Exploring Public Perceptions of Nonprofit Policy Advocacy

AbstractResearch on nonprofit advocacy has grown in recent years, and many nonprofit organizations have expanded and refined their efforts to influence public policies in ways they believe will benefit society. Despite the growing body of literature on nonprofit advocacy, there is substantial room for development on questions related to public perceptions of nonprofit advocacy activities. Utilizing an experimental design, we examine the ways in which the involvement of a nonprofit organization in the policy process can shift public opinion regarding a specific policy proposal. We also explore how these perceptions vary when we introduce political conflict that questions the effectiveness of the proposed policy. We find that in the absence of political controversy, the involvement of nonprofits in the policy process can significantly increase positive perceptions, relative to the control condition in which there is no mention on nonprofit involvement. However, we also find that the ways in which nonprofit involvement could boost support for a policy proposal may not hold when there is conflict over the policy in question.

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Still hold aloft the banner of social change? Nonprofit advocacy in the wave of commercialization

International Review of Administrative Sciences ◽

10.1177/0020852319879979 ◽

2020 ◽

pp. 002085231987997

Author(s):

Zhibin Zhang ◽

Chao Guo

Keyword(s):

Decision Making ◽

Social Change ◽

Nonprofit Organizations ◽

Qualitative Comparative Analysis ◽

Theory Building ◽

Policy Advocacy ◽

Configurational Theory ◽

High Level ◽

Causal Complexity ◽

Nonprofit Advocacy

Nonprofit organizations worldwide are increasingly seeking commercial means of financing. Would commercialization compromise the civic functions of nonprofit organizations, especially their policy advocacy efforts for social change? In this article, we address this profound concern by examining policy advocacy by commercialized nonprofits in Singapore. Applying a fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis approach in theory building, this study identifies multiple causal configurations of organizational and environmental conditions under which nonprofit organizations can still maintain a high level of advocacy activities in the wave of commercialization. The configurational theory that this study develops sheds new light on our understanding of the causal complexity underlying nonprofit advocacy and informs decision-making on how to uphold nonprofit civic functions in the commercializing context.

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Fear the Government? A Meta-Analysis of the Impact of Government Funding on Nonprofit Advocacy Engagement

The American Review of Public Administration ◽

10.1177/0275074016680024 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 48 (3) ◽

pp. 203-218 ◽

Cited By ~ 15

Author(s):

Jiahuan Lu

Keyword(s):

Policy Process ◽

Meta Analysis ◽

Positive Association ◽

Government Funding ◽

Previous Literature ◽

Effect Sizes ◽

Policy Advocacy ◽

The Government ◽

The Impact ◽

Nonprofit Advocacy

This article examines the impact of government funding on nonprofit participation in policy advocacy. Previous literature has proposed that government funding may either encourage or inhibit nonprofit involvement in policy advocacy. This study, using a meta-analysis of 38 existing studies with 218 effect sizes, finds a slight positive association between the level of government funding a nonprofit receives and the level of policy advocacy the nonprofit participates in. Government funding could be a weak catalyst, rather than an obstacle, for nonprofits to participate in the policy process. Furthermore, the study finds that this effect of government funding might be generalizable to non-U.S. countries. Government funding is also associated with nonprofits’ increasing use of insider advocacy strategy. Overall, government funding seems not a key predictor of the level of nonprofit advocacy engagement. Nonprofit leaders should not consider government funding a barrier for them to fulfill their critical advocacy obligations.

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Final Lines of Defense: Explaining Policy Advocacy by Immigrant-Serving Organizations

Nonprofit Policy Forum ◽

10.1515/npf-2020-0023 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 0 (0) ◽

Author(s):

Maria Apolonia Calderon ◽

Daniel E. Chand ◽

Daniel P. Hawes

Keyword(s):

Human Service ◽

Nationwide Survey ◽

Human Service Organizations ◽

Service Organizations ◽

Policy Advocacy ◽

Law Enforcement Agencies ◽

Chief Executives ◽

Local Law Enforcement ◽

Nonprofit Human Service Organizations ◽

Nonprofit Advocacy

Abstract Nonprofit scholars have developed a rich literature on nonprofit advocacy. While the literature is rich, however, gaps remain in our collective knowledge, especially regarding specific sectors of nonprofit human service organizations. Here, we apply existing theory on advocacy by human service organizations to an important subset of the nonprofit community, that being immigrant-serving organizations (ISOs). Most prior research on nonprofit advocacy has not focused on politically polarized issues, such as contemporary immigration policy. Using a nationwide survey of ISOs, we find that unlike other types of human service organizations, the majority of ISOs do engage in at least some forms of policy advocacy. However, those that report using the H-election status on their Form 990s are significantly more likely to engage in advocacy and do so to a wide variety of policymakers, including legislators, chief executives, and even local law enforcement agencies. H-election groups are also more likely to perceive their advocacy activities as effective. These findings add to the evolving knowledge on when and how human service groups seek policy change for marginalized groups.

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Parliamentary Committees

10.1093/oxfordhb/9780199665679.013.38 ◽

2016 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Ingvar Mattson

Keyword(s):

Policy Process ◽

Policy Making ◽

Political Conflict ◽

Minority Government ◽

Policy Making Process ◽

Swedish Politics ◽

Opposition Parties

This chapter describes the role of the Swedish parliament, and parliamentary committees in particular, in the policy-making process. The role depends on the parliamentary situation: whether there is a majority government or minority government in power. In essence, the chapter shows that Parliament mainly approves governmental bills and seldom initiates legislation. It is an arena for both political conflict and consensus. Political negotiations between governmental parties and opposition parties occur in which the opposition has influence on parliamentary decisions in the policy process. Due to increased conflict between the two blocs in Swedish politics, the importance of the committees as grounds for negotiating compromises has, however, decreased.

