I recently talked with a nonprofit leader who told me something I hear all the time.

“We’re doing a lot of advocacy… I just don’t know if any of it is working.”

• They had action alerts going out.
• They had a lobby day planned.
• Their team was posting on social about policy issues.
• They even had a lobbyist!

On paper, it looked like an advocacy program.

But when I asked a simple question, “What is the strategy tying all of this together?” she got quiet.

This is the pattern I see over and over again.

Most nonprofit advocacy programs are not failing because people don’t care or aren't doing anything. They are failing because the pieces are disconnected.

• An action alert gets sent.
• The lobbyist is sending bill summaries.
• The staff has no idea what advocacy is.
• The board talks about advocacy once a year.

Everyone is working hard, but there is no structure tying the work together.

When that happens, advocacy becomes reactive. You respond to whatever crisis or bill appears instead of advancing your own agenda.

If I were building an advocacy program from scratch today, I would start somewhere different.

Not with tactics, but with intention.

That means getting clear about what you are trying to change, where your organization actually has influence, and how to use the assets you already have.

Because most nonprofits already hold real advocacy power. You have advocacy superpowers: your expertise, your data, the lived experiences of the people you serve, and the network of people who care enough to act.

The question is whether those assets are being used strategically.

New on the blog:

Since folks keep asking me, I wrote how I would build a nonprofit advocacy program if I had to start from scratch today, and why so many organizations end up stuck in reactive mode.

→ You can read it here​

PRO TIP: Don't focus on tactics

If your board ever asks, “What’s our advocacy strategy?” don’t answer with a list of tactics.

Action alerts, lobby days, and social posts are activities and tactics. They are not a strategy.

A strategy answers three questions:

1. What policy outcome do we want?
2. Who actually has the authority to decide that?
3. How will we mobilize our people at the right moment?

If you can answer those three questions, you’re ahead of most organizations. If not, skim this guide to see if you are ready for an advocacy roadmap.

Now go make some good trouble,
Bethany

P.S. If you’re ready to stop winging it and build an advocacy plan you can actually explain to your board, schedule a discovery call.