5 considerations before planning for advocacy

There will come a time when your nonprofit will want to advocate for something to advance specific goals. Whatever the issue is, it’s important to be deliberate while preparing for an advocacy campaign.

In “Nonprofit Management 101,” Nayantara Mehta, Nancy Chen, Marcia Avner, and Jeannie Fox wrote that advocacy should play a main role in your nonprofit’s work because it can enhance all of the other ways you seek to achieve your goals.

For example, taking public stands on issues will increase your visibility and clout, potentially leading to more donations and increased interest from volunteers.

Excited yet? Pull the reins back for just a second.

There are some things to consider before you start your campaign. Mehta and her co-authors suggest considering the following five questions:

• Are the organization’s board and staff in agreement on policy goals?
• Do you have established criteria for deciding on issues?
• Does advocacy appear in your organization’s strategic plan and job descriptions?
• Are you obtaining the necessary skills and training needed to perform the work effectively and legally?
• Have you secured and designated the appropriate resources (people, time, and money) to carry out this work?

If the answer to all of these questions is “yes,” then your nonprofit can start ironing out the details of its advocacy campaign.