"Nonprofit lobbying is exciting, rewarding, honorable work. Lobbying is a proven way to advance issues, support good ideas, respond to crises, avert disasters, and ensure that an organization's work is adequately supported. Through lobbying, specific laws and regulations that will further an organization's mission can be identified and pressed for adoption. Public policies can be shaped and sustained to reflect an organization's values and priorities. The Nonprofit Board Member's Guide to Lobbying and Advocacy shows board members how to use their power and privilege to move their organization's work forward."--Provided by publisher.

Nonprofit lobbying is exciting, rewarding, honorable work. Lobbying is a proven way to advance issues, support good ideas, respond to crises, avert disasters, and ensure that an organization's work is adequately supported. Through lobbying, specific laws and regulations that will further an organization's mission can be identified and pressed for adoption. Public policies can be shaped and sustained to reflect an organization's values and priorities. The Nonprofit Board Member's Guide to Lobbying and Advocacy shows board members how to use their power and privilege to move their organization's work forward. The book includes: concepts, principles, and strategies specific to board members of 501 (c)(3) charities; an eight-step process that enables boards to plan for advocacy; first-person success stories and from-the-field advice from board members across the U.S.; 3 ways to influence the executive branch of government; 4 facts about lobbying with foundation grant funds; 20 frequently asked questions about lobbying; information about the laws that govern lobbying by nonprofits; detailed worksheets that lead readers through critical processes; an appendix of lobbying tips and tactics; and encouragement to make advocacy and lobbying core to a board's active leadership. Detailed worksheets lead you through critical processes--from creating a public policy readiness profile, selecting lobbying strategies, identifying key decision makers, identifying resources, and drafting a public policy work plan. An annotated list of helpful resources includes publications, organizations, and web sites. Nonprofits can and should participate in shaping public policy through advocacy and lobbying. Board member's voices are heard when others are ignored. Whether your organization is large or small, national or local, a lobbying export or a rookie, this book will help your board get out there and advocate!

Inspiring students to take action! The Lobbying Strategy Handbook shows how students with passion for a cause can learn to successfully influence lawmaking in the United States. The centerpiece of this book is a 10-step framework that walks the reader through the essential elements of conducting a lobbying campaign. The framework is illustrated by three separate case studies that show how groups of people have successfully used the model. Undergraduate, graduate students, and anyone interested in making a difference, can use the book to guide them in creating and conducting a grassroots campaign from start to finish. Video: Lobbying Is NOT a 4-Letter Word Author Pat Libby, Professor of Practice and Director of the Institute for Nonprofit Education and Research, University of San Diego, discusses lobbying rules and strategy in her video presentation, Lobbying Is NOT a 4-Letter Word. Discover more about the author and the book here:

A comprehensive handbook for leading a successful nonprofit This handbook can educate and empower a whole generation of nonprofit leaders and professionals by bringing together top experts in the field to share their knowledge and wisdom gained through experience. This book provides nonprofit professionals with the conceptual frameworks, practical knowledge, and concise guidance needed to succeed in the social sector. Designed as a handbook, the book is filled with sage advice and insights from a variety of trusted experts that can help nonprofit professionals prepare to achieve their organizational and personal goals, develop a better understanding of what they need to do to lead, support, and grow an effective organization. Addresses a wealth of topics including fundraising, Managing Technology, Marketing, Finances, Advocacy, Working with Boards Contributors are noted nonprofit experts who define the core capabilities needed to manage a successful nonprofit Author is the former Executive Director of Craigslist Foundation This important resource offers professionals key insights that will have a direct impact on improving their daily work.

A Publication of INDEPENDENT SECTOR A Publication of INDEPENDENT SECTOR Demonstrates the ways nonprofits can lobby under IRS regulations concerning lobbying by tax-exempt organizations. Shows how to organize lobbying campaigns that get results, and provides information on federal regulations.

