Give. Advocate. Volunteer. Advocacy and United Ways

1. Give. Advocate. Volunteer. • Advocacy and United Ways June 15, 2016

2. Building and maintaining a relationship with your legislator • Make personal visits to see your legislator • Be efficient, while also being effective • Gain trust and become a resource • STAFF, STAFF, STAFF! June 15, 2016

3. Communicating effectively with legislators • It’s important to be prepared for your meeting/communication • Be concise • Stay consistent with your communication • Follow-up • Action Alerts: Easy access to legislators • UWP’s subscribed service to mass email legislators June 15, 2016

4. Social Media: Connecting with Legislators • Ability to engage on many platforms • Way to bring attention to your events, issues, and community • Share pictures! • Remember your audience • Engage with others June 15, 2016

5. Benefits of engaging United Way volunteer leaders in advocacy • Influential community leaders have connections with policymakers • Volunteer advocates help increase the visibility of the work your United Way is doing • Build alliances with policymakers who see hundreds of people from your community every week • More voices to advocate for systemic changes needed to achieve your objectives • Enhance your United Way’s position as a leader among the nonprofit sector in your community • Legislators like United Way – put that to work for your community. June 15, 2016

6. Setting the right foundation for volunteer advocacy • Have the Board discuss United Way’s role in advocacy, and develop a vision for the Board’s responsibility (individually and collectively) in support of advocacy • Train the Board to understand how advocacy is performed legally and ethically • Establish lines of accountability for advocacy on behalf of the organization • Generate agreement about the platform for which you will advocate. Make sure it’s bipartisan and relevant. • Local public policy committee • UWP’s public policy priorities and agenda June 15, 2016

7. Discussion – What support do you and your Boards need to engage in advocacy? • What are common barriers to legislative advocacy by local United Ways? • Do you have the tools you need to help your Boards engage in advocacy? • How can UWP best communicate with your volunteer leaders about advocacy issues we are advancing on behalf of the PA network? • Is UWP’s current legislative agenda perceived to be relevant to your work in your communities? June 15, 2016

8. . Advocacy • All non-profits have a vital role to play in strengthening democracy, advancing freedom of expression, and adding richness and diversity to community life. • Throughout our history, Americans have turned to non-profit organizations to provide a strong, collective voice to inform and influence public policy. • Non-profit organizations—with board members, volunteers and community partners —have enormous potential to improve laws and, by doing so, to improve the lives of the people they serve. June 15, 2016

9. Why Advocate? • Address systematic causes rather than just symptoms. • Provide policymakers with missing information and perspectives. • Bring together diverse members of the community to solve problems. • Influence public policy by providing a conduit for individuals and organizations to voice an opinion. June 15, 2016

10. Grassroots Advocacy • Unlike "direct lobbying," grassroots advocacy relies almost entirely on the general public and not professional lobbyists to contact legislators and other government officials regarding specific issues. • Tactics continue to evolve – mass mailings, email and more recently social media such as Facebook and Twitter (among others) to mobilize large numbers of people quickly. June 15, 2016

11. Be An Effective Advocate • Identify Your Issue • Know Your Facts • Know Your Opposition • Know the Process • Build Your Base of Support • Communication • Imminence of Action • Method of Action • Follow Up June 15, 2016

12. Difference Between Advocacy and Lobbying • Advocacy is a broad term covering a range of activities that seek to bring about systemic social change. • One form of advocacy is lobbying – attempts to influence specific legislation through direct or grassroots communications with legislators or their staff – but advocacy also includes executive branch activities, issue organizing, and nonpartisan voter engagement. June 15, 2016

13. The following activities are considered advocacy, not lobbying: • Providing technical assistance or advice to a legislative body or committee in response to a written request; • Making available nonpartisan analysis, study or research; • Providing examinations and discussions of broad, social, economic and similar problems; • Communicating with a legislative body regarding matters which might affect the existence of the organization, its powers and duties, its tax-exempt status, or the deduction of contributions to the organization (the "self-defense" exception); and • Updating the members of your own organization on the status of legislation, without a call to action June 15, 2016

14. Lobbying • An attempt to influence legislators to support or oppose a particular issue or piece of legislation and is allowed for non-profits within certain parameters. • Direct lobbying – Inform legislators (or other government officials who participate in the formulation of legislation) your organization’s position on a piece of legislation and/or urge them to support or oppose the legislation. You can also urge your members to express your organization’s position to the legislators. • Grassroots lobbying – Inform the general public your position on legislation and ask them to communicate this position to their legislators (or other government officials who participate in the formulation of legislation). June 15, 2016

15. Can non-profits Lobby? • YES and they should! • Contrary to popular opinion, non-profits are legally entitled to lobby and advocate for the causes and constituents we represent. • However, charitable non-profits (designated as 501(c)(3) organizations) are prohibited from participating in partisan politics. • Nonpartisanship reinforces your organizational status as a trusted community institution that is respectful of the personal views of your clients and constituents. June 15, 2016

16. Making the Case to Participate in Advocacy • Because government is a critical decision-maker and the major provider and funder of health and human services, United Way must actively engage in public policy. • United Way is a policy leader in the non-profit community because we help to craft practical long-term solutions to human needs. • We are non-ideological and non-partisan in our advocacy, urging lawmakers to set aside partisanship and to work together. • United Way uses its convening power – bringing together all our partners– to help find policy common ground to advance our work. June 15, 2016

17. Developing an Advocacy Plan for Your Organization • Develop a policy or legislative agenda to guide public policy activities for a set period of time. • Set up clear roles and responsibilities for organization’s staff, committee (if applicable) and board. • Assign a certain measure of decision-making authority or involvement for each of the above groups. • Process should be structured to allow quick decision-making when needed. • Review United Way of Pennsylvania and/or United Way Worldwide’spublic policy agenda. June 15, 2016

18. Some Issues to Consider: • Mission – Is the issue related to your ability to meet your mission? • Impact – Are there aspects of the issue that affects the interests of your organization? • Consensus – Is there, or do you reasonably anticipate that there will be, at least a general consensus among the members/ constituents of the organization on the position to be taken? • Credibility – Will your organization be perceived as legitimately concerned and an appropriate advocate for the position to be taken? • Flexibility – Will the policy provide flexibility for a subset of your Board/committee to make decisions and/or speak on behalf of the whole group when time does not permit calling a meeting? June 15, 2016

19. Vetting Process • Is this issue an area of United Way focus (example:  an Impact area, an initiative, or a funding priority)? • Is the recommended action consistent with the Public Policy Statement adopted by the board? • What are the likely consequences of United Way taking the recommended action? Positives – example:  who else supports this? Negatives – example:  who would be opposed? • Does the recommended action provide United Way flexibility during the legislative process to obtain the best possible outcome without limiting the strategies used to achieve it? June 15, 2016

20. Legislative Advocacy • Lead - Responsible for the introduction of legislation and the development and implementation of legislative strategy • Support - Place the organization on record in support or opposition to a piece of legislation, testify, write letters of support, engage constituents and participate in legislative strategies • Monitor - Request further study; educate, report on issues; review and revise position as needed • Defer - No activity June 15, 2016

21. What I Have Learned About Advocacy in United Way & How to Be Successful • Take the time to build consensus • Relationships are key • Keep it simple June 15, 2016