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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Libby, Pat, editor.
Title: The lobbying strategy handbook : 10 steps to advancing any cause effectively / edited by Pat Libby.
Description: Second Edition. | New York : Oxford University Press, 2021. | Revised edition of The lobbying strategy handbook, c2012. | Includes bibliographical references and index.
Identifiers: LCCN 2020027034 (print) | LCCN 2020027035 (ebook) | ISBN 9780197530191 (paperback) | ISBN 9780197530214 (epub)
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2020027034
LC ebook record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2020027035
9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
Printed by Marquis, Canada
For my husband, Mike Eichler, a gift of a human being who is one of the world’s best storytellers and listeners.
Preface xiii
Acknowledgments xv
Introduction 1
CHAPTER 1 Lobbying and Advocacy: What Does It Mean, and Why Should You Do It? 3
Pat Libby
Why Should Nonprofits Engage in Lobbying? 3
What Does the Literature Say About Nonprofits and Lobbying? 5
What Are Some Examples of Important Rights Established Through the Advocacy Efforts of Nonprofits and Concerned Citizens? 8
What Are Some More Recent Examples? 11
What Is the Difference Between Advocacy and Lobbying? 13
Chapter Questions 15
CHAPTER 2 The Rules of Engagement 19
Elizabeth Heagy and Pat Libby
Introduction and Definitions 19
The Regs 20
Funding Advocacy Campaigns 29
Lobbying Disclosure Laws 30
Other Tax Structures 31
Election-Related Activities 32
Chapter Questions 32
CHAPTER 3 The Mosh Pit of Government Budgeting: Understanding How It Works at the Federal, State, and Local Levels 35
Pat Libby
Why Is Public Policy Inextricably Linked to Money? 35
We the People and Wagner’s Law: How Do Those Things Drive Federal Income and Expenses? 36
What Are the Big Three? 38
What’s All the Fuss About Balanced Budgets and Government Debt? 40
How Do State Budgets Operate? 41
TEL Me About Balanced Budgets 43
Show Me The Money 43
How Do Things Work on the Local Level? 45
Two Types of Budgets 46
What About Government Waste? 46
Chapter Questions 47
CHAPTER 4 Making Law: The Confession of an Erstwhile Legislator 49
Howard Wayne
How Are State Legislatures Similar and Different? 49
What Power Do Legislators Have? How Are District Lines Drawn? 53
Can’t Citizens Make Law Through the Ballot? 54
How Do Elections Work? What Are Term Limits? 56
Opening Day: The Legislature Organizes 58
January: The Work Begins, Sort Of 59
Assembly Bill 411 Is Introduced 63
The Art of the Committee 76
Presenting the Bill to the Assembly 80
Negotiations: A Key to Legislative Success 81
The Path Through the Senate 82
The Final Steps 83
Some Thoughts on Helping Your Bill Become Law 84
Chapter Questions 93
CHAPTER 5 Ten Common Elements of Successful Lobbying Campaigns: Steps 1 to 3 95
Pat Libby
Identify the Issue: How It’s Done 97
The Exception to the Rule: People Power Versus Purse Strings 98
Identify the Issue: How The Students Did It 100
Research the Issue: How It’s Done 100
Stick to the Facts 101
Has Anyone Done This Before? 102
Doing Your Own Research 103
Putting a Face on it 104
Research the Issue: How The Students Did It 106
Create a Fact Sheet: How It’s Done 108
Create a Fact Sheet: How The Students Did It 110
Chapter Questions 118
CHAPTER 6 Ten Common Elements of Successful Lobbying Campaigns: Steps 4 to 7 119
Pat Libby
“Brand” the Issue: How It’s Done 120
“Brand” the Issue: How The Students Did It 121
Map Out Supporters and Detractors: How It’s Done 122
Think Beyond the Usual Suspects 123
Mapping the Legislature 124
Map Out Supporters and Detractors: How The Students Did It 124
Form a Coalition: How It’s Done 126
Divide and Conquer 127
Develop Educational Materials: How It’s Done 129
The Medium is the Message 130
Chapter Questions 134
CHAPTER 7 Ten Common Elements of Successful Lobbying Campaigns: Steps 8 to 10 137
Pat Libby
Launch a Media Campaign: How It’s Done 138
Launch a Media Campaign: How The Students Did It 141
Approach Elected Officials: How It’s Done 144
Playing Committee Bingo 144
CHAPTER 8
Getting an Appointment 145
It’s Show Time! 146
Catching Flies with Honey 148
Approach Elected Officials: How The Students Did It 149
Monitor Progress on The Issue: How It’s Done 151
What If It Doesn’t Go As Planned? 152
Monitor Progress on The Issue: How The Students Did It 152
The List That’s Not a List 153
Chapter Questions 154
Case Study #2: The K.I.D.S.
