The Top 10 Advocacy Software Solutions for Grassroots Groups (2024)
The right advocacy software can empower your grassroots group to expand its outreach and increase its effectiveness. Explore these top solutions to...
Digital advocacy has transformed civic engagement by mobilizing constituents through technology. Learn everything you need to know in this comprehensive guide.
While advocacy campaigns have been around for centuries, the modern definition of advocacy has changed. Today, any organized effort to influence public perception of an issue, the policy-making process, or particular legislators is considered political advocacy. This definition includes both traditional and digital advocacy campaigns.
Advocacy groups conduct their campaigns quite differently than they did even a few years ago. Digital apps, social media, and the rise of mobile browsing have altered the way people connect with their representatives. This has subsequently reinvented how constituents participate in the legislative process, like sending emails and social media messages instead of letters, for example.
This may sound a bit complex, especially for fledgeling grassroots advocacy groups looking to launch their first campaign. Fortunately, many digital advocacy practices make running an advocacy campaign more convenient, while also empowering advocacy groups to make an even bigger impact.
To help your advocacy group understand the essentials and adapt to new best practices, this article will answer three fundamental questions about digital advocacy:
Once you have the answers to these questions, your organization will be equipped to start asking more specific questions about your own advocacy preparedness. This can include assessing your techstack, investing in new resources, and studying examples of past campaigns.
But first, let’s start with the most pressing question: what is digital advocacy?
Digital advocacy describes efforts to mobilize constituents to participate in political advocacy through the use of technology. In other words, digital advocacy campaigns are campaigns that leverage advocacy software to engage with their supporters, stay organized, and even simplify key advocacy activities.
Of course, more goes into a digital advocacy campaign than just using software. Each advocacy campaign is different and will be shaped by the organization’s goals, resources, and audience. However, there are similarities, including how these campaigns are run, advocacy best practices, and the benefits they can earn:
Advocacy campaigns take time. Many last months, and some can even span years. However, while timelines vary most advocacy campaigns—both traditional and digital—will generally have the same five phases in this order:
The exact activities performed during these phases will vary. For example, nonprofit advocacy groups may use their downtime as an opportunity to engage supporters gained from their advocacy campaign with other opportunities their organization offers.
Advocacy requires patience as sometimes even the most well-run campaigns may not influence legislators the way they hoped the first time. However, there are strategies your advocacy group can use to give your digital advocacy campaign it’s best chance at success, including:
Implementing some of these practices will require research of both your audience and available digital advocacy tools. However, some best practices can easily be accomplished with the right software tool. For example, many advocacy messaging tools already come equipped with email templates and some even have elected official databases and matching features.
Traditional advocacy campaigns still have their place, but for the most part, digital advocacy campaigns have too many potential benefits to pass up. Whether you are running a hybrid or fully virtual campaign, with the right strategies and resources, you can look forward to:
Additionally, nonprofit organizations have another benefit. Volunteer work conducted online will still count towards corporate volunteer grants, allowing your nonprofit to earn additional revenue while your supporters conduct outreach online.
Digital advocacy tools enable advocacy groups to influence public policy through collective civic engagement. In other words, the term “digital advocacy” encompasses all online activities citizens take part in to influence legislation.
Of course, specific digital advocacy tools have their own unique features. Advocacy software includes a wide range of platforms, and many of them are made for niche activities. Solutions like these can be instrumental for specific campaign activities, but will not be useful for others.
To help your organization find the right digital advocacy tools for your campaign, here are a few software solutions to consider and advice on what to look for when assessing providers:
Digital advocacy campaigns inherently need software to function. However, the exact tools your organization should invest in will depend on your organization’s industry and your campaign’s goals and activities. To understand the breadth of advocacy platforms available, here are a few to consider:
Most digital advocacy groups can benefit from supporter management and communication tools, but as you can assume, not every advocacy campaign will need to track legislation. This demonstrates how some software is more universally useful than others, while niche solutions can shine for specific campaign types.
Given the number of available software solutions, be sure to do your research before investing in a digital advocacy platform. Consider both your organization’s highest priorities and your budget. Then, create a list of potential providers. Here are a few core features to look for as you assess each solution:
As you narrow down potential platforms, don’t hesitate to reach out to providers to ask specific questions and request a demo. This can also be an opportunity to assess each provider’s customer support experience, which can help factor into your final decision.
The rise of digital advocacy is changing the way that public affairs practitioners, lobbyists, and association professionals perform their roles. To many nonprofit organization staff and lobbyists, political engagement from the grassroots level to the membership level is essential to meeting policy goals. Digital advocacy is increasingly becoming the source of success for policy victories by purpose-driven groups by providing:
However, keep in mind that digital advocacy tools are only effective when your team puts them to good use. Implement best practices, stay up-to-date on advocacy trends, and reach out to software providers with strong knowledge bases to ensure you are leveraging your digital advocacy tools to their fullest potential.
Digital advocacy has become the new normal for modern advocacy campaigns, and your organization can make the most of this change through researching current trends, investing in the right resources, and implementing advocacy best practices.
To help your advocacy organization learn more about digital advocacy’s potential and how to get started, explore these resources from Muster:
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