Advocacy Tips

Get to Know Your Members of Congress!

With growing pressure to cut spending and reduce tax benefits, there no better time than the present to (re)introduce yourself to your congressional delegation and their staff members working on tax and conservation issues. Show them how your work supports the public interest so they'll think twice before cutting the programs you rely on. Here are some tools to get started:

• Sample Letter of Introduction (geared towards tax incentives but could easily be refocused on the grant programs that support your work)
• Guide to Hosting Site Visits (and Congressional Event Success Stories)
• Which new districts cover your service area? Is your Representative on a key committee? Check the map!
• CQ Guide to the New Congress
• Subscribe to Advocates Alerts - We'll send you customized staff directories when subcommittee assignments are final in mid-February.

Why Lobby?

The government makes decisions about conservation tax incentives, controls millions of dollars in conservation funding, and has the potential to greatly help - or hurt - your conservation work.

The Land Trust Alliance can tell Congress what the issues are--but only constituents like you can make elected officials care enough to do something about those issues! This section is all about providing the tools you need to build those relationships.

• Article: Lobbying, Advocacy and Land Trusts
• Factsheet: Why Should My Land Trust Call Congress (Word, 66 KB)
• Read the latest Policy Roundup: All Politics Is Local

Your Land Trust Can Lobby

The federal government supports lobbying by 501(c)(3) nonprofits. The IRS has very specific and easy-to-follow rules about how much money a 501(c)(3) organization can spend on lobbying, what counts as lobbying (many things don’t), and how to comply with the IRS regulations by reporting such expenditures on your form 990. Read more on these rules, including how your land trust can come under simplified rules by filing form 5768.

Keep in mind you can never endorse or oppose a candidate for elected office and your organization should be careful to avoid any action (especially during an election year) that might give the appearance of endorsing a candidate.  But, you can work on ballot-issues, referendums, and other issue campaigns.

• Factsheet: Your Land Trust Can Lobby (Word, 68.5 KB)
• IRS Letter on Lobbying by Charities
• Our curriculum: Nonprofit Law and Recordkeeping for Land Trusts, Volume I, available in The Learning Center and from our publications store.
• Brochure: Lobby? You? Yes!
• Center for Lobbying in the Public Interest: FAQ about Nonprofit Lobbying
• Alliance for Justice: Worry-free Lobbying for Nonprofits, Election Year Advocacy and State Lobbying Laws
• Independent Sector: Nonprofit Lobbying Guide Chapter on Lobbying Law
• Internal Revenue Service: In-depth Analysis of Lobbying Issues

How to Lobby

All politics is local. The fact that what you do is locally popular matters a lot to your elected officials – but it only matters if they know who you are and who supports you.

Are people talking to them about your land trust? Are you? Are they reading about you the local paper? Does your mayor ask them to help you? Does their brother-in-law? Does their staff? Do your elected representatives and their staff get invited to visit the places you have protected? Do they get invited to your annual dinner, or picnic?

The following resources aim to help you build relationships that reveal opportunities you never knew existed—and keep you off the menu for cuts when times are tough.

• Meet with Congress Over Recess – Members of Congress spend much of the year in their districts. Inviting them to a site visit or another event is one of the best ways to build strong relationships.
• Advocacy Webinars -- Check out our new suite of upcoming events and archived webinars on advocacy topics.
• Building Advocacy Partnerships – A Land Trust Alliance article on how to get started building relationships with your legislators.
• Write to Your Members of Congress – Practical advice for writing to legislators about policy issues in general and the enhanced easement incentive in particular.
• A Dozen Ways to Say Thank You –  While these ideas and templates specifically reference the enhanced easement incentive, they're great ideas for thanking any public official who lends you a hand!
• Advocacy Seminar Workbook - The Workbook from our “Advocating for Success” seminar is now available for board, staff and volunteers of Alliance members at The Learning Center. Be sure to download both the action plan (smaller PDF) and workbook (larger PDF).
• The Nonprofit Lobbying Guide – A comprehensive book from Independent Sector, available from our publications store or as a free download.
• Center for Lobbying in the Public Interest website – A good source for basic guidance and advanced training in nonprofit advocacy
• Alliance for Justice website – Excellent advice and publications on nonprofit advocacy – with a particular focus on persuading foundations that it’s alright to fund projects that include lobbying.

More Ways to Get Involved

Grassroots Toolkit

A library of templates for outreach on the enhanced easement incentive—to thank co-sponsors, spread the word to landowners (when it’s extended) and adapt for your use on other issues.

Subscribe to our Land Trust Advocates Alerts

Sign-up now to receive email alerts with breaking news about policy opportunities and other information you need to make a real difference with policymakers!

Policy Events at Rally 2012

Please join us in Salt Lake City September 29 - October 3 for more than two dozen seminars and workshops about public policy, including the Public Policy 2012 Update and 2013 Forum, where you can comment on our priorities for the year ahead.

Photo: Congressman Jim Saxton (R-NJ) receives an award from the New Jersey Conservation Foundation/Photo courtesy of New Jersey Conservation Foundation