Guest post by Lisa Jaguzny, Executive Director, Campion Foundation

This afternoon at the Public Policy Action Institute, attendees got a detailed briefing from Diana Aviv, on Independent Sector's latest report: Beyond The Cause – The Art and Science of Advocacy.  After the morning's download on the current state of affairs in Washington, D.C. and state legislatures, this session was well-timed. Whether you're a representative of a foundation or a non-profit, you are undoubtedly focused on making the most of the next four years, and tuning up your understanding of advocacy "practices" is likely at the top of your list.

Full disclosure: at the Campion Foundation, we are unabashedly about funding advocacy. Indeed our mission -- ending homelessness in Washington State and protecting public lands in Western North America depends on successful advocacy efforts. We believe that supporting advocacy is among the highest leveraging activities available to philanthropy. A report that illuminates several key learnings about how succeed at this challenging work — distilling hundreds of interviews from successful advocacy efforts — is naturally going to attract my attention. After digging into the report (yes, I read all 200+ pages!), I realized that this report could really stir up some interesting discussion.

As Diana noted in her talk, there have been criticisms of Beyond the Cause. I can see how there could be disagreements about some the recommendations made at the end of the report. That aside, the five elements described in the report as being essential to advocacy efforts should not be cause for controversy. If anything, they are a well-researched validation of what we already felt to be true. I plan to share the report with my grantees, and make sure that their boards read it too. Examining their current practices against the report's recommendations is sure to provoke generative discussion. But perhaps more importantly, I will share its lessons with my foundation colleagues; especially the ones who say they can't fund advocacy because it's too hard to measure. Beyond the Cause debunks the idea that advocacy is simply a "seat of the pants" activity, or a mysterious and idiosyncratic set of rules known only to government affairs staff. Achieving successful advocacy outcomes is hard work that requires sophisticated strategies and execution, not to mention a long-term focus. And in case you were hoping: there are no silver bullets and no short cuts.

Before I describe the five elements of a successful advocacy campaign, I should point out that IS drew on lessons from three case studies of highly effective organizations, four coalition profiles, and six issue analyses of federal sector-wide public policy issues. While isolated policy wins can occur without these elements, the efforts that had consistent victories over time (regardless of which political party was in power) employed all five of the following:

1. Sustain a laserlike focus on long-term goals. Not the next session, not your 3 year strategic plan, but 10, 20 or even 25 years. Start with the end in mind and work backward.
2. Prioritize building the elements for successful campaigns. Invest in relationships, test messages, conduct research. Think of this phase as a marathon. Don’t expend all of your resources on campaign activities. That is the sprint.
3. Consider the motivations of public officials. Sounds obvious, but not all organizations go very deep here. Really consider what is most likely to motivate that public official or their staff.
4. Galvanize coalitions to achieve short-term goals. Again, sounds obvious, but how many organizations stay in a coalition even after there is no useful reason to do so. Join together for short term, strategic purposes. Disband when the goals have been achieved. Retool as needed.
5. Ensure strong, high-integrity leadership. Be an honest broker. Earn a reputation for being a trusted and transparent partner. These qualities will help build long-term relationships.

I invite you to read the report for yourself. You can download the report here. Share the learnings, start the discussion, offer your perspective. The more we elevate the importance of advocacy, the stronger and more vibrant our sector will be.