A brief, hopefully motivating presentation on policy advocacy for a women's donors circle, Everychild Foundation.

1. Speak Up for Children
Pete Manzo, President & CEO
United Ways of California
!
February 24, 2014

2. !
“It is justice, not charity, that is wanting
in this world.”
– Mary Wollstonecraft

3. Everyone deserves a chance to
build a good life
Health: In order to care for
selves and family
Education: Opportunities to
learn in order to sustain
themselves and their families
Financial Stability: Pathways to
earn a decent living and provide
a stable environment for their
families

4. Why United Way advocates
We cannot social-service or grant our way to our
goals
We need to change the environment, to catalyze
social and cultural change to better support human
development and self-sufficiency
Advocating for change and mobilizing communities
to push for it is therefore central to our mission

5. Catalyzing change is the highest
impact philanthropy can achieve
4 levels of strategic philanthropy
4. Change the environment
3. Improve effectiveness of organizations
you support
2. Attract others to support those you
support
1. Support the best organizations

6. How we advocate
• Large challenges require involvement of all sectors
– government, private sector, nonprofits
• We work at the intersection of all those sectors
• Mobilize our volunteers, donors and stakeholders
to speak up, they are the most effective advocates

7. Health coverage for all children
• Health coverage
• Access to care, including
preventive care
• Healthy options

8. Education: All children should…
• Enter school ready to learn
• Read at grade Level by 3rd
grade (Reading to Learn)
• Successfully transition to
middle school then high
school
• Graduate high school ready
for college or career
!

9. Financial stability
• Support or increase
income
• Promote asset building
• Foster smart financial
choices

10. Build community capacity
• Expand and improve 2-1-1
• Protect charitable deduction

11. – Helder Camara
“When I give food to the poor they call
me a saint.
When I ask why the poor have no food,
they call me a communist.”

12. Advocacy is absolutely
appropriate for nonprofits
!
Every great social change in US history has grown
from roots in the nonprofit sector, from the abolition of
slavery and child labor, to civil rights, women’s rights,
access for people with disabilities

13. “Lobbying” is narrow subset of
advocacy
Under IRS regulations, “lobbying” is defined as:
• A communication
• To legislators
• Intended to influence specific legislation (pending
or proposed)

14. Most advocacy is not lobbying
• Executive, judicial and administrative agencies
(including school and zoning boards and other
special purpose bodies) are not legislative bodies
and do not create legislation when they act.
• Urging an agency such as the Department of
Children and Family Services to change its
policies, therefore, would not be considered
lobbying.

15. Examples of advocacy that is not
lobbying:
Changing people’s attitudes, beliefs and practices is
absolutely not lobbying
• Making available the results of nonpartisan
analysis, study, or research;
• Discussing broad social issues, without mentioning
specific legislation; and
• Communicating with members

16. Exceptions to lobbying
• Testimony: Advice or assistance to a government
body, or to its committee or other subdivision, in
response to a written request from the chair of the
legislative body or committee.
• Self-defense communications
• E.g., community organizing groups could oppose a bill
to remove their eligibility for tax-deductible contributions

17. Lobbying must be “insubstantial”
• 501(c)(3) nonprofit organizations can lobby to are
“an insubstantial degree.”
• Choose how you want to be judged:
• The “insubstantiality” test: No clear guidance,
includes volunteer time and effort, in-kind, etc.
• Section 501(h) expenditures test: Clear dollar
limits, only measures expenses
!

18. Limits are more than you’ll need
• An organization with a $2 million budget could
spend $250,000 on lobbying under these limits.
• Organizations electing 501(h) rules could dedicate
one or more staff to lobbying efforts, full-time, and
still maintain their tax exemption.

19. Elections – Ballot Initiatives
Laws & Initiatives > Good; People > Bad
• Ballot Initiatives and Referenda OK
• Absolutely appropriate for nonprofits to support or oppose.
• With initiatives and referenda, the voters act as legislators, so urging voters
to approve or reject an initiative or referendum is “direct” lobbying.
• Remember election law: IRS rules govern your organization’s exempt status,
but federal and state election laws may also come into play.
• Supporting/Opposing Candidates Forbidden
• IRS regulations strictly forbid 501(c)(3) nonprofits from engaging in “political
activity.”

