Why Supporting Advocacy Makes Sense for Foundations
“Why Supporting Advocacy Makes Sense for Foundations” explores the experiences of a growing number of funders around the world who are committed to supporting advocacy as a strategy to advance social change. Funding advocacy too often is the philanthropic road not taken, yet it is a road most likely to lead to the kind of lasting change that philanthropy has long sought through other kinds of grants.
This report describes various forms of advocacy that a foundation can support, including commissioning research, policy development, community organising, coalition work, legislative lobbying, litigation, mass campaigns and more. Drawing on the work of the report's publisher, Atlantic Philanthropies, as well as other foundations and several organisations in the United States, Northern Ireland, the Republic of Ireland and South Africa, this publication identifies a number of key questions for funders and potential funders to consider before investing in advocacy.
