Soapbox Engage Blog

Every nonprofit professional knows how important it is to spread awareness of their mission to as many potential supporters as possible. This can take many forms, from letters and digital marketing to partnering with other nonprofits and even corporate sponsors. One way you can gain new supporters and further your mission at the same time is by launching an advocacy campaign.

Nonprofit advocacy campaigns are far more than simple marketing tactics. While they require thorough planning and shouldn’t be launched haphazardly, an effective advocacy campaign can help nonprofits get their mission in front of new supporters, earning their cause more attention and making a difference all at once.

If your nonprofit is interested in pursuing an advocacy campaign to advance your mission, be sure to do your research in order to understand what resources go into an advocacy campaign, how to run one, and what your nonprofit can expect long-term. To help you get started, this article will explore four essential steps for launching a nonprofit advocacy campaign:

1. Determine your campaign’s focus.
2. Create an engaging message.
3. Connect with new and current supporters.
4. Plan for the long-term.

In addition to following these steps, effective nonprofit grassroots advocacy campaigns rely on pragmatic essentials, such as your budget and software, as well as less tangible assets like your nonprofit’s network, strategy, and commitment. Ensure that your advocacy campaign is centered around an issue that both your supporters and your staff can get behind.

1. Determine your campaign’s focus.

Simply launching an advocacy campaign for the sake of doing so is unlikely to help your nonprofit in either the short or long-term. When starting your campaign, determine what issue your campaign will focus on and if it has meaningful ramifications for your mission.

Taking these steps in the beginning can save your nonprofit a lot of time and effort in getting your supporters on board in the future. Additionally, answering questions about your campaign’s focus even before getting too far into the planning stage can help you achieve buy-in from key figures at your organization such as your board, sponsors, and staff.

Here are a few questions you should be sure to ask when determining what issue your campaign will focus on:

1. How does this issue fit with my nonprofit’s mission? Most advocacy campaigns have targeted missions revolving around highly specific issues, such as whether grocery stores should use plastic bags or how animal shelters should handle pets with behavioral issues. This means your campaign will have a more narrow focus than your mission, but it should still strive to advance your nonprofit’s work. For example, an environmental group could launch an advocacy campaign centering the plastic bags but may confuse their supporters by campaigning about animal shelters.
2. Is this issue nonpartisan? As a 501(c)(3) organization, you will need to be conscious of how politicized your issue is. In most cases, as long as a nonprofit isn’t campaigning for a political candidate or spending an excessive amount of its funding on advocacy campaigns over program initiatives, this is rarely a problem. However, take the time to assess your issue and be assured that it is nonpartisan.
3. Is this an issue my supporters care about? While your campaign should strive to attract new activists to your cause, your current supporters will be the backbone of your campaign, especially when you’re first getting started. Ensure that the issue your nonprofit campaigns for is meaningful and relevant to your existing supporters to inspire them to join your campaign.

Additionally, keep in mind that advocacy initiatives often go on far longer than a single campaign. If your nonprofit intends to launch a permanent advocacy program, ensure that each of the issues you target are relevant to your mission.

2. Create an engaging message.

Just like with your nonprofit’s usual marketing, your advocacy campaign will need a compelling message to attract support. Advocacy marketing follows many of the same general principles of nonprofit marketing. For instance, you increase engagement with your advocacy messages by being sure to:

• Evoke emotions that will inspire action. Many supporters tend to support a campaign or mission based on their initial emotional response. Later on in their supporter journey, they will learn the facts and statistics behind your cause, but in your initial marketing, you should focus on evoking emotions that will encourage your supporters to take action. Aim for emotions like frustration, righteousness, or empowerment as these types of feelings will spur supporters to act.
• Use visuals. You’ve heard a picture is worth a thousand words. Visuals attract the eye far better than a wall of text can, especially on social media where your advocacy messages will be competing with the rest of your supporters’ feeds for attention. Pair each of your campaign posts with a compelling image or visual that helps reinforce your message.
• Provide immediate next steps. After reading one of your campaign messages, what action do you want supporters to take? At the end of your messages, provide immediate next steps supporters can take at that very moment to help your cause.

If you have a strong understanding of your issue, mission, and organization’s brand identity, creating compelling messages will be easier. Having these essentials hammered out before sharing your campaign with your supporters can also help them spread the message more accurately. Consider creating a style or communication guide you can share with supporters, such as volunteers participating in a peer-to-peer fundraiser for your campaign.

