On-Line Sources of Information About Lobbying Campaigns

Benton Foundation: Advocacy on the ‘Net

http://www.benton.org/Practice/Best/advoc.html

The Benton Foundation, an operating foundation in Washington, provides links to the Web sites of non-profit organizations that it thinks use the Internet effectively in their advocacy work, such as the Children’s Defense Fund and the League of Conservation Voters.

Christian Coalition: Guide to the U.S. Congress

http://www.christian-coalition.org

The conservative, Chesapeake, Va., lobbying organization provides detailed information on Congress and on state legislatures. The daily agendas of the U.S. House and Senate are listed, as well as all meetings of Congressional committees. The site also has a section that provides tips on how to lobby Congressional offices effectively.

Congress.Org

http://congress.org

Run by Capitol Advantage, a Washington publisher of Congressional directories, and Issue Dynamics, a Washington public-affairs and Internet consulting company, this site provides information about members of Congress and Congressional committees, as well as a schedule of the day’s events on Capitol Hill.

Desktop Assistance

http://www.desktop.org

Desktop Assistance is a Helena, Mont., and Salt Lake City charity that helps non-profit organizations improve their services by using technology. Its site contains a case study of the “Northern Rockies Campaign,” which used the Internet to help mobilize tourists to lobby the Clinton Administration to protect certain government-owned lands from economic development.

Institute for First Amendment Studies: The Electronic Activist

http://www.berkshire.net/~ifas/activist/index.html

Operated by the Institute for First Amendment Studies, a non-profit organization that monitors the political activities of the religious right, this Web site includes a directory of e-mail addresses of members of Congress, Congressional committees, state legislators, and news organizations.

NetAction

http://www.netaction.org

A project of the Tides Center, a charity in San Francisco, this site shows non-profit organizations how to use the Internet to educate people about a cause and to encourage them to take action. The site includes “The Virtual Activist,” a training course that shows people how to use on-line tools to mobilize people.

The Nonviolence Web: How to Use the Internet for Organizing

http://www.nonviolence.org/support

Developed by the Nonviolence Web, a project of the New Society Educational Foundation, a Philadelphia organization that helps peace groups publish their information on the Internet, this site includes information on how organizations can use “news groups,” e-mail discussion lists, and Web sites in their advocacy work.

ONE/Northwest: Activist Toolkit

http://www.onenw.org/toolkit

Created by Online Networking for the Environment/Northwest, a non-profit group in Seattle that provides technology assistance to environmental groups, this site explains how to use e-mail and Web sites to organize constituents. Although the site uses conservation issues as examples, the information provided applies to many other types of electronic activism.

Thomas: Legislative Information on the Internet

http://thomas.loc.gov

A service of the Library of Congress, this Web site provides the text of bills that have been proposed, the Congressional Record, and information on Congressional committees from 1993 through the present, as well as a schedule of the week’s floor activities in Congress and summaries of bills proposed since 1973. It also offers a description of the legislative process and links to other government resources on the Internet.