Giving with Impact - Charitable Giving, Advocacy, and Public Policy

BARBARA WHEELER-BRIDE:  Welcome back to another episode of Giving With Impact, an original podcast series from Stanford Social Innovation Review developed with the support of DAFGiving360™. I’m your host, Barbara Wheeler-Bride, an editor at SSIR. In this series, we bring together voices from across the philanthropic ecosystem to have a conversation about what’s at the heart of achieving more effective philanthropy.  

Previously this season we’ve talked about definitions of impact, funding arts education, and the impact of recent funding cuts to humanitarian aid. In this episode, we’re going to share a conversation about the impact of elections on charitable giving, and how non-profits can engage in advocacy for policies that are crucial to the communities they serve. This conversation was originally recorded last fall, ahead of the 2024 presidential election, so you’ll hear references to that election specifically, but more broadly, the insights from our guests can help donors, advisors, and non-profit leaders think about how non-profits can tap into the energy of the political environment to fund their mission and engage donors in their cause.  

So now here’s our conversation about funding advocacy and moving the needle on social issues.  

BARBARA:  Joining me today to share their perspectives are Commissioner Kenneth G. Hodder, National Commander of the Salvation Army, and Debby Bielak, a partner of the Bridgespan Group, which provides management consulting to non-profits and philanthropists, and Fred Kaynor, Managing Director at DAFGiving360. 

Data from past election cycles show that while political giving increases in the months leading up to an election, that amount is still a small fraction of overall charitable giving. There’s even evidence that donors who give to political campaigns tend to increase their charitable giving in election years. Fred, what are you seeing from your donors?  

FRED KAYNOR:  Thanks very much, Barbara. We are excited to be back for another season of Giving with Impact and thank you again for having us. 

At DAFGiving360, we continue to see an increase in generosity from our donors year-over-year, and we expect that trajectory to continue. Not only are donors giving more and more frequently throughout the year, but they’re also continuing to expand the breadth of their giving. Last fiscal year alone, which ended in June, 70% of our donors recommended grants to charities to which they had not otherwise directed gifts.  

BARBARA:  Commissioner Hodder, how do organizations break through election news and noise?  

COMMANDER KENNETH HODDER:  Barbara, that’s a terrific question, and thank you for the opportunity to be with you today. I think it’s important at the outset to keep in mind that a non-profit organization should distinguish between strategic and tactical issues. At the Salvation Army, we would like to ensure that our strategic goals are never overcome by the noise and by the activity of a political season, and so for us, that means a constant reaffirmation of our mission. At the Salvation Army, our mission is to preach the gospel of Jesus Christ and meet human needs in his name without discrimination. We always want to stay true to that. Second, we also want to make sure that we continue to approach every issue in a non-partisan fashion. We’re neither left nor right. Our focus is on human need. And third, we want to make sure that we’re always good stewards, so we want to constantly emphasize the stewardship dimensions of what the Salvation Army is.  

That being said, and if you preserve those strategic concerns, the issue becomes a tactical one, and that tactical question is really one of timing. In a political season, we find it is most effective prior to the election to focus on the fact that people want to make a difference. They want to have an impact on what’s happening in this country. So we tend to gear our earned media and our stories toward matters that concern volunteerism, because the more people can have a hands-on experience, the more they’re volunteering, the more we pick up on that sense of involvement during a political season. After the election, we will revert to our traditional approach to giving. There will often be, as you’ve already pointed out, a renewed interest in philanthropic matters after an election. So if you can time it correctly and hit the right issues, you can not only endure in a political season, but even thrive.  

BARBARA:  That’s great. Thank you.  

Now, a question for both you, Commissioner Hodder and Debby. Related to messaging, what recommendations do you have for non-profit organizations about managing the risks of becoming part of the larger story of a social policy or ballot issue, or how should you respond to it when you do?  

COMMANDER HODDER:  Debby, I’ll let you take that one first.  

DEBBY BIELAK:  Thanks so much, Commissioner Hodder, and thank you for the question, Barbara, and inviting me to the conversation.  

