2022 Bolder Advocacy Workshop Series
As we enter the third year of the pandemic, it is more important than ever for foundations to understand how they and their grantees can engage in the policymaking process. Whether your philanthropic mission focuses on out-of-school time programs, police accountability, tax and budget policy, environmental justice, or something else, you have the ability to lift up community voices to enact change at the local, state, and federal levels. Join us for this workshop series led by Abby Levine, Director of the Bolder Advocacy program at Alliance for Justice, that will make the case for why funders should engage in public policy, and how they can do so safely and effectively to advance the causes they care about.
This first session in the series will focus on how you, whether a private or public foundation, can weigh in on policy issues and support your grantees in their advocacy efforts. There are lots of ways you can do so, and we’ll show you how. Some of the topics we’ll cover include:
- Philanthropic support of advocacy vs lobbying
- Myths and misconceptions about foundation engagement in public policy
- Focus on funding issues vs self-defense and sector issues
- Reframing risk and understanding the danger of not acting
- Making the connection to Trust-Based Philanthropy
Speaker
Abby Levine serves as Director of the Bolder Advocacy program at Alliance for Justice. For more than 17 years, she has worked hand in hand with thousands of nonprofits and foundations across the country, providing customized training, coaching, written resources, and technical assistance—all with the goal of supporting organizations to be strategic, bold, courageous, and legally compliant advocates. Abby’s expertise focuses on lobbying, election-related activities, ballot measures, grantmaking, and other advocacy strategies for 501(c)(3) and 501(c)(4) organizations.
Previously, Abby served as the Public Policy Analyst at the National Council of Nonprofit Associations and was an associate in the tax department at Squire, Sanders & Dempsey in Cleveland, Ohio. She has a law degree from Case Western Reserve University School of Law and a B.A. from American University.
Resources
- Presenter PowerPoint: Investing in Change: How and Why Funders Can Engage in Public - Abby Levine
- Philanthropy Advocacy Playbook — Bolder Advocacy
- Technical Assistance from Bolder Advocacy:
- Submit a online question using this form or email advocacy@afj.org
- Call for technical assistance during standard business hours, ET: 866-NP-LOBBY (866-675-6229)
Recording