GCIP Resources

Resource List for Funding Advocacy, Organizing and Civic Engagement

 

Alliance for Justice
http://www.afj.org/

AFJ has produced several publications that help foundation leaders understand the tax code and legal issues related to nonprofit advocacy and provide tools for funding and evaluating advocacy and organizing:

 


Annenberg Institute for School Reform at Brown University
www.annenberginstitute.org

The Annenberg Institute for School Reform (AISR) at Brown University is a national research and reform support organization. AISR promotes quality education for all children by building capacity for systemic education reform among policy-makers, district leaders, educators, parents, and community groups, especially those serving low-income neighborhoods and communities of color. AISR provides research, data analysis, capacity building, and other supports for adult and youth organizing groups working for education reform.

  • The 2009 series Organized Communities, Stronger Schools examined the impact of urban community and youth organizing on school and district capacity to promote student learning.
  • The 2011 Community Organizing as an Education Reform Strategy series further builds on this research agenda. The Strengths and Challenges of Community Organizing as an Education Reform Strategy: What the Research Says, by M. Renée and S. McAlister, was prepared for the Nellie Mae Foundation.


Annie E. Casey Foundation
http://www.aecf.org/

A Guide to Measuring Advocacy and Policy, by Reisman, Gienapp, and Stachowaik, jointly published by Organizational Research Services and Annie E. Casey Foundation in 2007, can be downloaded from the website. The guide was developed to determine meaningful ways to measure and evaluate the impact of the foundation’s advocacy and public policy grantmaking.

This guide also serves as a broad call to grantmakers to build and advance the field of evaluation in this area. Past issues of AdvoCasey, a quarterly newsletter formerly published by the foundation, are available on the website, as well as other advocacy tools related to children and family issues.

 


Association of Small Foundations (ASF)
http://www.smallfoundations.org/

ASF and the Alliance for Justice co-authored a primer, Funding and Engaging in Advocacy: Opportunities for Small Foundations. Information about the publication can be found on the website.


The Atlantic Philanthropies
http://atlanticphilanthropies.org/

 

In 2008, The Atlantic Philanthropies issued a report, Investing in Change: Why Supporting Advocacy Makes Sense for Foundations. It is available for download at: http://www.atlanticphilanthropies.org/learning/atlantic-report/investing-change-why-supporting-advocacy-makes-sense-foundations  

 


Blueprint R&D
http://www.blueprintrd.com  

 

Blueprint R&D’s website has many resources for foundations to measure the impacts of policy advocacy. In 2005, Blueprint R&D published The Challenge of Assessing Policy and Advocacy Activities: Strategies for a Prospective Evaluation Approach. This report is available for download at: http://www.blueprintrd.com/text/challenge_assess.pdf. In 2010, Lucy Bernholz prepared a series of reports on field building for the MacArthur Foundation, including: Building Fields for Policy Change.


The California Endowment
http://www.calendow.org/Article.aspx?id=1800  

 

The California Endowment has an advocacy toolkit on its website as well as links to two reports it commissioned, written by Blueprint Research and Design: The Challenge of Assessing Advocacy: Parts I and II. In January 2009, the foundation hosted Advocacy Evaluation Advances, a national convening on advocacy and policy evaluation attended by funders, advocates and evaluators. Materials from the convening are available on the foundation’s website: http://www.calendow.org/Article.aspx?id=3774.

 

 


Caring to Change
http://www.caringtochange.org/

 

Caring to Change (C2C) promotes foundation grantmaking that will advance the Common Good, a purpose that was developed and refined through a broadly consultative process.Caring to Change has issued an essay/project report, Foundations for the Common Good, which offers a vision of such grantmaking to yield more profound and enduring benefits, and promote greater change. It can be downloaded free of charge at: http://www.caringtochange.org/index.php/print-or-download-a-pdf.

 

 


Center for Community Change (CCC)
http://www.communitychange.org/

Center for Community Change builds the power and capacity of low-income people, especially low-income people of color, to change their communities and public policies for the better. CCC’s website has information about the Campaign for Community Values, specific issue campaigns, reports on advocacy and organizing across a broad range of topics, and a section on its leadership development program.

A special project of the Center for Community Change—The Linchpin Campaign—creates marketing strategies for community organizing in order to increase funding for the field and expand giving opportunities for new and current donors who are committed to building a better civil society.  The Linchpin Campaign published the book: Change Philanthropy: Candid Stories of Foundations Maximizing Results through Social Justice. The Campaign also released Untapped: How Community Organizers Can Develop and Deepen Relationships with Major Donors and Raise Big Money.