Coalition—Protecting Innocence in the Digital Age 157
Derek Floyd and Karen Gould
Step 1: Identify an Issue 158
Step 2: Research the Issue 158
Step 3: Create a Fact Sheet 160
Step 4: Brand the Issue 161
Step 5: Map Out Possible Supporters and Detractors 164
Step 6: Build a Coalition 165
Step 7: Develop Educational Materials 168
Step 8: Launch a Media Campaign 172
Step 9: Approach Elected Officials 173
Step 10: Monitor Progress on the Issue 181
Chapter Questions 183
CHAPTER 9
Case Study #3: REACH
185
Pat Libby and Maureen Carasiti
Step 1: Identify an Issue 185
Step 2: Research the Issue 187
Steps 3/4: Create a Fact Sheet/“Brand” the Issue 188
Step 5: Map Out Possible Supporters and Detractors 191
Step 6: Form a Coalition 192
Step 7: Develop Educational Materials 193
Chapter Questions 200
Appendix 201
CHAPTER 10
CHAPTER 11
Case Study #3 Continued: REACH the Final Steps! 219
Maureen Carasiti
Step 9: Approach Elected Officials 219
Author, Author! 221
Step 8: Launch a Media Campaign 222 Chapter Questions 232
Case Study #4: The 10 Steps Strike Again! Breaking the Tire Cycle—A Campaign With International Impact 233
Ben McCue
Step 1: Identify an Issue 233
Step 2: Research the Issue 235
Step 3: Create a Fact Sheet 240
Step 4: “Brand” the Issue 243
Step 5: Map Out Possible Supporters and Detractors 243
Step 6: Form a Coalition 246
Step 7: Develop Educational Materials 248
Step 8: Launch a Media Campaign 248
Step 9: Approach Elected Officials 257
Step 10: Monitor Progress on the Issue 257
Chapter Questions 259
CHAPTER 12 Fighting for Justice in Cyberspace: The Changing Role of Technology in Advocacy 261
John McNutt
Technology and Advocacy 261
Building Skills for Electronic Advocacy Practice 263
The Four Processes 264
Involving Technology in Your Strategy 265
Technology 267
The Future 272
Chapter Questions 272
PREFACE
This book was written for anyone who wants to make change using our system of government. You don’t have to be enrolled at a university to understand the concepts in it; honestly, you can learn about lobbying and become an effective advocate by reading the chapters and practicing what you’ve learned.
Although I’ve done most of the writing and taken the lead on begging, pleading, and cajoling the other contributors to write their parts, everyone associated with this book has a sincere interest in wanting you to learn how to be a successful advocate. Because of that, we’ve made an effort to write the chapters in such a way that it seems like we’re sitting across from you with a cup of coffee talking through the steps while you’re turning the pages. We hope you’ll find that style to be easy to read and even funny in parts.
In the book we’re going to walk you through the following:
1. Why it’s important to get engaged in lawmaking.
2. The legal dos and don’ts for nonprofit organizations that lobby.
3. How government budgeting works—specifically, the major policy quagmires regarding taxes and spending that face our nation and states.
4. A bird’s-eye view of how a bill gets passed that is so vivid you’ll smell the scent of polished linoleum as you virtually walk the floors of the state capitol.
5. The 10- step lobbying campaign model— a comprehensive strategy that people and organizations can use to change policy and law. The 10-step model is the heart of the book. You’ll read an explanation of how each step works and see how others have used it to lobby.
6. Several real-life examples of student-led advocacy projects that have used the 10 steps to make an impact on state and international issues.
7. How Internet advocacy works best.
8. How to monitor the implementation of your bill once it gets passed.
The most fun part about working on this edition of the book has been the opportunity to have a “do-over.” I’ve made oodles of changes from the first edition, which have included updating the first chapter to reflect the most recent literature on why nonprofit practitioners and organizations do and don’t lobby; rewriting and expanding the “rules” chapter pertaining to legal lobbying for nonprofits so that it’s easier reading and encompasses election-year activities; and overhauling the chapter on government finance to include a deeper explanation of the federal budget along with new sections that explain how state and local government finances work. I even refined and expanded the
three 10-step-model chapters. In addition to that, I’m delighted that two of my former students wrote a wonderful new case study about a project they led, and my coauthors and friends—Howard Wayne and John McNutt—revised their chapters as well.
