ADVOCACY

An act performed with or on behalf of others through direct intervention, empowerment, or representation. Case advocacy refers to actions taken in relation to a particular individual consumer. Cause, social, or systems advocacy refers to actions taken in relation to a common issue affecting a group of persons.		  
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  PRACTICE

Established actions or ways of proceeding in the regular performance of organizational duties. Policies and procedures often guide practice.		  
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Social Advocacy
  
Private Org Public Agency  

SOC 4: Advocacy Planning

 
The organization develops a plan to address the advocacy issue and advance advocacy goals.

SOC 4.01

 
The organization sets goals and objectives related to its advocacy priorities.
Interpretation: Rather than setting one all-encompassing goal of resolving the advocacy issue in question, it may make sense to set multiple goals that relate to both: (1) the organization’s capacity to achieve its ultimate advocacy goal, and (2) progress towards that advocacy goal. For example, in terms of building capacity, an organization might establish goals related to increasing the organization’s visibility, developing partnerships with other organizations, recruiting new donors, or diversifying funding. Similarly, rather than having one overarching goal of passing a law, or stopping a practice, an organization might have a series of incremental advocacy goals that address accomplishments such as increasing media coverage, expanding the advocacy base, and increasing public awareness.
Research Note: Some literature points to the importance of setting realistic and achievable goals, noting that facing defeat time and time again can be demoralizing and lead to apathy. This also points to the importance of setting interim advocacy goals, and goals related to the organization’s capacity for achieving advocacy goals, rather than focusing only on the ultimate advocacy objective that the organization hopes to achieve.

SOC 4.02

 

Advocacy planning addresses:

  1. possible strategies and tactics for achieving goals;
  2. resources needed to pursue potential strategies, including both resources the organization has and needs to obtain;
  3. pros and cons of different strategies;
  4. the advocacy initiative’s target audiences;
  5. the type of exposure and media coverage needed to advance advocacy goals;
  6. time constraints;
  7. measures for tracking and evaluating progress; and
  8. provisions for long-term monitoring and follow-up that extend beyond the end of the advocacy initiative.

SOC 4.03

 
The organization develops an effective advocacy message designed to resonate with its target audience.
Research Note: Although the message itself may be short and simple, crafting the message may require a great deal of knowledge about both the issue and target audiences. This points to the importance of developing a comprehensive understanding of the advocacy issue, as discussed in SOC 3.

SOC 4.04

 

The organization establishes a process for periodically reviewing and reevaluating the advocacy plan that includes:

  1. attention and response to any circumstances that change or issues that arise;
  2. evaluating progress towards goals;
  3. evaluating whether the goals included in the plan are still applicable and appropriate; and
  4. making any adjustments or modifications needed to achieve goals.

SOC 4.05

 

The governing body assumes an active role in developing and monitoring advocacy efforts by:

  1. approving the advocacy agenda and plan;
  2. regularly addressing advocacy issues in meetings; and
  3. maintaining a record of advocacy issues, including issues facing the organization’s constituents, in order to assist in determining problems and frequency of problems.
Interpretation: If the organization is a private for-profit and does not have a governing body, it may wish to involve its advisory group in developing and monitoring the advocacy plan. However, private for-profits are not required to have their advisory groups approve the advocacy agenda and plan.

SOC 4.06

 

In the course of advocacy planning, the organization establishes a system for ensuring compliance with applicable legal requirements that includes:

  1. developing an understanding of the laws and regulations that govern lobbying; and
  2. tracking, documenting, and registering lobbying activities, as appropriate.
Research Note: There are legal limits regarding the extent to which a 501(c)(3) organization can engage in lobbying, which is a very specific type of advocacy activity that involves communicating with elected officials in an attempt to influence legislation. However, even though many advocacy activities are not classified as lobbying, some literature suggests that non-profits often do not understand what constitutes lobbying, and thus avoid all types of advocacy in order to avoid jeopardizing their 501(c)(3) status. This points to the importance of acquiring a basic knowledge of the regulations that govern lobbying, including rules about the types of activities that are considered to be lobbying, the amount of money a non-profit can spend on lobbying activities, and applicable lobby disclosure laws.
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PURPOSE: Social Advocacy works to promote positive change and eliminate social, economic, and environmental injustice in social institutions, systems, legislation, and practices that affect individuals, families, groups, and communities.
 
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