DOES ADVOCACY HELP WITH FUNDRAISING?

If you search "nonprofit advocacy" on Yahoo and Google you get over 35,000,000 and 4,000,000 hits respectively. There is no questioning that nonprofit advocacy is here to stay and one of the hottest trends in the nonprofit and philanthropic world --but can it help with fundraising?

Faithful ZimNotes readers know we have promoted advocacy to board members (even titled our newest book, Board Members Rule: How to Be a Strategic Advocate for Your Nonprofit), because we believe that services/programs are critical and so is speaking out on the issues that concern those in need.

So what does this have to do with fundraising? The connection between the two has not been widely researched but we believe there is a direct connection between public policy work and fundraising. Yes it can be controversial and controversy creates publicity --always a good thing for fundraising. Some believe there is no such thing as bad publicity because the controversy will fade but the name recognition remains. Yes, a few donors may be upset by divisive positions but how about those that become even more committed and energerized after an organization begins to take steps to advocate for its constituency? Let's look at a few examples. One does not always think of the Humane Society as major advocates but in 2005 it joined forces with the Fund for Animals, an organization that runs advocacy campaigns to promote animal-friendly policies. Tom DiCarrado, a Fund for Animals donor and a retired business consultant, at first thought the Humane Society was just another animal organization but after the affiliation he was impressed.

Humane Society officials said that the group's high profile increased during the media coverage of the Vick case (215,000 people adding their names to its e-mail list to get more information about the organization and its efforts to curb dog fighting) The Humane Society has 10.5 million supporters - people who have made at least one donation in the past three years - and a budget of $112 million, up from $75-million three years ago.

While not all are attracted to the Humane Society's advocacy work, certainly many have been influenced by the publicity. Another example, this one with obtaining federal funding (yes we know that most federal and government grants prohibit lobbying but clearly lobbying creates connections to those in power and is perfectly legal for nonprofits see, "Why is Public Policy Advocacy Important to Nonprofits?") Liz Baumgarten, a lawyer and advocate wrote in

Still not convinced? A few recent studies about online and mobile phone use confirm this trend. A major recent study, The eNonprofit Benchmark Study on email communications found, that organizations that had an online advocacy program along with its online fundraising campaign received significantly more donations than those without such programs. (Total of $343,000 for organizations that had an online advocacy programs vs. $113,000 for organizations with no advocacy program.) While e-donations are generally not large, they are growing each year.

Another recent study of 400 nonprofits' email fundraising campaigns, by Convio, an online constituency relationship management (CRM) company, found that on average 6-14% of email advocates also supported their organizations financially and Convio believes "that online advocacy, in addition to advancing an organization's mission, can be a significant feeder of prospects for fundraising. Organizations are growing increasingly sophisticated at converting activists to donors, but much potential still remains." Many donors also become activists, with environments leading the pack at 42%. The study indicated "engaging donors in online advocacy helps to cement relationships with your cause and organization and hence enhances donor retention and lifetime value."

Corinne Ramey of MobileActive.org recently wrote about connecting cell phone use with fundraising and advocacy:

The list goes on: a legal services group wrote about starting an elder abuse program. "Little attention was then being paid to the problem. [We] wrote a grant to fund a television documentary on the issue. This was then televised on a local ABC affiliate. As community awareness grew, [we were] able to develop funding through private foundations. Later, the Older Americans Act funds were designated for the issue." See "Fundraising as Advocacy." The National Down Syndrome Society established the Buddy Walk in 1995 to celebrate Down Syndrome Awareness Month in October. Its goals are two-fold: "to promote acceptance and inclusion of people with Down Syndrome and to raise funds for local and national education, research and advocacy programs." Last year, 250,000 people participated in a Buddy Walk and raised more than $9.5 million to benefit national education, research and advocacy initiatives, and local programs. Their website gives tips on how to do both fundraising and advocacy.

While we do not recommend turning to advocacy primarily for fundraising we are convinced that, as nonprofits become stronger advocates for their missions and organizations, fundraising will increase and all nonprofits should become aware of the different avenues to make this happen.