Online Advocacy: Resources for Nonprofit Groups
December 13, 2001 | Read Time: 3 minutes
Activist Toolkit
Developed by ONE/Northwest, a nonprofit group in Seattle that provides technology assistance to environmental organizations, this Web site explains how to use e-mail and the Internet for communicating with supporters, organizing, and advocating for causes.
http://www.onenw.org/bin/page.cfm?secid=5
Dragon-Lovers Alliance for Research and Education
The Alliance for Justice, an association of advocacy groups, in Washington, created this Web site for a fictional charity to illustrate how nonprofit groups can use the Internet in their public-policy efforts while adhering to the laws governing advocacy by tax-exempt organizations.
E-Advocacy for Nonprofits: The Law of Lobbying and Election Related Activity on the Net
This publication explains how charities can use the Internet for lobbying and political advocacy without violating federal law. The book was published by the Alliance for Justice, an association of advocacy groups, in Washington.
Ebase
Ebase is a free database program that gives charities a way to keep track of information, such as how much money a donor has contributed, which topics an activist is most interested in, and in what format people prefer to receive information. Nonprofit groups can also use the program to send out e-mail messages to members. Ebase can be downloaded free, but to make modifications to the database, charities must own FileMaker Pro. Ebase was originally developed by Desktop Assistance, a nonprofit group in Helena, Mont., which is now part of TechRocks, an organization that provides technology assistance to other charities.
NPTALK
An online forum to discuss the use of technology by nonprofit organizations for public-policy activities, such as research on policy issues, advocacy work, voter education, and encouraging participation in public-policy debate. NPTALK is maintained by the Nonprofits’ Policy & Technology Project, which is run by OMB Watch, a Washington nonprofit group.
To subscribe: Send an e-mail message to lyris@ombwatch.org. In the body of the message, type “subscribe nptalk [Your Name].” Leave the subject blank, and do not include e-mail addresses in the body of the message.
Organizers’ Collaborative
The Organizers’ Collaborative is a nonprofit organization in Cambridge, Mass., that promotes the use of computers and the Internet as a tool for grass-roots activism. The organization’s site provides links to Web sites on computers, online advocacy, social justice, and the nonprofit world. The group plans to offer free software and sample documents that activists can download from the site.
Socially Engaged Internet Users
This 1999 survey, subtitled “Prospects for Online Philanthropy and Activism,” asked 800 adults who spend time on the Internet and who donate their time or money to charities or public-interest groups to discuss their attitudes toward online giving and advocacy. The survey was commissioned by Craver, Mathews, Smith & Company, marketing and fund-raising consultants in Arlington, Va., and conducted by the Mellman Group, in Washington.
The Virtual Activist 2.0
NetAction, a San Francisco nonprofit organization that promotes online advocacy, offers advice on its Web site on how charities can use information technology to educate people about a cause and to encourage them to take action.
http://www.netaction.org/training
What’s Working: Advocacy on the ‘Net
Maintained by the Benton Foundation, an operating foundation in Washington, this site provides annotated links to the Web sites of nonprofit organizations that use e-mail and the Internet to encourage advocacy in behalf of their causes.