Many of the examples in this book have to do with legislative campaigns that were conducted in California. The reason for that is because I live in California and taught at the University of San Diego. Please don’t let that geographical bias fool you into thinking that things work all that differently here than they do in other parts of the country. In fact, I learned how to lobby on the other side of the United States in my home state of Massachusetts, where I did indeed drive a “cah.” The basic structure of state legislatures is similar across the board; the 10 steps that make up the advocacy model are universal. Once you begin to understand how they work, I’m confident you’ll be able to use them effectively.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
For obvious reasons, some of my favorite academics are those who research, write about, and teach advocacy and lobbying. They include John McNutt, Rick Hoefer, Lauren Miltenberger, Linda Donaldson, Rita Mano, and Jennifer Mosely. As Marge Pierce1 wrote:
I love people who harness themselves, an ox to a heavy cart, who pull like water buffalo, with massive patience, who strain in the mud and the muck to move things forward, who do what has to be done, again and again.
Each of the people I mentioned are like that—and there are others in this field as well who do what they do because they care passionately about making change and empowering others to do so.
That’s a long way of saying that I’m not the only person in the world who has ideas on this topic. I offer you, dear reader, my lobbying model because it works and I want you to use it to create or change laws that will improve society.
In addition to what I have written in these pages, I am extremely grateful to several friends, colleagues, and former students who wrote chapters or otherwise contributed to this book. They include:
Jennifer Mosely, a brilliant researcher and kind-hearted kindred spirit who sent along lots of thoughtful articles and emails that helped me think about and shape the structure of my first chapter.
Elizabeth Heagy, an amazing lobbyist in her own right and former president and CEO of the Center for Lobbying in the Public Interest. Liz and I collaborated on what I hope is one of the easiest-to-understand chapters anyone has ever read on the rules for lobbying.
John Pomeranz, one of the nation’s leading attorneys in this field, who graciously volunteered his time and expertise to ensure that our description of the rules was clear and accurate. John burnished his reputation as the nonprofit advocacy director at the Alliance for Justice and today represents unions, foundations, associations, political action committees, and major political organizations.
Tracy Gordon, a senior fellow with the Urban-Brookings Tax Policy Center, and one of the foremost experts in government finance. Tracy was extremely generous with her time and expertise. She not only reviewed the government finance chapter in detail she also provided direct assistance that helped me shape the narrative in a way that conveys a complicated subject in a manner that’s easy to grasp.
Derek Floyd, Karen Gould, Maureen Carasiti, and Ben McCue, former students who brought passion and high ideals to the causes they lobbied. Each wrote eloquent, riveting chapters about their respective experiences using the 10-step model.
Howard Wayne, an amazing former California state legislator and my lobbying course teaching partner for many years. Howard is an inspirational public servant who taught our students tons about the legislative process and made me think about it in new ways. Howard has a great chapter describing how a bill works its way through the process and another on monitoring legislation once it’s passed. As you read them, you’ll easily imagine that you’re walking alongside him in the corridors of the state capitol.
John McNutt, a true believer in social justice and giant in the academic world pertaining to nonprofit advocacy. John introduced me to my editor, Alyssa Palazzo, because he saw a need for a second edition of this book. In characteristic generosity, he also took the time to update his chapter on Internet advocacy—a topic he has published on extensively.
Joe Kriesberg, CEO of the Massachusetts Association of Community Development Corporations, an old friend, and an amazing nonprofit lobbyist, who read some key chapters and reminded me about things I had forgotten to include.
This book is that much better because of the collective wisdom and commitment to empowering others with their knowledge from all of these amazing people.
There were also many graduate student alumni of the University of San Diego who graciously agreed to share their lobbying experiences and proofread those parts of the book that included their stories. They included Dana Black, Christine Houston, Meredith Hall-Chand, Gretchen Pelletier, Renee Scherr, Becky Lee Launder, Paige Simpson, Sarah Speed, Jeff McDonald, Jessica Towne-Cardenas, Darla Trapp, Maureen Guarcello, Jennifer Martin, Benny Cartwright, and Adina Veen. Jon Glasoe did a lovely job preparing a flowchart. All these students as well as the others mentioned earlier brought the 10 steps to life. Without them, there would be no book.
I also want to thank Alyssa Palazzo for her perpetual good humor, thoughtful feedback, and passion for this project. She made her job look easy and I know that it’s not.
