Advocacy 101: Lobbying vs. Advocacy

Although most people use the words interchangeably, there is a distinction between advocacy and lobbying that is helpful to understand. When nonprofit organizations advocate on their own behalf, they seek to affect some aspect of society, whether they appeal to individuals about their behavior, employers about their rules, or the government about its laws. Lobbying refers specifically to advocacy efforts that attempt to influence legislation. This distinction is helpful to keep in mind because it means that laws limiting the lobbying done by nonprofit organizations do not govern other advocacy activities.

What is the difference between grassroots lobbying and direct lobbying?

Grassroots lobbying is appealing to the general public to contact the legislature about an issue. Direct lobbying is contacting government officials or employees directly to influence legislation. If an issue is to be decided through a ballot initiative or referendum, appeals to the public are considered direct lobbying, because the public in this instance acts as the legislature. This is helpful to nonprofits that elect to come under the 1976 law, as they may only devote 25 percent of their total lobbying expenditures to grassroots lobbying.

Adapted with permission from the Connecticut Association of Nonprofits Advocacy/Lobbying Toolkit, available online. Originally published in a different form by the Center for Lobbying in the Public Interest in “Ten Reasons to Lobby for Your Cause,” www.clpi.org.

Coalition Building & Public Engagement: Two Key Concepts for Your Advocacy/Lobbying Efforts

A coalition is a group of interdependent people focused on advancing or opposing a particular issue. A coalition’s power lies in its ability to present a united front. It mobilizes allies through grassroots efforts to increase community understanding and support.

A coalition is effective only when its issue has merit and the coalition members are organized, informed, and dedicated to communicating the importance of the effort. Coalition building calls for establishing and developing contacts that work well together.

In order to form a coalition, the public must be informed and engaged on the issue(s). Public engagement is a different way of getting people involved in community decisions that gets beyond traditional forums, such as board meetings, public hearings or advertising campaigns.