Election Year: Training Series for Nonprofits to advocate in a monumental year
Election years provide nonprofits great opportunities to highlight issues and interact with voters and candidates. However, there are many legal barriers that can prevent 501(c)3 nonprofits from engaging in election year advocacy, such as the rules that come with supporting or opposing candidates, electioneering, and public partisan activities. You may even find that your organization is struggling to find the capacity to engage with advocacy efforts.
Our two-part Election Training Series will help you navigate or refresh on the legalities of advocating during election years and overcome capacity-related barriers as a 501(c)3 nonprofit.
Nonpartisan Advocacy: The Legal Do’s & Don’t’s for 501(c)3’s During Election Season
Wednesday, July 12th, 1:00-2:30 PM
This training will cover how you can…
- Continue to advocate for your issues during election years;
- Educate the public through candidate forums and questionnaires;
- Respond to candidate statements objectively;
- Conduct nonpartisan voter registration and get-out-the-vote efforts legally;
- Safely support or oppose ballot measures without being partisan
- How staff and volunteers’ partisan activities in their personal time can be kept separate from their activities on behalf of the organization.
Ready, Set, ACTion! Advocacy Capacity Assessment Workshop & VCN Partner Panel
Thursday, July 13th, 1:00-2:30 PM
Alliance for Justice’s capacity assessment tools – ACT! And ACT! Quick – are designed to help organizations become more effective by supporting their ability to carry out and sustain advocacy efforts. In this interactive workshop, we will use these tools to personally assess our organization’s current capacity, strengths, and room for growth. Participants will have the opportunity to share ideas and best practices on how to strengthen organizational capacity. Afterwards, we will have a panel featuring successful election advocacy campaigns in our Network, providing tips on how to create a successful campaign.
This interactive workshop training will cover:
- How ACT! and ACT! Quick can be used by nonprofits, coalitions, and foundations to measure advocacy capacity
- How other organizations have used these tools to maximize their impact
- Tips on how to use organizational capacity assessment tools effectively to drive strategic growth
- A VCN Partner Panel featuring successful election advocacy campaigns in our Network, providing tips on how to create a successful campaign.