 

Center for Evaluation Innovation
http://evaluationinnovation.org/

 

The Center was formed to help build the field of evaluation in multiple areas that are challenging to measure and where traditional evaluation approaches are not a good fit. This includes advocacy and policy change efforts, systems change and communications. Currently the main focus of the Center is advocacy evaluation. The Center conducts new research, shares developments in the field, develops trainings, convenes funders, advocates and evaluators, and identifies helpful resources. Publications available on the website include:

 

 

Center for Lobbying in the Public Interest (CLPI)
http://www.clpi.org/

CLPI and the W.K. Kellogg Foundation jointly produced the online publication, Effective Advocacy at ALL Levels of Government. http://ww2.wkkf.org/advocacyhandbook/index.html

In 2010, a new pair of resources, Foundations for Civic Impact: Advocacy and Civic Engagement Toolkit for community foundations and private foundations was jointly produced by CLPI, Council on Foundations, Rockefeller Brothers Fund and CFLeads. These toolkits provide resources a funder may need to begin funding advocacy in one easy-to-read, short document. Each toolkit contains:

  • Basic legal rules for funding advocacy and for directly engaging in advocacy;
  • Sample grant guidelines drawn from real foundations;
  • Sample grant agreement letters;
  • A grantee advocacy capacity checklist; and,
  • Funder success stories.

 
Center on Philanthropy and Public Policy
http://cppp.usc.edu/

Housed at the University of Southern California School of Policy, Planning and Development, the Center has produced numerous relevant publications under its director, Professor James M. Ferris. These include the book Foundations and Public Policy: Leveraging Philanthropic Dollars, Knowledge and Networks for Greater Impact, published by the Foundation Center (2009) and the paper Foundation Strategy for Social Impact; A System Change Perspective (May 2009). The paper explores what system change means in the context of foundation strategy and examines how foundations can design strategies that create transformative rather than incremental change. The paper can be downloaded on the center’s website.

 


COMM-ORG
http://comm-org.wisc.edu/

COMM-ORG is a website managed by Randy Stoecker at the University of Wisconsin that provides a wealth of information about community organizing theory and practice, including listings of organizations, funders, scholarly papers and book reviews, and other resources. The COMM-ORG listserve is an email forum to share updates, spark discussions, and ask questions about the field of organizing.

 


Community Organizing Networks and Alliances

 

Council on Foundations (COF)
http://www.cof.org/

COF has a publication available entitled Top 10 Ways Private Foundations Can Influence Public Policy that provides information about ways foundations can legally influence public policy through such activities as educating legislators, funding advocacy organizations, educating the public about issues and promoting civic participation. Information about the publication is available at: https://www.cof.org/files/Documents/Conferences/2008Summit/API%20Top%2010%20Ways%20Private%20Foundatinos%20can%20Influence%20Public%20Policy.pdf

 

 


Fieldstone Alliance
http://www.fieldstonealliance.org/

Fieldstone Alliance published Power in Policy: A Funder's Guide to Advocacy and Civic Participation, edited by David F. Arons and written primarily by foundation practitioners for foundations. This book shares insights, lessons, and perspectives from foundation leaders and legal and philanthropic experts on how to engage in, talk about, and incorporate advocacy into philanthropy. It presents clearly and concisely key policy principles, legal rules, and evaluation methods and provides a toolkit for foundations to develop the capacity to engage in advocacy at their own speed and resource level. Information is available at: http://www.fieldstonealliance.org/productdetails.cfm?PC=62

 


Foundation Center 
http://foundationcenter.org/

In conjunction with the Center on Philanthropy & Public Policy at the University of Southern California, the Foundation Center published Foundations and Public Policy: Leveraging Philanthropic Dollars, Knowledge, and Networks for Greater Impact, James M. Ferris, editor (2009). In 2005, the Foundation Center and Independent Sector published Social Justice Grantmaking, a thorough analysis of the extent of giving for social justice in the United States. An updated report, Social Justice Grantmaking II, was released in 2009.

 

 

 

Funders Committee for Civic Participation (FCCP)
http://funderscommittee.org/resources

FCCP and Philanthropy for Active Civic Engagement (PACE) each provide resources and tools for funders interested in supporting effective civic engagement strategies.

 


GrantCraft 
http://www.grantcraft.org/

This project of the Ford Foundation published Advocacy Funding: The Philanthropy of Changing Minds, by Tony Proscio (2005).

