside from explaining the basic components of a proposed set of ethical principles for nonprofits, this op-ed also calls for increased numbers of pro bono lobbying and a more recent review of the original ethics code.

Cohen and Ottinger remind readers that: Public interest lobbying helps ensure that our government remains a government of the people, by the people and for the people.

Posted by Andrea Wilson

Wednesday, June 18, 2008

Rad, an online communications firm, shares several tips on how to improve your organization’s online profile:

1. Expand Your Circle of Friends: Use the search feature to recruit more users whom might be interested in your organization.

2. Profile Maintenance: Keep your organziation’s profile “fresh” by updating it once or twice a week with new facts, stories, videos, blog entries, photos, etc.

3. Casual Replies Win the Day: Messaging should not be wonky or preachy, a casual tone shall suffice.

4. Get to the Point: With hundreds of other organizational profiles competing to get their message out, shorter messages with links to more detailed information may be preferred to more lengthy descriptions.

5. Two-Way Communications: Asking members or friends to comment on various items posted to your profile and responding to their posts helps users know someone is reading their posts.

Posted by Andrea Wilson





Friday, June 13, 2008

Democracy In Action Conference

If your organization is a member of Democracy In Action, only three days remain to register for DIA’s very fist community conference. From June 26-27, member organizations will have the opportunity to participate in several breakout sessions stemming from three common tracks:

a) Online Tools & Strategies

b) Customization & Integration of the e-Customer Marketing Relationship (CMR) tool SALSA

c) Technical Support for Customizing SALSA and Application Programming Interfaces (APIs).

With a keynote address by Lawrence Lessig and guidance from nonprofit IT leaders such as the Center for American Progress, Watershed, Bullseye Interactive Media and many others, this conference will provide several opportunities to glean expert advice from online fundraising and advocacy experts. To register, click here.

Posted by Andrea Wilson





Tuesday, June 03, 2008

Grants for Clean Elections Projects


Molilize.org is seeking grant applications from groups with ideas on how to engage young voters and encourage clean elections. The deadline is June 15.

The group's statement said it is:

focusing efforts on empowering members of the Millennial Generation to develop innovative clean elections practices, emphasizing the creation of public finance reforms at the local and state level. These types of reforms are intended to give voters more control over the government by making politicians accountable to voters rather than wealthy campaign contributors








Thursday, May 29, 2008

A Cash Prize for Nonprofit Collaboration


The Collaboration Prize

Introducing The Collaboration Prize, a $250,000 prize that recognizes collaborations among two or more US nonprofit organizations that each would otherwise provide the same or similar programs or services and compete for clients, financial resources and staff.

Nomination Accepted June 1, 2008 through 5 p.m. EDT on July 21, 2008.

For details click here.




Upcoming Training on Legal Rules for Advocacy


The Alliance for Justice lists opportunities for training on advocacy rules in all parts of the country.

Upcoming events include:


• Election-Related Activity for Nonprofits Washington, DC 05/30/08
• Updated Federal Lobbying Disclosure Act Rules for Nonprofits Web Workshop Online 05/30/08
• Lobbying Rules for Nonprofits Washington, DC 06/02/08
• Foundation Funding of Local, State and Federal Advocacy San Francisco, CA 06/03/08
• Election Rules for Nonprofits Columbia, MO 06/10/08

To get details click here.






Friday, May 23, 2008

Is Your State Taking Advantage of This Voting Resource?
Your state election officials may not know about this new resource. You can encourage them to check it out and to participate:

Voting Information Project says it is "all about helping voters find information about their elections. To that end, we have developed an open data format with which state election divisions can publish their voting information. Other organizations or individuals, such as newspapers, search engines, and civic-minded technologists, will parse the data contributed by the states and disseminate the information in the form of easy-to-use websites, maps, and other tools."

The service is free. Nonprofits working on voting issues or wanting more information about voting in their states will be able to get information from this site. For details see the Frequently Asked Questions.

The project describes itself as a "partnership of state election officials, foundations, and leading technology companies working together to connect voters with the information they need to be more engaged citizens. Project participants include: The Pew Center on the States; The JEHT Foundation; Google, Inc.






Wednesday, May 14, 2008

Nonprofit Boot Camp


The mission of the Craigslist Foundation — a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, operating foundation — is to help emerging nonprofit leaders succeed. One of the ways the foundation supports nonprofits leaders is by hosting Nonprofit Boot Camp — a day-long event focused on how to start and run a vibrant nonprofit. The aim is to connect attendees with valuable industry resources, peers and potential supporters.

This year, Nonprofit Boot Camp is being held in both New York and San Francisco in August. The Craigslist Foundation also offers Nonprofit Boot Camp Online via podcasts, class notes, and other materials.








Tuesday, May 13, 2008

Young Adults Voting at Record Levels this Primary Season


According to Rock the Vote, more than six million voters under 30 have cast ballots in the 2008 primaries and caucuses so far. A very conservative estimate is that this more than 2.2 million more than voted in the most recent comparable primaries.

To learn more, check out Rock the Vote's recently updated 2008 Primary Turnout Factsheet.