Nonprofits Widely Engaged in Advocacy Work Despite Severe Constraints

According to a new survey by the Johns Hopkins University Nonprofit Listening Post Project, an RBF grantee, American charities are widely involved in efforts to influence the public policies affecting them and the communities they serve, but are constrained by tight budgets, limited staff time and confusing legal restrictions.

"Nonprofit advocacy is a critical strategy for solving our society's most challenging problems," said Larry Ottinger of the Center for Lobbying in the Public Interest (an RBF grantee), which partnered with the Johns Hopkins Center on the survey. "This important survey should serve as a clarion call to the nonprofit and philanthropy sector to boost the resources and training devoted to this crucial function." 

Read the report "Nonprofit America: A Force for Democracy?"