Advocating Within the Law

Effective advocacy builds capacity and impacts your organization.  It enables you to achieve the greatest good for the greatest number of people and communities you serve. Lobbying on legislation and engaging in public policy advocacy through voter and candidate education can also be great for your organization because it can:

• Raise awareness of your mission
• Mobilize your members, volunteers, donor, board and community
• Attract favorable media attention 
• Improve quality and increase investment in government activities that impact your mission
• Reform laws and regulations that govern the operation and evaluation of your programs.

Under state and federal laws, nonprofits can engage in advocacy and lobbying on policy issues, legislation and ballot measures as long as they follow a few rules and reporting requirements. Here are some of the best resources to help you to advocate within the law:

Alliance for Justice: comprehensive resource on state and federal laws that impact nonprofit advocacy.

Internal Revenue Service: Election Year Activities and the Prohibition on Political Campaign Intervention for Section 501(c)(3) Organizations

The Public Charity's Guide to the California Initiative Process: helps public charities become active participants in the California ballot measure.