New Report Shows Value of Funding Policy and Civic Engagement
By Mindie Reule
Program Manager,
Public Policy
Philanthropy Northwest
If you were at our 2010 Annual Conference at Semiahmoo, you may remember that the National Committee for Responsive Philanthropy (NCRP) released its report about funding advocacy in the Northwest. Philanthropy Northwest and several of our members participated in the report, which showed that philanthropic investments in advocacy, organizing and civic engagement can lead to very large benefits for underserved communities. You can read my blog post about that report here.
This week, NCRP release another report summarizing their work on this subject in 7 reports over the last 5 years. This one, titled Leveraging Limited Dollars: How Grantmakers Achieve Tangible Results by Funding Policy and Community Engagement, shows more of the same—for every dollar invested in advocacy, policy and civic engagement, donors saw a $115 return on investment.
Here’s an excerpt from the report that I found particularly compelling:
Whether quantifiable or not, the changes won by nonprofit advocates were aimed largely at creating long term solutions. For example, a number of communities in the study decided that homelessness will not end unless there is sufficient affordable housing. They believed it was not enough to just keep supporting homeless shelters. So they advocated for a dedicated source of revenue that could finance low-cost housing without burdening taxpayers ….These funders are helping to make systems more responsive over the longer term, and generating broader community benefit through new tax revenue, job creation and neighborhood stabilization.
The report is definitely worth a read. It’s only 14 pages long and suggests some ways to get started if you’re just dipping your toe into funding policy and advocacy and some good reminders about advocacy best practices for all of us.
Philanthropy Northwest members across our region are funding policy, advocacy and civic engagement to achieve their missions—and they’re getting great results. Want to know more about foundations engaging in policy and advocacy? Check out some resources here or contact me at mreule@philanthropynw.org.
Tags: advocacy, civic engagement, leveraging limited dollars, National Committee for Responsive Philanthropy, organizing, philanthropic investments
