Changing Policies: Changing Policies to Increase Funding for Community Health and Development Initiatives
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WHAT DO WE MEAN BY "POLICIES?"
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WHY SHOULD YOU TRY TO CHANGE POLICIES?
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HOW DO YOU CHANGE POLICIES TO INCREASE FUNDING FOR INITIATIVES?
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HOW MUCH LOBBYING CAN YOU DO?
Trying to raise the money needed to run a not-for-profit organization is hard work. Writing grant proposals, making deadlines, completing the paper work necessary to qualify for a grant -- all of these can be a terrific headache for anyone on the best of days, and that's the good news. Because of course, the punch line is, you only get the privilege of these late night frustrations if there is funding available and if you qualify for it.
What happens when that money just isn't there? That is, what do you do when your organization goes to look for resources, and finds that there aren't grants available for your cause, or, for whatever reason, you don't qualify for them? Or maybe you 've been working with a specific funding agency that suits your group’s needs and mission perfectly -- but they don't give renewal grants. Or maybe you have found that money is available in your community, but for such small amounts an organization would need to receive 50 of them to continue running for the next year.
The bad news is that all of those are realistic situations for almost any organization trying to continue its work over a long period of time. The good news is that an effective organization -- no matter how small -- does have options to help maintain that funding. In fact, such an organization has a lot of options. Some organizations charge dues; others look for individual donors from the community; still others stage fundraisers that cover the range of possibilities from raffles to golf tournaments to expensive dinners. All of these topics are discussed extensively in other portions of the Tool Box.
While all of these possibilities are worthwhile and useful for most organizations, with the exception of dues, they are all one-time events. You earn the money -- and then, if you need more money next year, you have to go through the whole process again. Wouldn't it be ideal to have a relatively sure funding source you can count on, year in and year out?
One way to obtain this regular funding is to have resources for your organization written into the budgets of other organizations, so that you get a set amount every year. To get this money, your organization will need to change the policies of organizations (public and private) that could support you. Your organization might want to change the policies of an organization to do one of two things:
- Convince an organization to change its policies to help fund your organization. For example, an organization working to stop teen drinking might try to convince the school board that the organization should receive some of the local education monies.
- Convince an organization to change its funding policies in general. Often times, this is a task undertaken by an older, more 'mature' organization with a good deal of experience. For example, you might convince the Board of Directors of a private foundation to offer grants to cover the operating expenses -- the nitty-gritty, every day pencil and paper expenses that just aren't "sexy" enough for Boards to want to fund. (Typically, it's easier to get money for "flashier" projects.) Or you might want to convince an organization that only gives short, one-time-only grants to fund organizations for longer periods of time.
In the next few pages, we'll first explain a little more about what we mean by policies. Next, we'll offer a few more reasons that your organization might want to try to change the policies of potential funders, in case you aren't already sold on the idea. Finally, we'll go step-by-step through the work of changing policies, from your original research to the long-term "keepin' on" that will be a necessary part of your work.
It's important to note that in this section, we are talking specifically about advocating to change policies to standardize and increase funding and other resources for your organization. This funding might come from any source -- the local government, public or private foundations, even a local business. A similar topic which might be of interest to your organization is public advocacy -- that is, the art of furthering your organization's cause with governmental bodies such as legislatures.
Before we go any farther, a word of warning is probably appropriate: this section is not one where we're talking about overnight results. If you are looking for tomorrow's funding, your time right now might be better spent in other sections of the Community Tool Box. Rather, this section is to get you started thinking about a constant stream of funding to support your organization for years to come.
And so, while your organization might occasionally find itself needing to respond to proposed legislation with lightning speed, influencing decision-makers to develop the policies your organization finds necessary or effective is something that your organization should generally consider part of its work for life.
WHAT DO WE MEAN BY "POLICIES?"
In this section, we are talking about changing both public and private funding policies that affect nonprofit groups.
Public policies are laws or regulations that are enacted at the local, state, or federal level. Trying to change these policies is generally known as advocating for your cause, or in some cases, lobbying. Examples of attempts to change public policies include:
- Federal changes. In the 1999-2000 legislative session, the U.S. Congress considered legislation that would let individuals and families who claim the standard deduction (most people) deduct half of their annual charitable contributions over $500 each year. This legislation would be a great way to encourage people to give more -- one study found that charitable giving would increase by more than three billion dollars each year if this bill became law.
- State-wide changes. A state legislature votes to partially fund a new state-wide program to train volunteers as legal advocates for children who have been abused.
- Local changes. A School Board votes to underwrite the cost of a staff member to work with students to reduce the number of teen pregnancies in the community.
Policies governing private giving include donation guidelines developed by private foundations, corporations, or other organizations that might influence your organization. Trying to influence private giving might include things such as:
- Convincing a local corporation to match dollar for dollar the amount its employees give to the United Way.
- Convincing a foundation that currently focuses on child welfare to expand their focus to include adult education.
- Persuading a local foundation to change some or all of its grants from two years to four years, giving new organizations more time to get their feet on the ground.
While there are many differences between trying to change public laws or regulations and changing the course of a private foundation, there are many similarities as well. This is particularly true when you are trying to make changes on a local level, and is the reason we're tackling both of these subjects in this section.
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