Advocacy can support your mission

As a fundraiser, you know that Development touches all aspects of your organization’s programs and activities. You also know some programs are more popular with corporate supporters and foundation grantors. Others garner a better response in personalized direct mail and e-appeals for annual support. Still, other initiatives become proposals presented to individual donors.

However, many nonprofit organizations don’t realize how advocacy can directly support their missions.

Last July, AFP’s Greater Madison Chapter hosted a live event entitled, “Giving Trends in Dane County & Advocacy.”

During the live seminar, Andy Davey of Madison Community Foundation, Melinda Heinritz of Madison Public Schools, and Mike Carlson of Gathering Waters stressed the importance of including advocacy as a key component of every nonprofit’s mission.

Advocacy is often overlooked by nonprofits. In some instances, organizations may even have internal policies that prohibit advocacy-related activities. 

But nonprofits are legally allowed to engage in advocacy. And those that don’t are missing out on potential revenue streams and the opportunity to demonstrate even greater impact to their donors and their community. 

Historically, nonprofits and their development staff have tended to focus on raising funds from individuals and foundations.

But there’s a bigger picture to consider.

According to the National Council of Nonprofits, approximately 30% of nonprofit revenue comes from federal or state governments, compared to 12% from philanthropic sources such as individuals, foundations, and corporations.

However, the availability of public funding is never guaranteed, especially when one considers the competing budget priorities that elected officials must weigh at all levels of government.

An old adage in politics is “If you don’t have a seat at the table, then you’re probably on the menu.”

Put another way, if nonprofits don’t speak up for public funding that supports their missions, there’s a real risk that revenue could be lost. 

That’s where advocacy fits in—it’s one of the best ways to ensure that your nonprofit and your issues are seated at the table.

Source: https://gatheringwaters.org/why-nonprofits-should-engage-in-advocacy/

Gathering Waters’ advocacy story

Since its inception three decades ago, Gathering Waters, Wisconsin’s Alliance of Land Trusts, has worked to strengthen and support a network of 40 independent nonprofit land trust organizations. It’s been involved in advocacy throughout that history. 

A key part of Gathering Waters’ advocacy work is ensuring that public funding is available for land protection projects across the state. Wisconsin’s best source of state funding for land conservation is the Knowles-Nelson Stewardship Program. 
Though Gathering Waters doesn’t receive funding directly from the Knowles-Nelson Stewardship Program, advocating for the program is mission-critical.

Knowles-Nelson funding has provided tens of millions of dollars in matching grants to our land trust members and has helped to conserve hundreds of thousands of acres across the state.

Gathering Waters’ advocacy program is also popular with donors.

Every few years, the Knowles-Nelson Stewardship Program needs to be reauthorized in the state budget by the Wisconsin Legislature. Gathering Waters launches an advocacy campaign to communicate this need through newsletters, email updates, and appeals. Donors know state funding is vital for land conservation in Wisconsin, and they respond generously.

Gathering Waters spearheads its advocacy efforts through a statewide coalition called Team Knowles Nelson. The Team Knowles Nelson website gives the coalition and the land trust community access to research, resources, and news articles they can use when speaking up for Knowles-Nelson Stewardship Program. 

Gathering Waters follows five steps to create an effective advocacy program. The organization: 

1. Builds relationships and communicates with individual supporters, land trusts, policymakers, and community leaders in every corner of the state.
    

2. Stays abreast of issues and informs supporters and conservation partners, asking them to take specific actions when appropriate. 

3. Provides an online platform that gives the statewide land trust community and conservation partners an easy way to communicate with their elected officials.
    

4. Engages supporters in personalized, fun, and impactful campaigns.
    

5. Provides people with information that helps them talk about the properties in their communities that are protected by state funding.
    

6. Follows the “Ask, Thank, and Report” cycle of communication with everyone who took action on an advocacy issue, whether that included contacting their elected officials, volunteering at an event, or making a donation.

Over the past three decades, Gathering Waters’ advocacy work has resulted in a state investment of nearly $1 billion in land conservation.

Gathering Waters’ leadership role in Team Knowles Nelson has also attracted new supporters and helped land trusts fulfill their missions. 

Advocacy can take many different forms.

 Recently, Gathering Waters got involved in legal advocacy for the first time in its 30-year history. Gathering Waters intervened as a co-plaintiff in a case brought to the Wisconsin Supreme Court by Attorney General Josh Kaul on behalf of Governor Tony Evers. 

The lawsuit called into question the legality of allowing a single legislative committee known as the Joint Committee on Finance to block state funding for land conservation projects through the Knowles-Nelson Stewardship Program. Members of the committee were using what’s known as a legislative veto to delay state funding for important land conservation projects.

This summer, the Wisconsin Supreme Court ruled in favor of land conservation in a resounding 6-1 majority.

The decision found the actions of the Legislature’s Joint Committee on Finance violated the state constitution.

For the land trust community, the ruling means that millions of dollars of state funding will now be able to be used for land conservation without interference by the Legislature.

The Wisconsin Supreme Court ruling was a big win for Gathering Waters and the land trust community. It was also a win for everyone who lives in Wisconsin and enjoys our outdoor spaces.

While the Wisconsin Supreme Court decision is cause for celebration, Gathering Waters’ advocacy work is ongoing. Team Knowles Nelson is already preparing for the next state budget debate when funding for the Knowles-Nelson Stewardship Program will again be up for renewal.

This is just one example of how a nonprofit used advocacy as a powerful tool to secure government funding, grow its supporter base, and advance philanthropy.

Your nonprofit can tap into advocacy and use this often-overlooked revenue source to engage donors in new ways to create a lasting impact for your mission.

If you’d like to learn more about nonprofit advocacy, contact Creal Zearing, Director of Philanthropy at Gathering Waters.