"Public support for a recommendation of a particular cause or policy" Oxford Living Dictionaries
The Rainbow Center:
Located at 2215 Pacific Ave, Tacoma, WA 98402, the Rainbow Center is a safe haven for those in the LGBTQA community. Not only do they host a variety of events, their crisis hotline for crime victims of of kinds is open 24/7.
For more information, click one of the links below;
The Rainbow Center Website
Calendar
Crime Victim Service Center
Oasis Youth Center:
The Oasis Youth Center is a place of safety and learning for queer youth ages 11-24. For questions about programs or help, come in or call 253.671.2838. Oasis located in the same building as the Rainbow Center (see Rainbow Center information above).
For more information: click on one of the links below:
Oasis Youth Center Website
Programs
Calendar
Join!
The Mockingbird Society:
The Mockingbird Society's mission is to transform foster care and end youth homelessness. We create, support, and advocate for racially equitable, healthy environments that develop and empower young people at risk of—or who are experiencing—foster care or homelessness.
The Mockingbird Society Website
Programs
Calendar
Join!
ad·vo·ca·cy
ˈadvəkəsē/
NounPublic support for or recommendation of a particular cause or policy.
Bolder Advocacy
OrganizationPromotes active engagement in democratic processes and institutions by giving nonprofits and foundations the confidence to advocate effectively and by protecting their right to do so.
What Is Advocacy?
Advocacy can take many forms. In simple terms, it means making the case for your cause or mission. When we talk about advocacy for nonprofits, we usually mean making your case in a way that will change public policy to help your cause. That means reaching audiences in a position to help make those changes. Advocacy could be any one of a number of things from research and public education to lobbying elected officials and voter engagement. These activities are especially important when you want to make sure that underrepresented and vulnerable communities have a voice in decisions that affect them.
Why Advocacy?
Every nonprofit can and should get involved in advocacy to help advance its mission. Advocacy shapes the public debate about issues that affect nonprofits. It’s the number one way nonprofits can focus attention on the issues they care about, and bring about real change for the people they serve. With the right tools and information, you’ll see how you can make advocacy work for your organization and your community.
You have questions - we have answers!
Check out some FAQs and topical questions about advocacy.
Read more.
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Spotlight
A Roadmap for Success
Abby Levine | April 8, 2019
We are excited to release our latest comprehensive guide for nonprofits, Foundation Advocacy Grants: What Grantees Need to Know.
A Roadmap for Success
The Ultimate Advocacy Guide Mobilize your supporters. Raise awareness for your cause. Effect change in
your community.
Simply put, advocacy is the public support of a particular cause, policy, or position. Advocacy can take any number of forms, from raising awareness online to lobbying directly for change within government or other institutions. No matter what form they take, advocacy campaigns allow nonprofits (and other organizations) to spread the word about their mission. These efforts can be paired with fundraising, marketing and outreach, and
community service.
Digital advocacy encompasses all of the tactics you might take to get the word out about your cause online. Using social media, your website, mobile apps, and email, you can educate the world about your mission and inspire action. Digital advocacy has become increasingly prevalent (and important) due to the efficiency and wide reach of the internet. You can get your cause in front of thousands of new potential supporters all through a few
shares!
Advocacy and fundraising can go hand-in-hand when you have a holistic nonprofit strategy. Since you know your advocates are passionate about your cause, they’re naturally great prospects for financial contributions. However, fundraising is not always the end goal of an advocacy campaign. It’s important to see your advocates as key pieces of your organization, even if they don’t make a monetary gift.What Is Advocacy?
What Is Digital Advocacy?
How Do Advocacy and Fundraising Work Together?
Our Recommended Advocacy Software
Understanding Advocacy
Goals of an Advocacy Campaign
While the primary goal of any advocacy campaign is, of course, to make a change in your community (whether local, regional, or global), the ways that advocates go about effecting that change can vary greatly.
Advocacy campaigns can have a myriad of objectives, most of which will fall somewhere along the spectrum in one of the following four categories.
A common goal of an advocacy campaign is to bring a previously unknown issue to light on a large scale. Advocates may create educational materials (such as a film or case study) and use their campaign to promote them to the public.Education
Many times, what stands between a problem and its solution is a lack of resources. Fundraising can fill that gap by providing an advocacy group with the money they need to supply a community’s needs or power a charitable mission.Fundraising
One of the most visible results of advocacy is a tangible change in the way our systems operate. Advocates may lobby for legislation or work to elect government officials. Policy change can also take place within other systems, such as an institution or corporation.Policy Change
Litigation is a specific aspect of advocacy that takes place within the court system. Through litigation, advocates can enact changes within the law that can directly impact communities on a small or large scale.Litigation
Using Advocacy Software
Automate Outreach
A major part of advocacy is getting the word out to supporters, and your software can help you do just that in the most effective way possible.