Finally, and most important, I want to thank my husband, Mike Eichler, for inspiring me to write the first edition of this book with his own example of an offbeat textbook that really works for students. True to form, he also listened to (and offered advice on) the many random thoughts that floated in my tiny brain as I worked on this edition of the book. As he once wrote and I’d have to agree, every day we have together is a true gift.
NOTE
1 Excerpt from the poem “To Be of Use.” Piercy, M. (1973). To be of use (p. 38). New York: Doubleday.
Introduction
This book is for you and for people like you who aren’t afraid of what they don’t know.
It was written for you, a citizen of this fine country (or, perhaps, an aspiring citizen), on the assumption that you don’t know much, or as much as you’d like, about how laws are made or public policy is shaped. It was written for you too if you have tried your hand at lobbying and are looking for some insight on how to build a more effective advocacy campaign without breaking your piggy bank. In short, this book is for you regardless of whether you are brand new to this whole concept or have already dipped your toe into the advocacy ocean. It is for you as long as you’re willing to roll up your sleeves, figure out what it’s all about, and use your newly acquired skills to create positive change. Congratulations on buying this book, which is the first step in that process.
Before you continue reading further, I want to let you in on a little secret: You don’t have to understand all of the intricacies of the legislative process to be a good lobbyist, just like you don’t have to be a veterinarian to own a dog. In fact, you probably already have what you need: passion for your cause and good, hard facts about “it”—the “it” being the thing that needs to be funded or changed to make things better. Our elected officials, wise as they are, don’t know everything there is to know about everything. That is why they rely on you, a real person doing real things out in the real world, to educate them about issues that are important. It really is that simple.
The goal of this book is to help you feel so comfortable lobbying that you’ll do it! You can have a much more powerful impact on your work if you learn some basic and successful lobbying strategies such as those described in the pages that follow. Everyone who had a hand in writing this book will consider it a success if it inspires you to use the political system to advance the causes you work on day in and day out. Once you learn to lobby, you’ll not only embrace it but also wonder how you ever got along without knowing how. Mostly, you’ll be amazed at what you can get done!
The 10-step model described in this book was devised during the past 30-plus years I have worked in the nonprofit sector. I learned to lobby as a nonprofit CEO, thought carefully about the steps I used to advance advocacy campaigns, built upon and refined those ideas, taught the model to my students, watched them use it quite effectively to
pass a number of laws, tested the validityi of it, and decided that it was good enough to share with you. It’s possible that when you try it out, you may have some ideas for making it even better. If so, please let me know and tell others too!
Most students who take a course to learn about lobbying have no idea how their local or state legislative processes work even though many are experienced nonprofit practitioners. Sometimes they’re knowledgeable about one thing and not another—for example, they have lobbied their city councilor but have never set foot inside the state house. They arrive eager and nervous, passionate about an idea for an advocacy campaign, and fundamentally unsure about whether or not they’ll be successful in the end. For the vast majority of these students, the semester includes their first-ever visit to the state capital.
For all those reasons, it is awesome to see some of the ideas they propose at the beginning of the academic year become law by the end of the academic year (or, if not law, well on their way to becoming law). What’s even better is that more often than not, their results, when successful, affect the lives of hundreds if not thousands of people. It’s heady stuff. Of course, not all their efforts come to fruition, yet all of these students do have a chance to see how the system works “up close and personal.” Several students will tell you their stories in this book so that you can see how their 10-step lobbying campaigns evolved along the way. Their experiences will undoubtedly help shape and inspire your own work.
When you first begin to lobby, you’ll draw on more experienced colleagues to help you find your way around city hall, county government, or your state capitol. Later that experience will give you the confidence to lobby on the federal level. In those early days much of what you’ll learn will be through trial and error, and success will often be the result of luck (with a little charm thrown in for good measure). Things will eventually get easier once you understand the system, make a few allies, and figure out which strategies work best. This book is written to shorten your learning curve and increase your impact. The contributors to this book are those experienced colleagues who will help you as you go through the process of building and conducting a legislative campaign. Our focus is on lobbying at the local or state level to build your confidence to go onto bigger and better lawmaking at the national level.
