Strengthen Your Core: Nonprofit Advocacy Goes Mainstream

Before and after the most recent federal election, nonprofit organizations across the country started to hear more about the importance of getting their stakeholders engaged. Some nonprofit organizations do advocacy very well and others are scared of making mistakes so don't engage at all. How do we shift the function of advocacy to a core function of every nonprofit in calm as well as turbulent times?

Why do nonprofits need to do advocacy anyway? The first answer is because they can! They can, and should, engage in many activities that are not only legal within the confines of your nonprofit designation but often necessary to truly address your mission and goals for your organization.

I found myself browsing a university library shelf, which I admit I do pretty regularly, and came across a book called "Woman's Part in Government", written by William Allen of the New York Bureau of Municipal Research in 1911. This was nine years before the US ratified the 19th Amendment to the Constitution on August 18, 1920. Allen's book was about finding a place for women in government before they had the right to vote for their elected officials.

Fast forward over 100 years and we have many gender equity issues that have not been resolved. Women have achieved educational milestones but are not represented in senior positions in government, nonprofits, and business. Women do not have pay equity or paid maternity leave among many other issues. Advocacy is absolutely needed to press on gender equity issues.

This semester, as part of my sabbatical, I will be researching nonprofit advocacy efforts of several nonprofit organizations in the Chicago area who are focused on gender equity issues. I can't wait to learn from them what they are doing, what's working, and what their plans are for the future. Stay tuned!

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Recovering Executive Director

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