I have a bit of a confession. When I can’t sleep, my brain does not wander to relaxing places. It goes straight to strategic plans. Specifically, the ones that say they prioritize advocacy…but actually don't.

Because here’s the thing. Many organizations say advocacy is a priority. It shows up in a sentence or two. Maybe it's even in a whole section or pillar of your strategic plan.

But when you look closer, it is not operationalized. There is no clear ownership, no defined goals, and no real plan for how it happens in practice.

And that is where things start to fall apart.

Advocacy cannot live as an idea in your strategic plan. It has to show up in how you make decisions, how you allocate resources, and how your team actually spends their time.

Intrigued? Dig Deeper

If this is hitting a little close to home, I wrote more about this here: When I’m awake at 2:00 am, I think about strategic plans with advocacy in them.

I walk through what I see over and over again, and what it actually looks like when advocacy is meaningfully integrated instead of just mentioned.

​Read it here​

A few ways to strengthen your approach

If you are thinking about your own strategic plan right now, here are a few places to start:

• Get specific about what you are trying to change. “Advocate for our mission” is not a strategy. What policies, funding streams, or decisions are you trying to influence?
• Assign ownership. Someone on your team needs to be responsible for moving this work forward. If it belongs to everyone, it often ends up belonging to no one.
• Build it into your operations. Advocacy should show up in work plans, staff goals, and regular reporting. Not just in a document that sits on a shelf.
• Define what success looks like. How will you know if your advocacy is working? What are you tracking along the way?
• Resource it appropriately. Advocacy needs time, budget, and relationships. If those are not there, it will remain aspirational.

None of this has to be overwhelming. But it does have to be intentional.

Because advocacy is not something you layer on later. It is something you design from the start.

Now go make some good trouble,
Bethany

P.S. Strategic plans written even 2-3 years ago are already out of date in this current environment. If advocacy isn’t clearly prioritized in yours (or even if it is), it may be time for a strategic refresh. Schedule a discovery call and let's discuss.