Whether you call it lobbying or advocacy (so far, those terms haven’t been defined for you!), it may seem like a mystery now, and it may even seem like a bit of a mystery after you’ve finished reading through to the end. Truthfully, the best way to learn is by doing. This book is designed to guide you through the process as you are engaging in the act. Please write to tell me what parts of the book were particularly helpful to you and which could have been clearer. That way, others can learn from your experience. And if you’re willing to share the details of your lobbying experience, we might agree to share your story with future readers!
i Libby, P., Deitrick, L., & Mano, R. (2017). Exploring Lobbying Practices in Israel’s Nonprofit Advocacy Organizations: An Application of the Libby Lobbying Model. Administrative Sciences, 7(4), 37.
Lobbying and Advocacy
What Does It Mean, and Why Should You Do It?
PAT LIBBY
This chapter will answer:
• Why do nonprofit organizations need to get engaged?
• What does the literature say about nonprofits and lobbying?
• What are some examples of important rights established through citizen advocacy?
• What is the difference between advocacy and lobbying?
WHY SHOULD NONPROFITS ENGAGE IN LOBBYING?
“Ewww! Really?” That’s a common response I get when people find out I’ve written a book about lobbying. To many people, the word lobbying conjures up images of men in designer suits passing around $100 bills as they yuck it up with elected officials. As one human service provider said, “Lobbying, even the term kind of turns my stomach.”1 The truth is, lobbying is not a four-letter word. Lobbying done right can change the world in radical ways for the better.
To welcome you to the world of lobbying, this chapter will discuss why some nonprofit organizations lobby while others don’t, describe several transformative laws that were created in this country as a result of genuine grassroots activism, and introduce you to basic terms related to lobbying and advocacy.
When most people hear the word nonprofit, they immediately think of organizations like the Red Cross, the Salvation Army, and other types of public charities. That’s because most nonprofits in the United States—approximately 60%2 are public charities recognized by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) as 501(c)(3) corporations. People are often surprised to learn that the IRS lists more than 30 different categories of nonprofit organizations that are exempt from federal (and many state) taxes—including country clubs! (listed as 501(c)(7)); however, that’s a story for another day.3,4 In this book,
when we use the word nonprofit, we’re referring to public charities that are not private foundations.
Still, to state the obvious, amalgamating charitable nonprofits into a single group is akin to comparing a cow with a pot roast; while they share the same origin, how they look at the end of the day is vastly different. Charitable organizations are remarkably divergent and include hospitals (which vary greatly among themselves), the Girl Scouts, the “Anonymous” groups (Alcoholics, Debtors, Narcotics, etc.), scientific research organizations, museums, universities, domestic violence shelters, little leagues, and so forth. Some have multi-million-dollar budgets, pay their top brass six- and occasionally sevenfigure salaries, and operate in state-of-the-art facilities; others are all volunteer. Those differences can have an impact on the degree to which nonprofits engage in any type of lobbying or advocacy work.
But should it matter?
There is a compelling case to be made that nearly everyone who works for a nonprofit should comprehend why it is important to lobby—and master how—and the reason is pretty straightforward: At the heart of virtually every nonprofit’s mission is a quest to make a positive impact on the world—ideally, in the greatest, most effective way possible.
Take a minute to consider yourself and your classmates. Each of you made a serious personal and financial commitment to enroll in an academic program that was designed to impart the knowledge and skills you need to make an impact in your field of study. You decided to sacrifice money and time (that probably could have been spent in more pleasurable ways) because you have a passion for helping people, advancing a cause, or both. The truth is: You believe you can make a difference. Given the desire and motivation to move the needle, lobbying by nonprofits is arguably one of the best ways to bring about large-scale change. And it matters for all nonprofit professionals. For instance, playing the violin as a member of a symphony orchestra is an amazing accomplishment; however, if generations of young people aren’t exposed to music education in public schools, who will appreciate and create symphonic music in the future?
It can be said that some nonprofit professionals, such as social workers, have a moral obligation to lobby. According to the National Association of Social Workers (NASW) Code of Ethics, social workers have “ethical responsibilities to the broader society.” Specifically, the code states:
Social workers should engage in social and political action that seeks to ensure that all people have equal access to the resources, employment, services, and opportunities they require to meet their basic human needs and to develop fully. Social workers should be aware of the impact of the political arena on practice and should advocate for changes in policy and legislation [emphasis added] to improve social conditions in order to meet basic human needs and promote social justice.5
Despite this institutional commitment to advocacy and lobbying, a 2015 study found that 42% of NASW state chapters “had no information about advocacy on their websites.”6 While some human service agencies embrace advocacy as part of social work practice, there is a debate within the field about whether the advocacy that is taking place is predominately self-serving (e.g., lobbying for agency funding) rather than focused on advancing the interests and needs of the clients.7 Think about it: How many times have
you been to meetings at your organization when the discussion has focused on issues of self-preservation versus issues that affect the people you serve?
