Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service

Your neighborhood. Your News.

Milwaukee NNSnewsMilwaukee NNSSearch
Subscribe to NNS today!
Advertisement
  • Home
  • News
    • Arts and Recreation
    • Community
    • Economic Development
    • Education
    • Health and Wellness
    • Housing
    • Public Safety
    • NNS Spotlight
    • Special Report
  • Posts From Community
    • Submit a Story
  • Community Voices
  • How To
  • Multimedia
    • NNS Local Video
    • Photos
    • NNS on Lake Effect
    • NNS WGLB 1560 Radio
  • Subscribe
  • Donate
  • About
    • Staff
    • Partners
    • News 414
    • The neighborhoods we cover
  • News414
Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service

Diederich College of Communication, Marquette University


Language: English English Spanish Spanish

You are here: Home / Community Voices / One of the biggest mistakes nonprofit board members make

One of the biggest mistakes nonprofit board members make

July 23, 2018 by Frank Martinelli Leave a Comment

Share this...
Share on Facebook
Facebook
Pin on Pinterest
Pinterest
Tweet about this on Twitter
Twitter
Share on LinkedIn
Linkedin

Frank Martinelli, of The Nonprofit Repositioning Initiative, writes that more nonprofits and foundations should engage in advocacy — and the law allows them to do so.

One of the biggest mistakes nonprofit board members make is deciding not to engage in advocacy because they believe they’re prohibited by law from doing so.

This is simply not true. Advocacy is one of the most effective tools nonprofits and foundations can use to advance their mission and serve their communities. The term “advocacy” includes broader advocacy efforts, legislative lobbying and election-related activities. And the combination of advocacy and direct services can dramatically increase the mission impact of any nonprofit. Advocacy is all about your organization’s work and what it will take to advance it.



According to the Stand for Your Mission Campaign, an initiative launched by BoardSource, the premier training resource for nonprofit boards in the United States, here’s the more accurate picture for 501(c)(3) organizations:

These activities are definitely OK:

  • • Educating the public and decision-makers about your work in a nonpartisan way
  • • Sharing information about how public dollars positively impact your work and your community
  • • Communicating how broader issues impact your mission and the people that you serve

These activities are OK as long as nonprofits carry them out in compliance with reasonable guidelines:

  • • Voter education, registration and candidate forums
  • • Naming legislators who support (or oppose) a specific piece of legislation
  • • Limited lobbying on behalf of the organization
  • • Lobbying and campaigning as private citizens

These activities are definitely not OK:

  • • Organizational support or opposition of a candidate or set of candidates
  • • Spending federal grant funds on lobbying

So why are so many nonprofit boards avoiding advocacy? What are the barriers to board involvement in this powerful activity? There are at least three:

We’ve already talked about the first barrier – the mistaken belief that the law doesn’t allow tax-exempt nonprofits to engage in advocacy and that their exempt status will be imperiled. The response: Provide board leaders – and sometimes their staff – with accurate information to demonstrate that advocacy is in fact allowable and that their exempt status will not be at risk.

The second barrier – the belief that advocacy is “mission drift.” The response: Demonstrate that advocacy is not mission drift if it is centered on issues that align with the mission. Also share strategies that enable nonprofits to incorporate advocacy into their work in cost-effective ways.

The third barrier – the fear of a backlash against advocacy on the part of donors, funders and some board members. Once again, this resistance sometimes arises from the mistaken belief that advocacy is not allowable. We’ve already suggested the response to this misinformation: Meet with donors, funders and board members to provide accurate information that advocacy is an allowable activity and that it will advance the mission that the donors, funders and board members presumably support.

There is another reason why there is sometimes a backlash on the part of donors, funders and some board members. And it’s a bit more complicated: At times the resistance to advocacy is the result of personal and business interests that conflict with the advocacy positions that a nonprofit might take in order to advance the mission. The response: Surface such potential conflicts of interest affecting current donors, funders or board members and seek a resolution that puts the mission first.

In the future, explain the nonprofit’s advocacy role and positions on issues to prospective supporters, stressing that advocacy helps to advance the mission that has attracted the donor or funder to the nonprofit in the first place. In terms of future board member vetting and recruitment, fully explain the nonprofit’s mission-aligned advocacy role and positions on issues.

Clearly communicate the expectations for board member involvement in advocacy, making sure that there are no potential conflicts of interest. If any exist, determine how such conflicts will be managed in keeping with the board’s conflict of interest policy, or suggest other non-board involvement opportunities.

Share this...
Share on Facebook
Facebook
Pin on Pinterest
Pinterest
Tweet about this on Twitter
Twitter
Share on LinkedIn
Linkedin

Filed Under: Community Voices

About Frank Martinelli

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Advertisement

Recent News

5 things to know and do the weekend of June 2

How the Benedict Center helps women who have been incarcerated

 5 things to know and do the week of May 29

Advertisement
Give today to support our mission. Donate to Milwaukee NNS.
Advertisement

News

  • Arts and Recreation
  • Economic Development
  • Education
  • Health and Wellness
  • Housing
  • Public Safety
  • NNS Spotlight
  • Special Reports

Engage with us

  • Posts from Community
  • Community Voices
  • Submit a Story

About NNS

  • Milwaukee NNS Staff
  • Partners
  • News414
  • The neighborhoods we cover
  • Careers
  • Terms of use
  • Advertise

Connect with us

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram
  • YouTube
  • LinkedIn
  • RSS feed

Communities

Contact

mailing address
Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Diederich College of Communication
Marquette University
1131 W. Wisconsin Ave.
Johnston Hall 430
Milwaukee, WI 53233

email
info@milwaukeenns.org

phone & fax
PHONE: 414.604.6397 FAX: 414.288.6494


Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service is a project of Diederich College of Communication and Marquette University.
© 2020 Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service. Terms of use.
1131 W. Wisconsin Ave., Milwaukee WI 53233 • info@milwaukeenns.org

Copyright © 2023 · News Pro Theme on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in