You can use your advocacy software to create and manage email streams (such as the welcome series pictured here), schedule social media posts, and more.
By centralizing your communications in one place, you’ll gain deeper insight into how your supporters are engaging with your organization.
And by adding automation to the mix, you’ll all but guarantee that none of your communication channels get overlooked and no important message gets missed.
Manage Fundraising Campaigns
For advocacy groups who rely on fundraising, it’s inefficient and cumbersome to work in two separate platforms to stay on top of both sides of your efforts.
Your advocacy software solution should also enable you to track your fundraising progress.
Gain insight into your donor data by building custom supporter profiles, and then analyze trends using actionable dashboards and reports.
When you can manage your advocacy plans alongside your fundraising tactics, you can see where the two overlap and develop a more holistic approach to your organization’s strategy.
Set Action Alerts
Action alerts can help keep supporters up to date with the latest news in your community and inspire them to take action when it counts.
Using your software, program action alerts that integrate with your website so that they display as soon as a visitor lands on your homepage.
When a user clicks on the alert, they should be instantly taken to the appropriate place, be that an online petition, an email template pre-filled their representative’s information, or a donation form.
If possible, make sure to target your action alerts based on geographic location so each supporter sees the most relevant, accurate information on your website.
Create Advocacy Events
Whether you’re throwing a fundraising gala or organizing a rally, you’ll need a way to manage event registration, collect guest data, and communicate with attendees.
Advocacy software with integrated event management features can ensure your event data is accurately filed in your supporter database.
Since there are so many different types of advocacy events you might plan, the most robust software solutions will give you plenty of options.
Create a custom event registration page, set supporters up with a peer-to-peer fundraising page for P2P events, and add surveys to gather all of the data you need before event doors open.
Digital Advocacy
Social Media Advocacy
Social media has quickly become a staple for nonprofit outreach. Because of its wide appeal, convenience, and shareability, social media is the perfect avenue for creating and promoting digital advocacy content.
Top Social Media Platforms for Digital Advocacy
Facebook
Not only can you post updates, pictures, and videos, but Facebook ads are effective and they provide metrics and insights. Additionally, posts that are paired with images tend to perform better than others.
Instagram
If you hosted an event, received a certain number of petition signatures, or reached a milestone, post a picture on Instagram! Encourage supporters to post their own photos and tag your account, too.
Twitter
If you need to update your followers on an ongoing project in live time, Twitter is the perfect site for you. Twitter tends to have a high conversion rate and is useful for quick posts and fast updates. Don’t forget to hashtag your tweets!
Digital Advocacy and Online Fundraising
Matching gift programs are corporate giving initiatives that reward employees’ charitable contributions. Your advocacy campaign can benefit from these programs by marketing matching gifts to your supporters. While not every supporter will work for a company that will match their gift, you might be able to bring in twice as many donations if supporters know that such programs exist.Matching Gifts
Asking businesses and corporations for donations is an often overlooked way to raise money for an advocacy campaign, but if the issue affects a local business or company, they will be more likely to contribute to your cause. Make sure that you’re making your case to businesses and clearly communicate why you need their donations. Vague requests for contributions will likely be turned down.Corporate Donations
Your advocates are on the go, supporting your cause in their communities and getting the word out wherever they are. It doesn’t make sense to use an online donation form that can only be accessed on their desktops. Set up an online giving form that’s mobile responsive and consider other forms of mobile giving, like text-to-give or a mobile app. The
more options you have, the more gifts your advocacy campaign will get! Mobile Giving
Advocacy Campaign Best Practices
Additional Advocacy Resources
Top Digital Advocacy Strategies
Now that you know why digital advocacy is so important, learn how to make the most of it at your organization!
Check out DNL OmniMedia’s top digital advocacy strategies to see how you can push your campaign to the next level in no time.
Planning an Advocacy Campaign
Advocacy campaigns can take a lot of time and effort to plan correctly, but that doesn’t mean you’re not capable of pulling them off!
Check out this article from Salsa to learn the steps you need to take to plan and execute your next advocacy campaign.
Mobile Fundraising and Advocacy
You already know how effective mobile fundraising can be, especially when paired with your advocacy campaign.
Now, learn how to maximize your fundraising and engagement efforts with mobile giving software by reading this article from Salsa!