Generally, I’d say two things. Be proactive, seek to drive the message versus being reactive, and then, you know, second, building on Commissioner Hodder’s remarks, make it about the issue versus politics. For organizations who don’t want to be involved in the arena of policy or influence, translate into clear terms what impact a policy measure has on the folks they work with.  

But there’s also an opportunity for organizations who are interested to wield policy and advocacy to advance the issues they care about. At Bridgespan, we’ve seen an increasing portion of non-profits recognizing that to achieve the change that they seek, they want to pursue social policies or ballot measures. For example, this includes a recent client I worked with, Lift, who provides financial coaching to parents of young children engaging in coalition work to share the value of an early childhood tax credit. There’s a range of high impact advocacy work that non-profits are legally allowed to do, including a limited amount of lobbying.  

COMMANDER HODDER:  Those are important things to keep in mind. I agree with you a 100%,  Debby. If you can serve, as we try to at the Salvation Army, as an advocate for the people, as opposed for the issue, if you emphasize the human need dimension, you’re going to have a far more powerful impact.  

In addition to that, I think I would suggest that continuity is an important dimension of this. You want to make sure that you are emphasizing this need as not simply something that is associated with the political season, but that people are generally facing. If there’s a sense of this is something we have dealt with before, it’s something we need to continue to deal with, we find you have a certain stability in the public mind when it comes to their consideration of who they might give to.  

And the last thing I think I would note is that the political season does, as you suggest, Debby, give us an opportunity because it gives the ability for you to convey a message that is relevant and urgent. You can pick up on the sense of enthusiasm that goes with the political season and say this issue, which we’re talking about so much in politics right now, is an urgent one for our nation. And that’s something we find that resonates with our donors.  

BARBARA:  Debby, you and some colleagues at Bridgespan wrote an article earlier this year entitled ‘Using All the Tools in the Toolkit, Funding Advocacy for Social Change,’ which we’ll link to in our show notes. Can you say a few words about what advocacy efforts at non-profits look like, and how donors can fund advocacy work?  

DEBBY:  I’d love to, Barbara. I’ll start by sharing what I mean by advocacy, and then share how donors can fund advocacy. In stylized terms, when I say ‘advocacy,’ this includes education, lobbying, and campaigning. More specifically within education, research, analysis, public education on issues related to an organization’s mission. With lobbying, that can be lobbying for specific legislation or mobilizing the public to contact legislators about specific issues. And then political campaign activities, supporting or opposing candidates for public office, or supporting political parties.  

Now, in the US tax structure, different types of organizations are allowed to do different types of work. In simple terms, 501(c)(3) organizations can do education and awareness-raising on an issue, and a limited amount of lobbying, while 501(c)(4)s can do unlimited lobbying, and then 527s can engage in political campaign activities.  

Now, across conversations with dozens of funders, advisors, and practitioners, it became clear any funder should be able to give in a way that works for them. Now, a funder may potentially start by supporting the full extent of 501(c)(3) advocacy work. One example that we share in our article is a $100,000 contribution to a 501(c)(3) organization, the California Cradle to Career Coalition, to do lobbying that helped tip years of broader investments to get the state of California to invest $15 million in Cradle to Career programming.  

Now, I want to mention for the audience, this giving to 501(c)(3)s can be done through DAF accounts. Then if you want to do more lobbying or electoral work, you might need to create a structure for giving. While there’s limitations on some legal entities, such as (c)(3) private foundations, many funders shared how they’ve set up separate legal entities, such as LLCs, to be able to not have limits in funding, lobbying, or campaigning. Alternately, donors can write a direct check versus flowing through their foundation.  

Now, if you want to be giving to this work and you don’t have a sense of the landscape of organizations, you can give through intermediary funding organizations and donor-advised funds. These are structured, efficient ways to fund across 501(c)(3), 501(c)(4), and 527 organizations, or you can give directly to 501(c)(3), (c)(4), and 527 organizations starting with organizations that you know. Many 501(c)(3) organizations have sister organizations. And then finally, you can collaborate with funders and experts who share your goals to leverage collective action to make smarter investments.  

