Independent Sector orchestrates webinars to help staff at nonprofits learn about the components of building a successful advocacy effort.The webinars examined measuring the effectiveness of advocacy strategies, building internal capacity, adapting to changes in the political climate, creating effective coalitions, and using communications to enhance advocacy efforts.
These exceptional webinars are free to staff at Independent Sector member organizations. Non-members can also download the webinars, at the cost of $75 per session. (Contact us for non-member or password assistance.)
The Basics: Lobbying Rules
Lobbying: Just Do It (Legally) August 2012
Presenters: IS Staff and Greg Colvin, Colvin & Adler
In the face of historic cuts, growing deficits, and looming tax reform, it is critical that the voice of the nonprofit and philanthropic sector is heard in the policy debates ahead. This free webinar is geared towards advocates who are new to the sector and want to be sure they understand the rules and executive directors and board members who are thinking about getting started in lobbying. This webinar covers:
- What counts as lobbying and what doesn’t;
- What foundations can and cannot do, and how they can fund nonprofits who lobby;
- The most common misperceptions about nonprofit lobbying rules;
- How to calculate your lobbying limit;
- The difference between the "501(h) election" and the "insubstantial part" test; and
- How to document and report your lobbying expenditures.
Advocacy Goals
Creating and Measuring Interim Policy Objectives May 2012
Presenters: Advocacy evaluation experts from The Aspen Institute
Waiting until the end of a policy campaign to conduct an evaluation can mean losing opportunities to learn from the advocacy experience. And measuring only changes in law or regulations can miss other advances important to policy change.Experts from The Aspen Institute, that guide us through this process and introduce a tool that nonprofits can use to measure advocacy progress.
Advocacy Strategy
Strategy Development for Policy Change March 2012
Presenters: Kristin Kumpf, Senior Trainer, Midwest Academy
Learn how to build and demonstrate the kind of broad-based constituency that gets attention and wins policy change. Expert trainers from the Midwest Academy, a leading national institute for social change, provided participants with a framework to:
- Analyze the issue,
- Analyze the decision-maker, and
- Analyze your current organizational power.
Strategic Advocacy: A Framework for Achieving Policy Outcomes December 2011
Presenter: Tanya Beer, Associate Director, Center for Evaluation Innovation
The policy environment in which we operate is complex and challenging. We must navigate it with purpose and strategy, positioning ourselves to meet our policy goals. In this webinar, learn how to be strategic and effective in your advocacy for the issues you care about with tools to build effective advocacy strategies, map your advocacy capacities, and create measurables to evaluate your advocacy efforts.
measure your goals
Creating and Measuring Effective Advocacy and Policy Change February 2010
Presenter: Ehren Reed, Innovation Network
Learn about the components of a successful advocacy effort.
Organizational capacity
The Organization Behind the Advocacy: Effectiveness Starts at Home March 2010
Presenter: Jared Raynor, TCC Group
Examine the key organizational characteristics behind a successful advocacy effort, including increasing internal capacity for advocacy, building short-term indicators/key measures for success, and leadership and organization culture.
advocacy tactics
Assessing Political Will, Adapting to the Political Climate April 2010
Presenter: Craig Charney, Charney Research
Advocacy efforts are affected by the climate in which they operate. Learn strategies for developing organizational ability to read and react to changes in the political climate and in political will, as well as how to deal with opposition and obstacles.
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The Role of Communications in Advocacy June 2010
Presenters: Jon Haber, Cascade Strategy and Julia Coffman, Center for Evaluation Innovation
All communication should be strategic — but what does that mean? Explore how communications tools – from traditional media to e-communications to social networking — can be utilized and assessed as part of an advocacy effort.
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Creating Effective Advocacy Coalitions May 2010
Presenters: Jared Raynor, TCC Group and Rev. Patricia Watkins, TARGET Area DevCorp
Collaboration is a key to advocacy success, and one of the most prevalent forms of collaboration is the coalition. Understand coalitions from an evaluative perspective, in particularly creating and measuring coalition member capacity, coalition capacity, and coalition achievements.
Watch this webinar
Non-Webinar Resources
- Advocacy Resources: Profiles, Fact Sheets and Leave Behinds: Download these helpful resources and talking points to use when connecting with policymakers.
- The Advocacy Progress Planner: A tool developed by the Advocacy Planning & Evaluation Program of The Aspen Institute
- Alliance for Justice’s Advocacy Capacity Assessment Tool
- The TCC Group’s What Makes an Effective Advocacy Organization? A Framework for Determining Advocacy Capacity
