One of the primary assets most nonprofits rely on is their good standing with the public, and the belief that their leaders are well intentioned and trustworthy.  Malfeasance happens in the nonprofit sector, but it tends not to breed the kind of wide-spread cynicism with which the public often views politicians or corporate leaders in the wake [...]

When a large national or regional foundation puts out a call for proposals only a small minority of applicants will be awarded grants, but the foundation’s impact will often extend well beyond the work of those grantees.  Frequently the application process itself will spur conversations among community groups about potential collaborations, with the grant opportunity [...]

Several years back I was working for a nonprofit that was heavily invested in legislative advocacy as a primary strategy to advance its mission.  For a variety of reasons this organization found much more support for its agenda on one side of the political aisle.  In an effort to recruit more grassroots advocates, we cross-referenced [...]

There’s been a lot written lately about partisan bickering getting in the way of good policy.  While media catering to the extremes on both ends of the ideological spectrum have relatively small audiences, they disproportionately impact the public debate on issues such as health care reform, immigration, and economic policy.  And the recent Supreme Court [...]

Although relatively new in this country, health impact assessments (HIAs) have been used for years in Europe and elsewhere around the world to anticipate the potential health consequences of proposed policies, programs and projects. While HIAs can be initiated by government agencies, frequently they are undertaken by nonprofit organizations with constituencies likely to be impacted [...]

While there seems to be general agreement that we have an obesity problem in this country, there is less agreement concerning what should be done about it. One possible solution that doesn’t get as much attention as it should is smart transportation planning. People are more physically active when they have access to public transportation, [...]

It depends. And on many different factors, including what you mean by “lobbying” (or more precisely, what the IRS means by it). Putting aside the rules for a minute, consider how effective nonprofits can be at influencing policy makers. Nonprofits generally are credible sources of information about the issues they deal with and the communities [...]