The John Hopkins Listening Post Project released a report describing their findings from a 2007 survey of 872 nonprofit organizations nationwide in four fields (children and family services, elderly housing and services, community and economic development, and the arts). The survey meant to find out "how recent challenges are affecting nonprofit engagement in policy advocacy, and how this varies by field, size of agency, or other factors. Moreover, we know very little about what factors affect the willingness of nonprofit organizations to engage in lobbying and advocacy, or what forms their involvement takes."

They found that the majority of nonprofits do engage in such activity, but only devote very little resources to it, either because of funding or staffing issues. The report reiterates the importance of nonprofits' role in policy and advocacy work.

Read the report "Nonprofit America: A Force for Democracy".

Check out the book Seen but not Heard: Strengthening Nonprofit Advocacy, OMB Watch's comprehensive analysis released last year.

Check out this blog that references the new Atlantic Philanthropies report, "Why Supporting Advocacy Makes Sense for Foundations." The post states;

Advocacy is broader than just lobbying. For example, various forms of advocacy that a foundation can support include research of public policy issues and policy development, community organizing, coalition building, litigation, regulatory activity, mobilizing public opinion, mass campaigns and more. Foundations have unique opportunities in that they can also convene grantees, constituents, and other stakeholders to explain why advocacy is important and to directly address social, economic and political conditions which bar access to participation in our democratic society.

And in the Financial Times, Patricia Bauman, the manager of the Bauman Foundation discusses her work funding social change.

The Foundation supports the tools of advocacy: public education, litigation, science, policy-oriented research, engagement with the corporate sector and legislative lobbying. We believe we get much more "bang for the buck" through advocacy than through direct services or small-scale projects; it takes "patient capital" since the results can take years or even decades, but we believe that long-term investment in the right grantees is the right approach.

Last week, the New York Times reported that the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has drafted regulations that would allow any federal grant recipient to obstruct a woman's access to contraception. All grant recipients would have to certify that they will not refuse to hire providers who object to abortion and even certain types of birth control. According to Senator Hilary Clinton (D-NY) the proposed regulation will be released next week. And in response, some organizations are vigorously opposing the proposal and are trying to gear up public opposition even before the proposed rule is published. You can send a letter to HHS Secretary Leavitt here.

The leaked draft proposed rule states; "any of the various procedures — including the prescription, dispensing and administration of any drug or the performance of any procedure or any other action — that results in the termination of the life of a human being in utero between conception and natural birth, whether before or after implantation." This broad definition may cover many types of birth control, such as oral contraceptives and emergency contraception, and therefore protects the right of medical providers to refuse to offer them. It also says it is needed to ensure that federal money does not "support morally coercive or discriminatory practices or policies in violation of federal law."

As the result of collaborative research conducted by OMB Watch and Grantmakers Without Borders, Collateral Damage: How the War on Terror Hurts Charities, Foundations, and the People They Serve has just been released. The paper comprehensively documents the impacts that the war on terror is having on charities, foundations, and underserved populations around the globe. Charities in the United States and throughout the world play a key role in democratic systems by giving citizens a vehicle for participation, providing tools and information that help people get involved, and delivering assistance to those in need. Since Sept. 11, 2001, counterterrorism programs have eroded the freedom and ability of charities and their funders to carry out their missions and improve the lives of the world's people. We hope this paper will serve as an important resource to understand the impacts that counterterrorism measures have on charities.

Read the paper here.

More Senators have signed on as a co-sponsor to the Senate Campaign Disclosure Parity Act (S.223). The bill would require Senate candidates to file their campaign finance reports electronically. Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA) and Senator Jon Tester (D-MT) make the co-sponsor list total 44, yet a measure with almost half the Senate listed as a cosponsor remains stalled.

Voters should be able to know the identities of those who are providing significant financial support in Senate races. Currently, the Senate's paper campaign finance reports have to be entered into a computer before the information goes online. This time-consuming process means the public will likely not have access to the information until after the election. This commonsense bill will hopefully only continue to gain more support.

Philanthropy News Digest had a "5 Questions For" column with OMB Watch Executive Director Gary Bass. The questions addressed nonprofit advocacy, particularly how philanthropic support of advocacy is changing. During which, Bass commends a new report on the topic from Atlantic Philanthropies.

He states that a question that continues to stir confusion is whether you can still lobby if you receive public-sector funds and questions on nonpartisan voter engagement.

I firmly believe that from his bully pulpit, the new president, whether it is McCain or Obama, should strongly encourage nonprofits to be involved in a broad range of advocacy activities. I also think foundations have a crucial role to play in helping nonprofits express their voice and in creating a positive framework for change in America. You can't sustain the kind of change I'm talking about — big-vision change — with bake sales.