"Lobbyists at Work is a must-read for anyone interested in the serious business of government. Leech's probing questions reflect her years of research tracking the real impact of money and influence on policy." —Thomas Hale Boggs, Jr. (Chairman, Patton Boggs LLP) Received wisdom has it that lobbyists run the American government on behalf of moneyed interests. But what makes lobbyists run, and how do they induce legislators and bureaucrats to do their bidding? These are questions for which even the harshest critics lack satisfying answers. Lobbyists at Work explores what lobbyists really do and why. It goes behind the scenes and brings back in-depth interviews with fifteen political advocates chosen to represent the breadth and diversity of the lobbying profession. The interviewees profiled in this book range from the top lobbyists-for-hire at the most powerful K Street firms to pro bono lobbyists for the disenfranchised and powerless. The roster spans all types of lobbyists working for all types of clients and seeking to influence all levels and branches of government. The permutations include business-lobbying-government, government-lobbying-government, government-to-business revolving door, regulatory lobbying, state and local lobbying, citizen-advocacy lobbying,single-issue lobbying, and multiple-issue lobbying. In colorful and sometimes hilarious detail, the interviewees take the reader through their arsenals of traditional and next-generation lobbying techniques, including face-to-face persuasion of elected officials and their staffs, educational campaigns and coalition-building, ghost-drafting complex legislation and regulation for government committees and agencies, contributions, and social media campaigns. In Lobbyists at Work, the normally self-effacing subjects open up about themselves and their profession: why they chose to become lobbyists, what motivates them to keep lobbying, how they cultivate their lobbying influence, how they adjust to changes in the rules affecting their lobbying methods, and what they actually do at work each day (and night). As an authority on lobbying respected in Washington for her impartiality, Professor Beth Leech elicits frank disclosures, career tips, and riveting stories about the good, the bad, and the ambivalent on both sides of the symbiotic relationship between government officials and lobbyists.

A concise overview of the legal needs of nonprofit organizations Good Counsel is a compact and personable overview of the legal needs of nonprofits, crafted by one of America's most astute nonprofit general counsels. The book distills the legal needs of the 1.8 million tax-exempt organizations in the United States.Written in a clear and accessible style, with plenty of humor and storytelling as well as illustrative case studies, Good Counsel explains the basics of nonprofit corporate law, governance, and the tax exemption. It then takes a department-by-department look at legal topics relevant to program, fundraising, finance, communications, human resources, operations, contracts, government relations, and more. Good Counsel is designed help organizations fulfill their missions to do the public good. Designed to impart confidence and demystify the issues, Good Counsel is a must-read for nonprofit professionals and board members as well as lawyers and law students. Using Good Counsel as their playbook, lawyers, executives, and trustees can get an overview of the most common legal, governance, and compliance issues facing their organization and together ramp up a top-notch legal function. Contains practice pointers, checklists, and assessment tools Features sample contracts, licenses, and other form documents Filled with case studies and end-of-chapter focus questions, as well as available lesson plans for easy classroom use by educators in business, management, public policy, and law schools Good Counsel is the first-of-its-kind guidebook written by the sitting General Counsel of a major nonprofit. Written by influential author, speaker, and Bar leader Lesley Rosenthal, the General Counsel of Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, Good Counsel shares the insights of a Harvard Law School graduate with years of in-house and business law experience as well as board service.

Everything you need to start and manage a non-profit Starting and Managing a Nonprofit Organization is written to help anyone who's just getting their toes wet in the sector get up to speed on the critical information needed to protect their nonprofit's tax-exempt status—and avoid the many legal traps out there that you probably didn't know exist. Packed with checklists and step-by-step guidance, Starting and Managing a Nonprofit Organization demystifies intricate legal issues with plain-English language explanations for non-legal professionals of the statutes, regulations, court opinions, and other rules comprising nonprofit law. Nonprofits must comply with stringent federal and state laws due to their special exempt status; the government's ultimate threat is revocation of a nonprofit's tax-exempt status, which usually means the nonprofit's demise. Written in plain English, not "legalese," this all-important guide provides essential guidance for those interested in starting nonprofits, as well as valuable advice for leaders of established organizations. Covers all aspects of federal and state nonprofit law Discusses significant contemporary issues, including commerciality, private benefit, governance, and unrelated business Provides summaries of current IRS ruling policies Includes procedures and a glossary of legal terms for fail-safe compliance Written by the country's legal leading authority on tax-exempt organizations, Starting and Managing a Nonprofit Organization is the reference you'll want to keep close by as you navigate your way through the world of nonprofit and the law.