The Lobbying and Advocacy Handbook for Nonprofit Organizations, Second Edition

Marcia Avner, author of "The Board Member's Guide to Lobbying and Advocacy" and the first edition of "The Lobbying and Advocacy Handbook for Nonprofit Organizations, "has more than 40 years of experience in nonprofit consulting and advocacy strategy. Avner serves as a Senior Fellow at the Minnesota Council of Nonprofits (MCN) where she was Public Policy Director from 1996-2010 and is a faculty member and Coordinator of the Nonprofit Concentration in the Masters in Advocacy and Political Leadership Program (MAPL) at the University of Minnesota-Duluth.

The Lobbying and Advocacy Handbook for Nonprofit Organizations, Second Edition, is your complete road map to shaping public policy at the state and local level. It gives detailed, step-by-step instructions for developing an effective plan and putting it into action. With this handbook, you will discover how lobbying can help fulfill your mission; learn how to initiate, support, or defeat bills; develop effective lobbying skills; gather and mobilize support for your positions; learn how to use the media effectively; influence gov't administrators to back your policy positions; comply with state and federal regulations; and set up systems in your nonprofit to support lobbying.In addition to updated worksheets, case studies, and resources, new material in the second edition includes nonprofit civic engagement and voter mobilization; designing the Policy Committee that works for your nonprofit; utilizing social media in your communications strategies; administrative advocacy: working with governmental agencies; and understanding the why, what and how of collaboration.

ForewordAcknowledgementsIntroduction: Why Engage in Advocacy? Why Lobby?    The Essential Role of Nonprofits in Shaping Public Policy    The Advocacy Cycle: Ongoing Work for Change    How to Use This BookChapter One:  Get Ready: Develop a Plan for Advocacy and Lobbying    Planning Step 1: Create a Planning Process and a Planning Team    Planning Step 2: Articulate Policy Vision and Goals    Planning Step 3: Develop a Policy Agenda: Establish Criteria and Identify Issues    Planning Step 4: Target Arenas of Influence Where Issues are Decided    Planning Step 5: Choose Strategies and Tactics for Effective Advocacy    Planning Step 6:  Design the Organizational Infrastructure You Need    Planning Step 7: Create Your Plan    Planning Step 8: Affirm Organizational Commitment to the Plan and You’re Set!   Chapter Two: Go: Implement Your Advocacy and Lobbying Plan    Assign Organizational Roles and Responsibilities: Board, Staff, Policy Advisors    Get and Manage the Information You Need    Build Communications Systems:        Reaching Your Internal Audiences: You and Your Supporters        Influencing External Audiences: Opinion Shapers, Decision Makers, The Public            Design Your Advocacy Campaign        How to Develop and Advance a Policy Position        How to Organize and Mobilize Community Based Support for Your Position        How to Build Power Through Collaboration        How to Advocate and Lobby in Legislative Arenas        How to Advocate and Lobby the Executive Branch, Administrative Agencies        How to  Expand Your Reach through Media Advocacy        How to Evaluate Your Organization’s AdvocacyChapter Three: Sustaining the Cycle of Advocacy: Expanding Impact through Civic EngagementChapter Four: Nonprofits and the Law          Lobby Law          Nonpartisanship and Election LawAfterwordAppendix A: Rapid Responses to Crises or OpportunitiesAppendix B: Resources for Nonprofit Advocacy and LobbyingAppendix C: Legislative Process: A GuideAppendix D: WorksheetsIndex