This article reviews how research on nonprofit organizations has traditionally defined advocacy and its function in the public policy process as rights-based expression and association and suggests the usefulness of an expanded definition. Nonprofits participate in a variety of public decisions at different points in the policy cycle. The authors argue that building social capital, facilitating civic participation, and providing public voice are activities central to an analysis of the interaction of nonprofits and public policy in democratic civil society. The article also analyzes the IRS data sets and National Taxonomy of Exempt Entities (NTEE) classification system available to researchers from the National Center for Charitable Statistics (NCCS) to assess their strengths and weaknesses for measuring advocacy activities. By evaluating the problems in accurately describing, analyzing, and collecting data on nonprofit organizations that facilitate a public role in decision making, this article develops some alternative definitions and models of advocacy.
The Urban Institute is a nonprofit, nonpartisan policy research and educational organization that examines the social, economic, and governance problems facing the nation. The views expressed are those of the authors and should not be attributed to the Urban Institute, its trustees, or its funders.
AcknowledgmentsWe are particularly grateful to the many nonprofit, community, and government leaders who participated in the interviews and enriched this report, and want to thank them for their time and thoughtful comments. We also wish to acknowledge Judith R. Saidel and Dina H. Refki of the Center for Women in Government and Civil Society at SUNY Albany and Femida Handy at the University of Pennsylvania for their advice and guidance during the conceptualization of this study.The research was made possible through funding from the W. K. Kellogg Foundation.
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