3. Connect with new and current supporters.

As mentioned, advocacy campaigns can help get new supporters interested in your cause, but your current supporter base is instrumental in attracting those new supporters. In fact, your current supporters can be one of your most valuable resources for spreading the word about your campaign.

Here are a few ways your current supporters can help promote your advocacy campaign:

• Peer-to-peer campaigns. Peer-to-peer campaigns leverage your supporters’ personal networks, helping expand your reach to individuals your nonprofit may not previously have had contact with. Help your volunteers campaign on your behalf by sharing details about your mission, campaign issues, and any other talking points you want to be sure they touch on when introducing your campaign to new supporters.
• Canvassing. Your nonprofit can connect with members of your community through canvassing. Grassroots Unwired’s canvassing tips outline a few strategies for more effective canvassing, such as providing your canvassers with branching scripts, having them canvass in neighborhoods they’re familiar with, and potentially even investing in virtual canvassing software. Street and door-to-door canvassing is dependent on people being at home or out and about, which may not be the case if they’re at work or if there is poor weather. Virtual canvassing can help you get around these problems by having your volunteers connect with potential supporters online.
• Social media advocacy. Chances are that many of your supporters are active on social media platforms where they regularly talk to their friends, family, and followers. Make regular posts on your nonprofit’s account about social media and encourage your supporters to share and engage with them to help spread them across the platform.

As you gather more supporters, be sure that your data collection software is gathering and storing the most important details about your new audience. Your CRM should help you manage most of the key data you will need for your campaign, but many nonprofits find it helpful to also invest in an advocacy-specific software solution for their campaigns.

4. Plan for the long-term.

Advocacy campaigns can take several months, and full-scale nonprofit advocacy initiatives can run multiple campaigns at once for years. While your nonprofit doesn’t need to commit to a multi-year plan when first deciding whether to host your first advocacy campaign, you should still plan for the long-term.

During both the planning and running phases of your campaign, consider what is coming next. Specifically, be sure to:

• Consider your next campaign. Is your campaign a one-time initiative to address a specific issue and spread awareness? Or are there more issues that also need your nonprofit’s attention and could benefit from having a campaign? Knowing whether your campaign is a singular event or the first part of a new initiative will also help your supporters better understand what to expect when engaging with your campaign.
• Create a communication plan. Advocacy campaigns last a long time, but you need to be able to motivate supporters to take immediate action at the right time. Plan out how, when, and how often you will keep in touch with supporters to help maintain their engagement.
• Connect new supporters with your nonprofit. After your campaign, consider how you will engage your new supporters with your nonprofit’s usual activities. For example, after your campaign wraps up, you might invite them to an appreciation event where they can network with other supporters in your community and learn more about your organization as a whole.

Additionally, when creating your advocacy campaign’s volunteer program, take steps to retain your volunteers so they will be available for your next campaign. Plus, if you are creating a positive volunteer experience for your supporters, you may be able to earn a bit of extra revenue through volunteer grants. Double the Donation’s guide to volunteer grants explains that these types of grants are monetary contributions from your supporters’ employers after they have volunteered with your nonprofit for a certain number of hours.

Different volunteer grant applications require different information, but almost all of them will need your supporters to report how many hours they worked with your nonprofit. Take steps to record your volunteers’ time and ensure they have a manager or supervisor at your organization they can easily reach out to if they need help.

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Advocacy campaigns give your nonprofit the ability to make changes that advance your mission in ways your normal activities might not be able to, while also gathering more attention for your cause. Assess your nonprofit’s current resources, program activities, and outreach strategy to determine if now is the right time to launch an advocacy campaign.

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Guest blog post by Russ Oster

Russ’ first experience in the world of grassroots organizing came when he was an infant and his mother pushed him in a stroller door to door to collect signatures for the Impeach Nixon movement. Eighteen years later he embarked on his college career in Washington, DC and during that time developed a passion for campaigns and elections that started with an internship on the campaign of the first woman ever elected to Congress from the State of Virginia.

For the next 15 years Russ lived and breathed campaigns, running field operations in a wide range of races and for a number of coordinated campaign efforts. When it became obvious to Russ that the technology existed to make field efforts drastically more efficient and accountable but the solutions did not, he launched Grassroots Unwired and has worked every day since to keep GU on the cutting edge, pushing new features and enhancements to meet the needs of every evolving grassroots organizing efforts.