In 2009 Grantcraft released Funding Community Organizing: Social Change through Civic Participation, by Craig McGarvey and Anne Mackinnon, produced in partnership with the Linchpin Campaign of the Center for Community Change.

 


Grantmakers for Education (GFE)
http://www.edfunders.org/

 

Grantmakers for Education’s mission is to strengthen philanthropy's capacity to improve educational outcomes for all students. In 2005, GFE held an institute on public policy for education grantmakers, and published a report: Foundation Strategies For Influencing Education Policy: A Seminar For Education Grantmakers, available for download at: http://www.edfunders.org/downloads/GFEReports/GrantmakersInstitute2005.pdf. GFE’s recent report, Benchmarking 2010: Trends in Education Philanthropy highlights the growing use of policy engagement strategies among its members.  

 


Grantmakers in Health (GIH)
http://www.gih.org/

 

GIH is dedicated to helping grantmakers improve the health of all people. GIH works to build understanding between health grantmakers and policymakers and helps support grantmakers in their efforts to fund policy-relevant projects. GIH communicates with health grantmakers about the relevance of public policy to their work, provides opportunities for grantmakers to learn more about specific health policy issues, and provides training and technical assistance to grantmakers about funding policy-related work. Grantmakers in Health published Strategies for Shaping Public Policy: a Guide for Health Funders by Malcolm V. Williams (2000).

 


Grassroots Grantmakers
http://grassrootsgrantmakers.org/

Grassroots Grantmakers is a funder affinity group that focuses on supporting funders who invest in resident controlled associations.  They have a variety of tools and publications on their website.

 


Harvard Family Research Project
http://www.hfrp.org/evaluation

The Evaluation Exchange Spring 2007 issue is devoted to the topic of advocacy and policy evaluation.

 


Hill-Snowdon Foundation
http://www.hillsnowdon.org/

In 2010, the Hill-Snowdon Foundation published the first report in a series, Making the Case: Supporting Community Organizing in the Nation’s Capital. The report introduces organizing as an effective strategy for addressing the District’s severe social challenges and calculates a return on investment for recent policy impacts achieved in DC. A copy can be found at http://www.hillsnowdon.org/thecase.asp.  The next installment in the series will highlight the local organizing groups in DC, provide a detailed analysis of the overall capacity of DC’s community organizing infrastructure, and offer recommendations for how to enhance the strength of community organizing in the District.

 

Independent Sector
http://www.independentsector.org/

Written in 1999 by Bob Smucker and published by Independent Sector, The Nonprofit Lobbying Guide demonstrates the many ways charitable organizations can use lobbying to advance their causes in federal, state and local legislatures. The guide can be downloaded at: http://www.independentsector.org/programs/gr/lobbyguide.html

 

Innovative Network (Innonet)
http://www.innonet.org/

Innonet maintains an online advocacy evaluation resource center and offers a free e-newsletter, Advocacy Evaluation Update.

 


Interfaith Funders
http://www.interfaithfunders.org/

Interfaith Funders (IF) is a network of faith-based and secular grantmakers working to advance the field of congregation-based community organizing (CBCO) in order to strengthen democracy and justice. IF has commissioned research that documents the breadth of the CBCO field and examines community organizing and congregational development.

 


National Committee for Responsive Philanthropy (NCRP)
http://ncrp.org/

In March 2009, NCRP released the Criteria for Philanthropy at Its Best: Benchmarks to Assess and Enhance Grantmaker Impact, by Niki Jagpal. The chapter on Values discusses the importance of funding advocacy, organizing and civic engagement that benefits marginalized communities, broadly defined. Information about NCRP’s Grantmaking for Community Impact Project (GCIP), including reports documenting the impact of advocacy, organizing and civic engagement, are available at http://www.ncrp.org/gcip.

NCRP has launched a new series of Philanthropy At Its Best reports. The first in the series, Confronting Systemic Inequity in Education: High Impact Strategies for Philanthropy, by Kevin Welner and Amy Farley, offers two high impact strategies for education grantmakers to more effectively achieve their missions and help address the root causes of intergenerational inequalities. It recommends a deliberate focus on the needs of students from marginalized communities and on supporting efforts that seek to influence education policy in the country through advocacy, community organizing and civic engagement.