20. Alternatives during elections
• Consider Issue Advocacy: If your goal is to
influence voters, issue advocacy is safer and likely
the most effective way
• Take advantage of opportunities to publicize your concerns during an
election, so long as the advocacy does not steer audience toward or away
from particular candidates.
• Influencing Candidates: Private exchanges,
forums, questionnaires or issue briefings with
candidates may be an excellent way to raise their
awareness of your organization

21. Grants and advocacy
• Public foundations can expressly support lobbying
• Community foundations, United Way and other publicly supported grantors
may make grants for lobbying, whether restricted or general support, so
long as they abide by IRS lobbying limits on their expenditures, like any
other 501(c)(3) nonprofit.
• Private foundations prohibited from funding
lobbying knowingly
• Subject to strict tax on lobbying activities, which include making grants of
funds “earmarked” to be used by grantees for lobbying.

22. Ways private foundations can
support advocacy
• Fund neutral communications urging voters, legislators
to study an issue carefully
• Fund nonpartisan analysis, even though it may
conclude in support or opposition of a measure
• Fund policy research and education
• Provide general support funds
• Provide restricted grant funds to non-lobbying portion
of a project involving lobbying

23. Preparing to Advocate

24. Be non-partisan, but not neutral
• Take a stand
• Mobilize those who care most about your cause
• But, speak also to those inclined to disagree with you
• Engage early, take the long view
• Look for allies and partners

25. Don’t be shy about what you know
Everychild Foundation and its donors know a great
deal about issues affecting children
Issues too important to be left only to “experts”, think
tanks, advocacy groups
Develop relationships with people and organizations
you trust who are experts in the issue, rely on them
Your involvement brings credibility, influence that can
be invaluable

26. Set your course
• What result do you want?
• Who can decide your issue?
• Who can influence those deciders?
• What do you know about them?
• What does your audience care about?
• What role can you play?

27. Identify decision makers and how
to reach them
Elected officials primarily attuned to money and votes
Department heads, agency leaders attuned to their
elected supervisors, but also can be more receptive
to good policy arguments

28. Appeal to Values

29. Address moral foundations
• Care/Harm
• Liberty/Oppression
• Fairness/Cheating
• Loyalty/Betrayal
• Authority/Subversion
• Sanctity/Degradation

30. MESSAGE BOX
Value Message
The Ask
VisionMessage
BarrierMessage

31. Mobilize your advocates

32. Tools for shaping messages,
motivating people to act

33. Web Resources
• United Way - www.unitedway.org/pages/public-policy
& www.unitedwaysca.org/knowledge-center
• Spitfire Strategies - www.spitfirestrategies.com/
• Center for Community Change -
www.communitychange.org
• Center for Lobbying in the Public Interest -
www.clpi.org
• OMB Watch - www.npaction.org

34. Publications
• Worry-Free Lobbying for Nonprofits (Washington, D.C.: Alliance for
Justice, 2000)
• Harmon, Gail M., Ladd, Jessica A., and Evans, Eleanor A. Being a
Player: A Guide to the IRS Lobbying Regulations for Advocacy
Charities (Washington, D.C.: Alliance for Justice, 1991, 1995)
• Colvin, Gregory L., and Finley, Lowell. The Rules of the Game: An
Election Year Legal Guide for Nonprofit Organizations
(Washington, D.C.: Alliance for Justice, 1996)
• Colvin, Gregory L., and Finley, Lowell. Seize the Initiative
(Washington, D.C.: Alliance for Justice, 1996)
• Schadler, B. Holly. The Connection: Strategies for Creating and
Operating 501(c)(3)s, 501(c)(4)s, and PACs (Washington, D.C.:
Alliance for Justice 1998)
• Smucker, Bob. The Nonprofit Lobbying Guide (Washington, D.C.:
Independent Sector, 1999)
• Avner, Marcia. The Lobbying and Advocacy Handbook for
Nonprofit Organizations, (Amherst H. Wilder Foundation)

35. www.unitedwaysCA.org

36. United Ways of California
Pete Manzo
President & CEO
United Ways of California
pmanzo@unitedwaysCA.org
!
Judy Darnell
Director of Public Policy
United Ways of California
jdarnell@unitedwaysCA.org
!
1107 Fair Oaks Avenue, #12
South Pasadena, CA 91030
www.unitedwaysca.org
34

37. –Martin Luther King, Jr., Remaining Awake Through a Great Revolution, Sermon delivered on
Passion Sunday, Mar. 31, 1968
“On some positions, cowardice asks the
question, is it expedient? And then expedience
comes along and asks the question, is it politic?
Vanity asks the question, is it popular?
Conscience asks the question, is it right?
There comes a time when one must take the
position that is neither safe nor politic nor
popular, but he must do it because conscience
tells him it is right.””