Resources For Volunteer Managers:
Advocacy and Activism: Volunteers Helping to Influence Public Policy on Your Agency's Behalf
Many organizations channel the resources of volunteer activists to promote various causes, on and offline, in support of the agency's mission and the agency itself. This can be everything from a volunteer writing a letter to the editor of your local newspaper to volunteers staffing a booth at a local event to hand out information about your organization.
Before you mobilize such volunteers, however, you need to also educate yourself and others in your organization about what activities you and your volunteers can engage in legally regarding lobbying, advocacy, and other public policy activities. We recommend three resources:
- The Charity Lobbying in the Public Interest web site by the Independent Sector at http://www.indepsec.org/clpi/ is an excellent place to learn why charity lobbying is important, easy and legal; how your organization can lobby effectively for public policy changes to benefit your mission; and how charities may inform voters and candidates for elected office about their missions effectively and legally. Also included is a step-by-step guide for following federal law governing charity lobbying.
- Volunteer Activism Via the Internet, a comprehensive and frequently updated index of resources by various organizations, compiled by the Virtual Volunteering Project, at http://www.serviceleader.org/vv/activist.html.
Also review:
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