If nonprofits are indeed mission focused, and lobbying is a proven and effective way of creating large-scale change, why are so many staff, agency leaders, and board members reluctant to do it, or even squeamish about the idea? What is stopping nonprofits from working at the local, state, or federal level to lobby for laws that are at the heart of why their organizations were established?
One reason is that people are often intimidated by the idea. We don’t have a grasp of what we are supposed to do (which we are embarrassed to admit), and worse, as educated professionals, we don’t want to look stupid. We may campaign for a candidate, put a bumper sticker on our car, and throw a few bucks her way, but high school civics is a hazy memory. The legislative process seems so complicated. And yes, it even seems sleazy (the expression “back-room deal” springs to mind).
Second, we are afraid of getting into trouble. What if we violate some rule we don’t know about or innocently misinterpret the law and the IRS takes away the tax-exempt status of our nonprofit?! What if our major funder finds out what we are doing and pulls the plug?! How can we find a minute in our crazy-busy lives to understand the regulations and explain them to our board members? What if they object? Aren’t we already doing more than our fair share without having to rock the boat (especially if we’re rocking the vote by mobilizing our clients)?
If you have these thoughts and feelings, you have plenty of company. There is a lot of fear that comes with not understanding the legal rights and rules that nonprofits have to lobby.
WHAT DOES THE LITERATURE SAY ABOUT NONPROFITS AND LOBBYING?
Lu, in a meta-analysis of 46 different qualitative studies on nonprofit lobbying practices, found that nonprofits that understand the lobbying rules, and have the support of their boards, are the most likely to lobby.8 “The more nonprofit leaders know about laws and government regulations on nonprofit advocacy, the less concerned they are about the negative consequences of their advocacy activities and the more they participate in policy advocacy.”9 In other words, knowledge is power and, in this case, knowing the rules empowers nonprofits to take action.
A study done by Mosely of homeless service providers found that even though many were not up-to-date on the rules, some lobbied anyway (without knowing it)!10 These folks were so repulsed by the word lobbying that they refused to think of themselves doing it—instead, they thought of themselves as educating, advocating, or engaging in public policy work. Luckily for you, the next chapter will explain the legal rules for nonprofit lobbying.
There are other reasons some nonprofits more than others engage in lobbying. Logically, larger organizations lobby more than smaller ones because they have more staff and more flexible sources of funding from private donations and foundations.11 On the other end of the spectrum, smaller nonprofits may see advocacy as yet one more thing to do—an “add-on”—that takes time away from directly helping clients.12 Smaller groups are more likely to lobby through trade associations,13 which on the surface seems
fine, but based on my own experience heading a nonprofit trade group, makes me believe that most of these nonprofits lobby very little (it is just too easy for folks to think: “I’ve paid my dues; now they can lobby on my behalf”). I always say, it is just like those people who join a gym right after the new year because they resolved to get in shape: They can still say, “I’m a member,” even though they never make it past the juice bar.
Organizations that collaborate tend to lobby more because in the process of sharing information they become more aware of public policy developments: Those that might negatively impact their programs or the people they serve naturally trigger a greater lobbying response.14 “Lobbying increases when the issues are more relevant or salient, or there are big stakes for the organized interest.”15 This research echoes the what’s-in-it-for-my-agency theme.
Nonprofits may also give up before they even begin, with the thought that their lobbying efforts will be overpowered by bigger players with more resources. However, Baumgartner et al. have shown that that is not likely to happen. In an 8-year study that looked in detail at nearly 100 policy issues being lobbied by almost 2,200 advocates, the authors found “that both sides of an issue are usually able to mobilize relatively equal amounts of resources. One reason for this is any side of an issue is usually comprised of a heterogeneous mix of corporate, citizen, and government advocacy groups that bring to bear resources comparable to the opposition.”16 As this book will also illustrate, nonprofit leaders can be effective lobbyists using relatively few resources other than time, modest copying expenses, and travel to meet with whomever they are lobbying.17
In addition to being afraid, giving up before they have started, not fully understanding their lobbying rights, and not knowing how to lobby effectively, there are other theories about why nonprofits have disengaged from the political process. Hasenfeld and Garrow have contended that many nonprofits—both in the United States and abroad—have become too closely aligned with government and, therefore, are less likely to challenge government.18 The thinking goes that as government increases its reliance on nonprofits to deliver services—particularly human services and health care—and those nonprofits rely increasingly on government for income (income that is often tied to performance measures), they are less likely to lobby for essential “social rights” for the people they serve. The concept of social rights is an important one; it is the idea that every citizen is entitled to a decent standard of living independent of market forces.19 That means, for example, having adequate food to eat and a safe place to live—things that anyone in America who has tried to live comfortably paying rent with the help of a Section 8 voucher or buying food with Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP)/food stamps will tell you do not exist. If you stop to think about it, the struggle to meet the basic needs of people is at the heart of a lot of human service work.
