INDIANAPOLIS - Indiana nonprofit organizations are affected by changes in community conditions and public policies, but many are ill-prepared to advocate for their positions on such changes, according to a new report released today by Indiana University's Center on Philanthropy and School of Public and Environmental Affairs.
Although more than 25 percent of Indiana nonprofits indicated that they participate in some form of advocacy-such as promoting positions on certain policy issues, ranging from healthcare to gambling, or on issues related to the interests of certain groups, such as senior citizens and veterans-only 3 percent say advocacy is one of their most important activities or programs.
A closer look shows that nonprofits involved in advocacy do not devote substantial resources to these efforts, including 20 percent that do not devote any staff or financial resources. Another 30 percent say they devote some staff or some financial resources, but not both.
Lack of technology resources also hinders nonprofit advocacy activities. More than 30 percent of nonprofits involved in advocacy do not have access to the Internet or cannot communicate via e-mail with their constituents or policymakers. Less than 50 percent have a Web site.
"Indiana nonprofits need communication technology and related tools to effectively present the challenges they face when community conditions change or public policy shifts, thereby affecting the good work they do," said Kirsten Grønbjerg, the project director who holds the Efroymson Chair in Philanthropy at the Center on Philanthropy and is SPEA professor in nonprofit management at IU Bloomington.
Grønbjerg suggests that nonprofits explore access to nonprofit information technology support groups, such as the IT Resource Center and NPower Indiana, and also funders that might support technology efforts.
The new findings appear in the third report in a series produced as part of the Indiana Nonprofits: Scope and Community Dimensions project. This multiyear, multiphase project is examining the size and composition of the Indiana nonprofit sector, the critical role that more the than 60,000 Indiana nonprofits play in communities and the challenges they face.
The data show that policy changes have a greater impact on some nonprofit fields than others. Nearly 60 percent of health organizations and more than 35 percent of human service organizations reported that at least one policy change had an impact on their operations in the three years prior to the survey.
Among the current report's other findings, more than 50 percent of Indiana nonprofits said that changes in community conditions had an impact on their operations while 25 percent noted an impact from public policy changes.
Nonprofits also have an impact on the communities in which they operate. A previous nonprofit profile report found that more than half of Indiana nonprofits target at least some of their programs or activities to a particular geographic region.
"Nonprofits also affect the local economy by employing residents in communities across the state, providing volunteer opportunities, and buying goods and services locally," Grønbjerg said. "Therefore, it is important that their voices be heard along with others as communities and policies change."
The IU School of Public and Environmental Affairs, located on six IU campuses, is committed to teaching, research and service in areas such as criminal justice, environmental science, health administration and public policy. The school maintains continuing relations with a large number of public agencies at all levels of government; public and private hospitals and health organizations; and nonprofit organizations and corporations in the private sector. SPEA has earned national distinction for innovative educational programs that combine administrative, social, economic, financial and environmental disciplines.
The Center on Philanthropy at Indiana University, a part of the IU School of Liberal Arts at Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis, is a leading academic center dedicated to increasing the understanding of philanthropy and improving its practice through research, teaching, public service and public affairs programs in philanthropy, fundraising, and management of nonprofit organizations.
Note to Editors: The full report can be accessed at: http://www.indiana.edu/~nonprof/results/npsurvey/inscom.html .
