Nonprofit Advocacy Organizations: Assessing the Definitions, Classifications, and Data

Abstract

This article reviews how research on nonprofit organizations has traditionally defined advocacy and its function in the public policy process as rights-based expression and association and suggests the usefulness of an expanded definition. Nonprofits participate in a variety of public decisions at different points in the policy cycle. The authors argue that building social capital, facilitating civic participation, and providing public voice are activities central to an analysis of the interaction of nonprofits and public policy in democratic civil society. The article also analyzes the IRS data sets and National Taxonomy of Exempt Entities (NTEE) classification system available to researchers from the National Center for Charitable Statistics (NCCS) to assess their strengths and weaknesses for measuring advocacy activities. By evaluating the problems in accurately describing, analyzing, and collecting data on nonprofit organizations that facilitate a public role in decision making, this article develops some alternative definitions and models of advocacy.