“Government revenue to nonprofits primarily comes in the form of federal, state and local grants, Medicare and [Medicaid] payments, and as contracts to provide scientific research and development for a government agency.”20 For example, California research shows that in 2019, 30% of nonprofit revenue in the state came from government; in addition, 32% of Medicaidi services were provided by nonprofits.21 The Urban Institute tells us that nationally nearly half of all charities (47% to be exact)22 are health
i Medicaid is referred to as “Medi-Cal” in California.
and human service agencies, which indicates that many organizations find themselves in interconnected relationships with government. Those ties mean that nonprofits may be reluctant to speak up for fear of “biting the hand that feeds them.” They may also be so involved in delivering services in a certain way (a way determined by the design of a government program) that they become blind to the bigger issues facing their clients or reluctant to advocate for innovative ways of providing services that may be more effective.
The concern is that through the act of taking government funds to operate programs, some health and human service nonprofits may put a priority on protecting their own interests rather than advocating for the real needs—including, and especially, the social rights—of the people they serve. One can argue, as Hasenfeld and Garrow do, that this behavior is a consequence of “New Public Management” with its emphasis on corporate-like management practices and accountability of results.23 Others might claim “mission drift.”
In the absence of nonprofit action, other, informal leaderless organizations have often stepped into breech by organizing demonstrations and petition drives.24 Historically, public action has been a precursor to the creation of new laws—particularly at the federal level. And while McNutt et al.25 tell us that technology is changing the way that people and organizations engage in advocacy, the important lesson he and others share is that nonprofit leaders need to be involved in the legislative process in multiple and direct ways, because otherwise, the debate will happen without them.
A stunning example of nonprofits retreating from speaking out about pressing human, moral, and societal issues was on display when President Trump released his 2021 budget (this occurred prior to the COVID-19 virus outbreak).ii In that document, among many funding cuts, he proposed draconian cuts to the budget of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA; a 27% reduction of $2.4 billion, which equaled the amount of money the federal government had cut from the EPA the previous year); an 8% reduction in the agricultural budget, including a $22 billion cut to Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF), the child poverty reduction program; and a $15 billion reduction in SNAP/food stamps, which was estimated to eliminate 3 to 4 million people from the program.26
And that’s not all! In addition, according to the Congressional Budget Office—the federal agency that provides independent budget and fiscal analysis for Congress— Trump’s 2021 budget contained proposed changes that would “cause some states to reverse their expansions of (Medicaid) coverage to childless adults without disabilities as part of the Affordable Care Act. Many Medicaid beneficiaries would be subjected to work requirements and asset tests, and states would be pressed to verify eligibility for the program more often under the budget’s proposals, strategies that have been shown to reduce enrollment even among those who are eligible . . . It would also reduce a funding stream meant for hospitals that serve a ‘disproportionate share’ of uninsured patients.”27
There were many other types of budget cuts proposed that year, including funds for rural schools, eliminating community development block grant funds, and funds for assisting small businesses, to name a few. And while concerns about the escalating rise in the federal deficit were and are still valid, the cuts the president proposed across the board
ii Chapter 3 will provide you with an overview of how government at the federal, state, and local levels gets and spends money.
were primarily aimed at the neediest, and perhaps most powerless, Americans. Portions of the budget did propose increases—for the Department of Defense, the Department of Homeland Security, the Treasury, NASA, and Veteran Affairs.28
Now to be fair, this was a proposed budget that Congress would need to work its magic on before it became a final document. Still, you would think that nonprofit health and human service agencies, environmental organizations, and others would be staging huge demonstrations across the country in response to this comprehensive attack on programs that provide vital social support to Americans who need it the most. Instead, there was not even a collective sigh or a mini Tweet storm. The silence was deafening.
WHAT ARE SOME EXAMPLES OF IMPORTANT RIGHTS ESTABLISHED THROUGH THE ADVOCACY EFFORTS OF NONPROFITS AND CONCERNED CITIZENS?
