Organizational Antecedents of Nonprofit Engagement in Policy Advocacy: A Meta-Analytical Review

Abstract

Policy advocacy by nonprofits has attracted substantial scholarly interest in recent years. Although considerable empirical studies have examined factors influencing nonprofit participation in policy advocacy, the existing evidence remains inconsistent as to what factors influence nonprofits to engage in policy advocacy and to what extent. The present study conducts a meta-analysis to quantitatively synthesize existing studies on the organizational antecedents of nonprofit advocacy engagement. Through systematically reviewing 46 studies and aggregating 559 effect sizes on 17 organizational predictors, the study finds organizational size, professionalization, board support, constituent involvement, knowledge about laws, government funding, private donations, foundation funding, collaboration, and negative policy environment have positive and significant relationships with a nonprofit’s level of advocacy engagement. The study contributes a clear knowledge base to guide future nonprofit advocacy research and practice.

The Impact of Neoliberalism on Civil Society and Nonprofit Advocacy

“…They can engage in strategy to contest dominant norms to shape their environments, in this case, by focusing on organizational factors that foster community connections and participant engagement. These efforts include: establishing structures and processes that align organizational accountability with key publics; fostering deliberative democracy and knowledge generation through dialogic processes within the organization that allow for agenda setting through constituent involvement (Dodge and Ospina 2016;Fung 2006;Lu 2018), selecting board members and staff that are demographically representative of the public served (Guo and Musso 2007;LeRoux 2009) and who place connection with participants as an organizational priority; and tailoring organizational messages to transcend boundaries of gender, ethnicity and class to expand their footprint. The strategy of prioritizing community engagement and outreach may require forsaking resources, new opportunities for service programs and organizational growth.…”

“…What do studies indicate about the impact of rationalization and managerialism on advocacy, the most overtly political of all nonprofit activities? Results to date give few clear answers due to variation within existing studies of organizational activity, types of professionalism, funding sources, and meanings associated with the term advocacy (Feldman, Strier, and Koreh 2017;Lu 2018). When narrowing the scope to human service organizations, the field most likely to serve marginalized populations and receive government funding, results continue to be ambiguous.…”

“…Second, with the shift toward professionalism advocacy becomes a depoliticized, managerial process designed and orchestrated by qualified organizational leadership (Chahim and Prakash 2014;Lu 2018;Sandfort 2014). Accordingly, the goals and values that drive the advocacy process prioritize the perspective of a professional class responsive to a field within an institutional environment over the people they serve (Pekkanen and Smith 2014).…”

Exploring Public Perceptions of Nonprofit Policy Advocacy

“…Exploring Public Perceptions of Nonprofit Policy Advocacy national nonprofits whose central identity is policy advocacy at the national level (e.g., Planned Parenthood, National Rifle Association) (LeRoux and Feeney 2014; Pekkanen, Smith, and Tsujinaka 2014). Nonprofits that engage in service delivery and advocate on behalf of clientele face multiple barriers to advocacy activity (Fyall 2017), including practical limitations on staff time and resources (Salamon, Geller, and Lorentz 2008), legal apprehension (Lu 2018) and cultural barriers. In fact, many 501(c)3 public charities are wary of engaging in advocacy and lobbying for fear of losing tax exempt status or becoming too entangled in politics, which could tarnish reputations and lead to a decline in donations (Bass et al 2007;Berry and Arons 2005;Fyall and Allard 2017).…”

Framing contests in global NGO networks: How controversies enable and challenge collaboration and action

“…So far, research in the area of NGO-business collaboration from the nonprofit view has examined the factors that motivate and enable NGOs to engage in collaboration (Abouassi, Makhlouf, & Whalen, 2016;AL-Tabbaa, Leach, & March, 2014;Guo & Acar, 2005;Lu, 2018), including the formation and demise of collaborations in light of the governance structures and tensions within such networks (Ashman & Luca Sugawara, 2013;Cornforth, Hayes, & Vangen, 2015), and the role of NGOs' board members on nonprofit collaboration with other NGOs, businesses, and government agencies (Ihm & Shumate, 2018). Other important areas of research include assessing the effectiveness of collaborations (Austin & Seitanidi, 2012;Babiak, 2009;Balser & McClusky, 2005;Pattberg & Widerberg, 2016), as well as the power dynamics among actors (Bouchard & Raufflet, 2019;Herlin, 2015;Schiller & Almog-Bar, 2013).…”