Starting A Non-Profit: Advocacy

In the last three decades or so there has been a spurt in the nonprofit advocacy and public policy groups and at present there are over 1000 nonprofit organizations, approved by the IRS, which are actively engaged in changing public opinion and public policy. Three-fourths of these organizations were founded after 1970 (Johnson 2007). This growth of non profit agencies and policy groups has also fallen in line with the expansion of government. They play an important role in ensuring social equality and justice by taking up the issues of the poor and the less fortunate souls. Nonprofits time and again reiterate that their contributions and donations support their activities and the social cause for they have united for unlike a few individuals as in the case of conventional business organizations.

Urban Institute (2006), which researched on the advocacy activities of Nonprofit Organizations’, opines that the philanthropic advocacy, which focuses on improving the living conditions by addressing issues such as poverty and disease through the voluntary efforts of private persons has been an integral part of the mission of these organizations. Efforts are on to tackle the long standing issues of poverty, disease, and despair by offering direct assistance to the distressed with the aim that this free should be free from pain and despair. The basic objective of nonprofit organizations is to improve the socio economic and living conditions of people by bringing about marked improvement with the sponsorship and voluntary activities of private persons.

. Nobody can deny the fact that in the present world, nonprofits has a significant role to play that never before. However the reality is that there is a dip on the nonprofit and foundation resources and government spending cuts according to Neighborhood Funders Group (2002). In the absence of a surveillance mechanism the public policy will only cater to the rich and the influential. By ensuring the participation of nonprofit organizations in the public policy arena, will help to hear the voice of the poor and the oppressed, which often go unheard. In addition it empowers the nonprofits to fulfill their missions to bring about lasting improvements in the society. (Neighborhood Funders Group, 2002)

Unless the non profit sector start to actively engage in public policy, these agencies are more likely to lose out on resources. Richard Male (2005) tries to find answers to some of the complex queries such as how to become more involved in the policy and to mobilize public support for the cause