Political Advocacy Tips

Attending the ASAE Annual Meeting & Exposition Annual Meeting & Exposition? We'll see you in Salt Lake City, Utah soon! August will be here before you know it. 

Association executives, directors, and other association professionals gather at the ASAE Annual Meeting every year to learn about new association technology tools and attend educational seminars for professional development. If you are an association leader attending the ASAE Annual Meeting, take advantage of this amazing event which offers great opportunities to advance your organization's mission by checking out the newest technologies on the market and learning from your peers. 

Many nonprofits struggle to keep up in today’s ever-changing technology environment. However, even when organizations suffer glaring inefficiencies, investing in new technology to alleviate these issues is rarely a top priority. Your Board might argue that the learning curve for adopting new technologies is too steep or that your organization has exhausted its budget. After all, nonprofits have limited resources and Boards are quick to shoot down any investment that will not provide an immediate benefit to members. Improving your backend systems will lighten your staff’s workload and allow them to focus on the programs and projects that your members value. Presenting a comprehensive, well-thought-out proposal will force your Board to take you seriously and help you prepare for any objections. However, writing a formal proposal is a huge undertaking and many don’t know where to begin. Here are six steps to take: 

Just as we read our local newspapers to keep up-to-date with community events, keeping up with nonprofit trends and/or association industry news helps us stay better informed professionally. Learning from innovative nonprofit leaders and influencers equips us to excel in our careers by bringing new thinking and leadership to the sectors we work in. We’ve compiled a list of 5 thought leaders in the nonprofit, nonprofit technology, and grassroots space to inspire you: 

For leaders of advocacy organizations, no matter what issue you are advocating for, your supporters are crucial to your success. To build your supporter base, you have probably sent your fair share of emails educating citizens about relevant issues, asking them to join your advocacy group. So, why are a majority of your recipients still not opening your emails? One possibility is that your subject lines just aren’t working. In fact, 69% of email recipients report email as spam based solely on the subject line.

But there is good news! Subject lines are extremely easy to change and make heavily influence open-rates. Here are some tips and examples of effective subject lines for advocacy.

Association executives, directors and other stakeholders gather at national conferences every year to learn about available software products that fill a need for their organizations. Participating in an association or nonprofit conference as an exhibitor is a significant  and exhilarating opportunity to share our product with a diverse audience of interested attendees from different industries. Similarly, if you are an association professional attending a conference or trade show, these events offer great opportunities to advance your organization by checking out the newest technologies on the market.

What technology or software-related terms should you know to give your association an edge? Technology is a constantly evolving industry. Because of this, association and nonprofit professionals need to stay aware of technology trends and buzzwords in order to stay ahead of the curve. Chances are, most of these terms apply to digital and marketing strategies you currently employ. We’ve compiled a basic of list of terms that are frequently used across various industries that rely on technology. 

 Have you ever heard of “slacktivism”? The idea of slacktivism “posits that people who support a cause by performing simple measures are not truly engaged or devoted to making a change”, according to the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS. The term implies that signing a petition, or digitally engaging in advocacy suggests that someone is a slacker because taking action only took a few seconds to perform. The word itself is composed of “slacker” and “activism”. 

In the increasingly digital world where all nonprofits and associations operate, technology has dramatically changed the way that advocacy is conducted. Gone are the days when grassroots advocacy meant canvassing door-to-door or wielding megaphones to amplify one’s voice. Innovation in technology has not only enhanced organizations’ general effectiveness in achieving their policy goals, but also completely transformed the way that communication occurs between an organization and its contacts. To this end, groups on a mission to influence public policy need to integrate digital tools into their advocacy strategies. We’ve created a three-pronged approach to evaluating the reasons why it is vital to leverage new technology as a key to affecting social change (as you can tell, we LOVE the intersection between advocacy and technology!):