In 2020, the philanthropy sector gave relief dollars like never before (though we still need to give more). We dropped unnecessary procedures and restrictions that got in the way of making impact for our grantees (and we should shelve those permanently). We gave money sooner, and for longer time periods (again, changes in process that we can adopt for the long-term). We educated ourselves about race and privilege, and donated significantly to racial justice causes (and we certainly must keep going).

But change is still not happening fast enough, the structural inequities are not sufficiently altered, and governmental support that funds relief and transformation at true scale is still not at hand. Where does that leave us? With one of the most powerful tools of all: advocacy.

Advocacy includes action-oriented research, public education, organizing and network-building, and voter education that can influence public policy or practices across a sector. It also includes lobbying, but lobbying is most definitely not the only kind of advocacy, and funding advocacy by nonprofits does not have to include funding lobbying. Quite simply, advocacy is among the most powerful strategies nonprofits can use to make positive, systemic, and lasting change on the issues most important to them and the communities they serve. Funding advocacy by nonprofits allows philanthropists to tackle problems upstream and invest in progress.

Read the full article about funding advocacy by Catherine Crystal Foster on Medium.