 

National Conference on Citizenship
http://www.ncoc.net

NCoC produces an annual Civic Health Index, which measures a wide variety of indicators relating to Americans’ engagement in civic life. Each year NCOC’s report explores a topical aspect of civic health. The index and report are a cooperative effort of the NCoC, the Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning and Engagement (CIRCLE) at the Jonathan M. Tisch College of Citizenship and Public Service at Tufts University, and Harvard University’s Saguaro Seminar: Civic Engagement in America, as well as a Civic Health Index Working Group.


National Council of Nonprofits (NCN)
http://www.councilofnonprofits.org/?q=policy

This umbrella organization for state nonprofit associations and individual nonprofits has an advocacy section of its website with links to resources and information about policy issues that affect the nonprofit sector. Any visitor to the website can sign up to receive Nonprofit Policy News, a free monthly e-newsletter. The Nonprofit Congress, an initiative of NCN, mobilizes nonprofit leaders across the country to act collectively for positive change (www.nonprofitcongress.org).

 


Neighborhood Funders Group
http://www.nfg.org/

In 2001 NFG produced a comprehensive, easy-to-read guidebook, Community Organizing Toolbox: A Funder’s Guide to Community Organizing, by Larry Parachini and Sally Covington, available online at: http://www.nfg.org/index.php?ht=display/ContentDetails/i/3170/pid/2366.

 


OMB Watch

www.npaction.org

http://www.ombwatch.org/npadv

OMB Watch has a section of its website devoted to nonprofit advocacy issues, and NP Action is a project of OMB Watch that serves as an online resource that provides tools and information for nonprofit advocacy. Gary Bass, Executive Director of OMB Watch, also has an advocacy blog: http://www.ombwatch.org/blog/6/all/all

 


Philanthropy for Active Civic Engagement (PACE) 
http://www.pacefunders.org/index.html

PACE and Funders Committee for Civic Participation (FCCP) each provide resources and tools for funders interested in supporting effective civic engagement strategies.


Poverty & Race Research Action Council (PRRAC)
http://www.prrac.org/

PRRAC provides an online internet guide to community organizing by Shayna Strom available at: http://www.prrac.org/full_text.php?text_id=964&item_id=8814&newsletter_id=0&header=Community+Organizing

 


Public Interest Projects
http://www.publicinterestprojects.org/

Public Interest Projects (PIP) brings together and strengthens the work of philanthropic institutions, nonprofit groups and other public interest organizations sharing a vision of a society that ensures justice, dignity and opportunity for all people. PIP manages six collaborative funds: American Dream Fund, Communities for Public Education Reform, Four Freedoms Fund, Fulfilling the Dream Fund, Racial Justice Collaborative and U.S. Human Rights Fund.

In 2010, PIP published Crossroads: Alliance Building and Social Change in Tough Times. The report, developed by Manuel Pastor, Rhonda Ortiz and Jennifer Ito of the University of Southern California’s Program for Environmental & Regional Equity (PERE), is the result of a year-long field scan of strategic alliances across the country and offers a framework for defining and understanding the forms and paths that alliances take and their role in social justice efforts.

 

 


TCC Group
http://www.tccgrp.com

The TCC Group develops strategies and programs to enhance the efficiency and effectiveness of nonprofit organizations, philanthropies and corporate citizenship programs to achieve social impact. In January, 2009 the TCC Group published What Makes an Effective Advocacy Organization: A Framework for Determining Advocacy Capacity for the California Endowment. The paper is intended to guide nonprofits seeking to engage in advocacy, foundations that want to expand their advocacy grant making, and evaluators that assess advocacy efforts. http://www.tccgrp.com/pdfs/EffectiveAdvocacy_final.pdf

 


The Urban Institute
www.urbaninstitute.org

 

Drawing on existing resources, The Urban Institute and The Center for What Works assembled an outcome measurement tool for advocacy, which includes an outcome sequence chart and candidate outcome indicators. It can be found at:http://www.urbaninstitute.org/center/met/projects/upload/Advocacy.pdf

 


W.K. Kellogg Foundation (WKKF)
http://www.wkkf.org/

W.K. Kellogg Foundation and the Center for Lobbying in the Public Interest jointly produced the online publication, Effective Advocacy at ALL Levels of Government. It can be found at: http://www.wkkf.org/knowledge-center/resources/2008/09/Effective-Advocacy-At-All-Levels-Of-Government.aspx

 


Women’s Funding Network
http://www.womensfundingnetwork.org/

Women's Funding Network developed Making the Case™, a tool to measure and evaluate social change, in response to an increasing demand among member funds. The evaluation tool was field tested and refined with member funds and grantees, and the latest public version was launched in 2005.

 

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