Advocacy

A Guide to Measuring Advocacy and Policy
As more foundations and non-profits have engaged in advocacy and policy work to address public issues and effect social change, there is a growing desire to gauge the impact of investments in this area. How to evaluate the effectiveness of advocacy and policy work is an emerging question of interest within the philanthropic and non-profit audiences. Answering that question, however, has proven difficult because relatively few instructive resources exist to help those who wish to measure progress in this area.
Keeping Track: A guide to Recordkeeping for Advocacy Charities
This Alliance for Justice (AFJ) resource is designed to help public charities comply with federal tax law by tracking their lobbying activities. The guide includes sample forms, and describes multiple options for tracking staff time, overhead expenses, and direct costs.
Investing in Change: A Funder's Guide to Supporting Advocacy
This Alliance for Justice guide for foundations explains the various roles they can play in the advocacy process. Investing in Change can serve as an in-depth guide to navigating the tax code surrounding support of public charities, or a quick reference guide to answer a specific question.
Advocacy Capacity Tool
The Advocacy Capacity Tool (ACT) helps groups measure their readiness to engage in advocacy. Groups answer questions about their organization’s skills, knowledge, and resources for running issue campaigns, influencing legislation, or other forms of advocacy. The tool then immediately generates results. The ACT is useful for a range of nonprofits—including foundations looking for ways to support their grantees.

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