Then we heard a handful of tips on how to make the most of your giving. First, consider opportunities to partner on issues, not party lines. We hear about the power of strange bedfellows, such as in the space of criminal justice, Koch Industries partnered with Van Jones. Fund at the regional level to accomplish your goals. There are so many opportunities for transformative impact with investment across the country at all levels of government. I know we’re focused right now on a specific national level one, but there are meaningful, incremental wins that can lead to sweeping change, or just have significant local impact.  

One example is the election of Representative Mary Peltola, who was the first Alaska Native elected to Congress, and her consistent efforts helped pass a ballot initiative that formally acknowledges the sovereignty of Alaska’s 229 federally recognized native tribes. And then look to organizations going beyond the norm. For example, for an environmental funder, consider water boards, or support organizations engaging voters called low propensity, or less likely to vote. They’ve often been ignored, but recently shown to swing districts, as they did in our feature story of the article of getting early childhood permanently funded in New Mexico. And finally, give early and stay the course, so that organizations can plan beyond the ebb and flow of election cycle funding. This one is so salient in this election year. Earlier this year, for example, a number of democracy funders had a non-partisan campaign, all by April, encouraging donors across parties to give to support free, fair, and representative elections by April versus waiting until, say, now, a couple months before the election. And this has been a boon. They helped raise or accelerate hundreds of millions of dollars.  

BARBARA:  Commissioner Hodder, Debby, you’ve given listeners a lot of practical relevant information and insights about supporting non-profits and advocacy. Do you have any final takeaways you would like to share with our listeners?  

COMMANDER HODDER:  I think the thing to keep in mind in this season is to identify what is most important to you. For the Salvation Army, one of those issues has to be homelessness. We know that the people that are living on the streets should not be there, and we know that in addition to those who are visible on a day-to-day basis under the freeway overpasses and on the neighborhood streets of our communities, there are lots of folks who are on the cusp of homelessness. The United Way refers to them as the ALICE population, Asset Limited, Income Constrained, Employed. We know at the Salvation Army that there are lots of folks like that, who with just a little help, can avoid a devastating impact on themselves and on the generation to come. So preventing evictions, helping the homeless population, these are things that I know are going to be a part of this political season. And if organizations can put in front of the American public issues like that, I think that they can expect a good response from a very generous American public.  

DEBBY:  I’ll build on that and say get started in a way that works for you. You know, if you care deeply about an issue, which could be homelessness, it could be early childhood education, it could be public health, but haven’t been engaging in policy advocacy, recognize that it’s likely that those who are working against that issue may be using it, and you can’t win on an issue if you’re not on the field. So for non-profits, this can mean considering how can you use your relationships, your insights, to accelerate change?  

BARBARA:  Thank you both for focusing us on the issues that are really at the heart of so many non-profits, and really at the forefront, as you said, Commissioner Hodder, of people’s minds right now. This has been a really great conversation. I’m so glad I got to spend some time with both of you, and talk more about these important issues.  

COMMANDER HODDER:  Thanks so much, Barbara. It’s been great to be with you.  

DEBBY:  Thank you, Barbara and Commissioner Hodder.  

FRED:  Thank you all for your incredibly valuable and timely insights. Charities rely on donations throughout the year regardless of the political environment, so it’s always a good time for a donor to give. And it’s great to hear about how organizations can reach donors with their stories of impact cut through all the noise. We also offer a fundraising toolkit to help charities reach donor-advised fund donors, in particular, who may have already set aside contributions for charitable giving but haven’t yet determined where they want those gifts to go.  

Again, many thanks to Commissioner Hodder, to Debby, and Barbara for today’s discussion.  

BARBARA:  Thank you for listening. We hope you enjoyed this episode. Please rate the show or leave us a review on Apple Podcasts, or your favorite listening app. And think of three colleagues who should listen and share this episode with them. This podcast series is made possible with the support of DAFGiving360, who played an important role in the selection of topics and speakers. And please visit ssir.org for the latest stories from top leaders and researchers in the field of social innovation. 

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