Program Description

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. 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, custom-designed for foundation staff and trustees, answers these questions and more.

After this program, you'll have a clear understanding of:

• 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.

About the Trainer

Alliance for Justice is a national association of over 120 organizations, representing a broad array of groups committed to progressive values and the creation of an equitable, just, and free society. Alliance for Justice has two pillars, the Justice Program, which focuses on ensuring our nation’s courts protect our critical constitutional rights and legal protections, and the Bolder Advocacy Program, which focuses on building advocacy capacity for nonprofits and the foundations that fund them.

Registration

This training is open to all Missouri Grantmakers at no cost. If you are a non-member funder and would like to attend, please contact us at info@centerforgiving.org. 

Partnership

Special thanks to Missouri Foundation for Health for sponsoring this program.