2023 Grantmaker Toolkit Series: Investing in Change: Foundation Support for Lobbying and Other Advocacy

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Private and public foundations can play an important role in advocacy by engaging in advocacy themselves and funding their grantees to advocate on their issues. After this workshop with Bolder Advocacy, your foundation will have a clear understanding of the kinds of advocacy activities you can safely engage in and best practices for grantmaking to give your grantees the most flexibility under the law for their advocacy efforts. Not sure how to make the case for funding advocacy? Uncertain whether you can fund grantees that lobby? Wondering whether your public or private foundation can speak out on a particular issue? This training answers these questions and more! The workshop is designed for foundation staff and trustees.

Participants will learn:

• Why public and private foundation should support advocacy;
• An overview of activities that constitute advocacy and public policy work;
• Various advocacy roles for foundations;
• The tax code’s definitions of lobbying;
• Activities that are exceptions to the definitions of lobbying, including those which private foundations can engage in;
• Rules for private and public foundation grants to nonprofits that lobby, including general support, specific project, and multi-year grants; and
• Grant agreement language that permits support for policy work.

This will be a virtual session; connection details will be provided upon registration.

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