Note: This guest post is from Martha Collins. It’s adapted from a piece originally published by the Nonprofit Academy of Wisconsin, co-written with Rob Meiksins. Their training series on nonprofit lobbying begins on September 17.

Hello, fellow nonprofiteers!

As we write this, the reasons and the need for nonprofit organizations to advocate and lobby are becoming clearer and sharper. Ongoing protests continue around the country as new ones expand in our home state of Wisconsin. Economic and educational disparities in our country are widening.

We must admit it: “staying in our lane” and focusing on symptoms is not working. We need to address root causes, and that involves becoming engaged in legislation.

Here are four tips to help you embrace your role as a nonprofit lobbyist and advocate.

1. Yes, it’s legal for nonprofits to lobby

We recently spoke with a nonprofit leader who voiced a commonly-held myth – “It’s illegal for nonprofits to lobby” – as an excuse to stay on the sidelines.

Let’s be clear: yes, nonprofits can legally lobby. Don’t believe it? Read this from the Center for Nonprofits in New Jersey:

“Given the many crucial issues facing nonprofit organizations and the people they serve, it is more important than ever that charities become involved in the public policy debate. Too many people mistakenly assume that it is illegal for non-profits to lobby. To the contrary, federal laws actually exist to encourage charities to lobby within certain specified limits.”

Still don’t believe it? Here’s what the IRS says: “A 501(c)(3) organization may engage in some lobbying, but too much lobbying activity risks loss of tax-exempt status.”

2. Be about the big picture

Writing in the Nonprofit Quarterly, publisher Ruth McCambridge and John Pratt of the Minnesota Council on Nonprofits offer this advice:

“The civic voice of a nonprofit organization should be applied broadly to advance the organization’s mission and the people it serves, not narrowly used to protect its parochial interests in its own program and revenues.”

Nonprofits have a voice, whether we know it or not. Whether we use it or not. We often fight for things that benefit our organizations directly, such as the charitable tax deduction. Or we fight to maintain our property tax exemptions.

It’s far more important, however, to use your organization’s voice to fight for things like a livable minimum wage or access to quality healthcare for everyone.

3. Don’t be afraid

A University of Oregon professor once wrote: “Fear of running afoul of your organization’s tax-exempt status, or losing the support of important donors by being seen as ‘too partisan or political,’ may be preventing nonprofit organizations from speaking out or encouraging their members or clients to do so. … Yes, decisions to take action should be given careful consideration, [but] fear alone is not a good enough reason to fail to act.”

Think about how others will react to your advocacy and/or lobbying. Also think about their reactions if you don’t take action.

If you choose to not take action because of the potential negative fallout and damage, that’s OK. However, before you assume negative fallout and backlash, check your assumptions to make sure they are accurate.

4. Small steps can have a big impact

A few decades ago, a woman in Seattle decided to challenge misleading labeling on food products. It took a lot of people (and several years) to pass national legislation to address this problem, but it all began with a small group of grassroots advocates.

Read the story here. And then remember the phrase: If not me, who… and if not now, when.

Build your skills!

Do you want to be a more effective advocate? Do you want to better understand the distinctions between advocacy and lobbying, and how they support each other? Do you want to deepen your skills, increase your courage, and sharpen your strategy?

Join us for the upcoming webinar series on nonprofit lobbying. Hope to see you there!