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Social Media and Social Change

ICT Management in Non-Profit Organizations - Advances in Business Information Systems and Analytics ◽

10.4018/978-1-4666-5974-2.ch004 ◽

2014 ◽

pp. 56-72 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Lauri Goldkind ◽

John G. McNutt

Keyword(s):

Social Media ◽

Nonprofit Organizations ◽

The Internet ◽

Comprehensive System ◽

Technological Advances ◽

The Social ◽

History Of ◽

Words And Images ◽

Media And Technology ◽

Nonprofit Advocacy

Technological advances in communications tools, the Internet, and the advent of social media have changed the ways in which nonprofit organizations engage with their various constituents. Nonprofits now have a constellation of tools including: interactive social media sites, mobile applications (apps), Websites, and mash-ups that allow them to create a comprehensive system for mobilizing supports to advocate for changing public policies. From Facebook to Twitter and from YouTube to Pinterest, communicating to many via words and images has never been easier. The authors explore the history of nonprofit advocacy and organizing, describe the social media and technology tools available for moving advocacy goals forward, and conclude with some possible challenges that organizations considering these tools could face.

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Service-Providing Nonprofits Working in Coalition to Advocate for Policy Change

Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly ◽

10.1177/0899764017721060 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 47 (1) ◽

pp. 27-48 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

John J. Chin

Keyword(s):

New York ◽

Nonprofit Organizations ◽

Policy Change ◽

Coalition Structure ◽

Policy Advocacy ◽

Organizational Survival ◽

Advocacy Coalition ◽

Implementation Level ◽

Immigrant Health Policy

Nonprofit organizations that primarily provide social or health services can play an important role in policy advocacy, as indicated by recent research. Less is known about how and why they participate in policy advocacy, and concerns remain that their advocacy is overly self-interested. This case study of an urban immigrant health policy advocacy coalition made up primarily of service-providing nonprofits in New York City suggests that (a) service-providing nonprofits’ insights as daily case-level advocates for their clients generate unique contributions to policy change agendas, particularly at the policy implementation level rather than at the legislative level; (b) these organizations do not necessarily see a conflict between their organizational survival imperatives and social change objectives, nor between case-level and higher level advocacy; and (c) a coalition structure, leadership by an experienced advocacy organization, and dedicated foundation funding can elevate case advocacy concerns into a higher level and more sustained advocacy agenda.

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Organizational Antecedents of Nonprofit Engagement in Policy Advocacy: A Meta-Analytical Review

Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly ◽

10.1177/0899764018769169 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 47 (4_suppl) ◽

pp. 177S-203S ◽

Cited By ~ 10

Author(s):

Jiahuan Lu

Keyword(s):

Meta Analysis ◽

Empirical Studies ◽

Effect Sizes ◽

Organizational Size ◽

Policy Advocacy ◽

Significant Relationships ◽

Analytical Review ◽

Organizational Antecedents ◽

Private Donations ◽

Nonprofit Advocacy

Policy advocacy by nonprofits has attracted substantial scholarly interest in recent years. Although considerable empirical studies have examined factors influencing nonprofit participation in policy advocacy, the existing evidence remains inconsistent as to what factors influence nonprofits to engage in policy advocacy and to what extent. The present study conducts a meta-analysis to quantitatively synthesize existing studies on the organizational antecedents of nonprofit advocacy engagement. Through systematically reviewing 46 studies and aggregating 559 effect sizes on 17 organizational predictors, the study finds organizational size, professionalization, board support, constituent involvement, knowledge about laws, government funding, private donations, foundation funding, collaboration, and negative policy environment have positive and significant relationships with a nonprofit’s level of advocacy engagement. The study contributes a clear knowledge base to guide future nonprofit advocacy research and practice.

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How Social Media are Changing Nonprofit Advocacy: Evidence from the Crowdfunding Platform in Taiwan

The China Nonprofit Review ◽

10.1163/18765149-12341352 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 10 (2) ◽

pp. 349-370

Author(s):

Shulin Zhou ◽

Chienliang Kuo

Keyword(s):

Social Media ◽

Nonprofit Organizations ◽

Digital Economy ◽

Theory And Practice ◽

Data Source ◽

Nonprofit Advocacy

AbstractHow nonprofit organizations (NPO) utilize social media to engage in advocacy work is regarded as one of the most important challenges in the digital economy era. However, although current studies pay their attention to how NPO react to the prevalence of social media, less focus is paid on how social media help to shape NPO’s practices on advocacy work. To help close the gap between theory and practice, this research explores whether the alignment between NPO’s advocacy practices and features of social media determine the NPO’s usage on social media. In particular, how the crowdfunding platform, an emerging and powerful form of social media, is used by NPO is investigated. Those crowdfunding projects initiated by NPO in FlyingV, the most well-known crowdfunding platform in Taiwan, are taken as the data source for analysis in this paper. The findings reveal that crowdfunding platforms are beneficial to NPO in turns of gaining resources and attracting participants, which then fostering the realization of advocacy activities. As well, the efficiency of crowdfunded projects (or advocacy proposals) is mainly determined by the number of participants (or sponsors). However, based on the findings, it is argued that NPO so far have not realized the power of crowdfunding platforms, thus not yet regarding crowdfunding platforms as key social media or strategic weapons in strengthening their impact or contribution on advocacy work relevant to their missions.

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