It has not always been this way. Advocacy by nonprofit leaders has had a major impact on our lives. If we take a quick walk through modern American history, we will find some very important rights that would not exist today without citizen activism led by community leaders. Many of these leaders harnessed the energy of other citizen activists by establishing nonprofit organizations to advance their cause. Let’s take a look at what they accomplished by peering through the lens of the world that existed prior to these laws being established.
First, imagine living in a place where African American and White children were blocked from attending the same public schools or universities (despite a Supreme Court ruling to the contrary); where the country was so divided that the governor of a state (Arkansas) called for the National Guard to protect a public high school from integration by nine African American students; where parents of White students—not just in Little Rock, Arkansas, but in Boston, Massachusetts, and other places across the country— threw rocks at yellow school buses and screamed obscenities at elementary school children of color simply because they were going to their assigned public school; where the president of the United States had to send federal troops to protect an African American student who was attending a university in Mississippi where he had been accepted for admission; where drinking fountains were segregated by the skin color of the person who wanted to take a drink; where many restaurants refused to serve food to people who were not White, and could do so legally; and where people of color were required to sit in the back of a bus that also carried White passengers.
On June 11, 1963, Alabama Governor George Wallace said the following as he literally stood in a doorway to block two African American students from attending the University of Alabama: “The unwelcomed, unwanted, unwarranted and force-induced intrusion upon the campus of the University of Alabama today of the might of the Central Government offers a frightful example of the oppression of the rights, privileges and sovereignty of this State by officers of the Federal Government.”29 His opposition to federally mandated school integration was no surprise: During his inaugural address that previous January, Wallace had proclaimed, “In the name of the greatest people that have ever trod this earth, I draw the line in the dust and toss the gauntlet before the feet of tyranny . . . and I say . . . segregation today . . . segregation tomorrow . . . segregation
forever.”30 In fact, the people of Alabama voted in Wallace for governor because of his stand against integration (views that he confessed to deeply regretting many years later).
As difficult as these facts are to believe, this was America prior to the civil rights movement. It was an America in which many were frightened by the thought of people of different races “mixing” together. It was America until community leaders including Martin Luther King Jr., Medgar Evers, James Farmer, and Ralph Abernathy—the list is far too lengthy to name them all—and members of nonprofit organizations they represented such as the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, the Congress of Racial Equality, and the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee organized to mobilize, protest, educate, and work with their elected officials to create the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The act outlawed segregation in schools and public places and prohibited discrimination based on race, religion, sex, or national origin. Its advocates went on to help create other important laws such as the Voting Rights Act, which followed in 1965. That act protected Americans against literacy tests, poll taxes (a fee one had to pay to vote), and other measures that existed previously in many places throughout the country that made it difficult for low-income people, people who were linguistic minorities, and people of color to participate in the electoral process by enshrining the legal right to vote.31
While the nation has become a better place because of the work of these individuals and organizations, the battle for equal rights in America, as well as for voting rights, still rages on today. For example, regarding voting rights, in 2013 the Supreme Court eviscerated a key provision of the law that had prevented states with a history of voter discrimination from making changes to voter laws without approval from the U.S. Department of Justice (the court’s rationale was that discrimination was no longer an issue). As a result, half of all states (Arkansas included) have since put into place voter suppression laws.32 These include, for example, requiring voters to show a specific type of identification (ID) card (in many states, student ID cards are not an acceptable form of identification), reducing early voting hours, and closing polling places, which have resulted in people having to travel long distances and wait in hours-long lines to vote. Other types of voter restrictions have also been attempted, such as requiring proof of citizenship to register to vote, requiring released felons to pay fines before voting, and other laws that as of this writing are pending court challenges.33
Still, the breathtaking accomplishments of the civil rights movement inspired others to act. Just 10 years later, in 1975, a community activist named Gale Cincotta, a feisty middle-aged widow with a high school education, drew attention to banks taking deposits from low-income people in communities in which they did not reinvest. Cincotta and her colleagues gathered evidence of a pattern of discrimination where residents of lowincome communities across the country (particularly residents living in predominantly communities of color) with steady jobs and good credit history were being turned down for home loans, while their White counterparts with similar financial circumstances who lived in other neighborhoods were approved for loans. They dubbed this phenomenon “redlining,” suspecting that banks were literally drawing red lines around the borders of poor neighborhoods they deemed too high risk for making loans.
Banks were not skirting the law—this was then legal practice. However, people living in those communities felt that their neighborhoods—neighborhoods where they grew
