Nonprofits advance their missions through advocacy every day using any and every tool at their disposal. A well-crafted op-ed article in a local newspaper can raise public awareness about a challenge, generate broad support for solutions, and encourage people to take action. But what’s the stuff of an effective article? Can the core components of a powerful op-ed be identified and replicated?

We get five elements of an effective op-ed through a careful review of a recent article by Liz Moore, Executive Director of the Montana Nonprofit Association (MNA), writing in Nonprofits serve communities, not candidates [1] (Ravalli (MT) Republic, July 29, 2018). As background, we’ll share that Moore and MNA strongly support preserving nonprofit nonpartisanship and oppose efforts to repeal or weaken the decades-old Johnson Amendment [2].

1. Make it timely

Moore had some timeless things to say about nonprofit nonpartisanship in her article, and she made it timely by connecting to the news of the day. She opens the article this way: “Efforts to limit the influence of anonymous donors in elections took hits last week on two fronts; in both cases, nonprofits were used as the vehicle for increased secrecy and decreased transparency in campaign finance.” What she’s referring to are actions by Congress and the Trump Administration that, if allowed to stand, would politicize the nonprofit sector and make individual organizations less effective. This statement from the National Council of Nonprofits [3] provides more background.

2. Know your audience

Most frontline nonprofits aren’t steeped in the nuances of campaign finance law. So is Moore an outlier advocate for campaign finance in a land of indifference or intrigue? Not hardly. Montana's laws have long demanded disclosure and transparency regarding who is funding candidates for public office. It’s no wonder that Montana’s Governor immediately sued the Treasury Department over its recent decision to allow those paying to play in elections to hide their donors and one of its U.S. Senators, Jon Tester, quickly introduced the Spotlight Act (S.3284 [4]) to reverse the Treasury’s decision. The campaign finance hook that Moore used in drawing attention to the bigger challenge to charitable nonprofit nonpartisanship is an example of knowing your audience.

3. What’s the problem and why does it matter?

It is of course essential to make sure the reader knows what the problem is in terms that are relevant to the reader. Moore made her point this way: “Here’s the problem the proposed change creates. If churches (however they are defined) can divert assets to political campaigns, we will now have a legal pathway for donors to fund political campaigns anonymously while getting a tax deduction for their contribution. And the public would never know who was paying for the endorsements. That’s a big deal, especially at a time when so-called “dark money” has already become an extraordinary influence in elections.”

4. Speak for the readers, not at them

Too often, writers submitting articles for consideration by newspapers want to teach the readers a thing or two. Many an editorial page editor will reject the proffered text on the grounds that the page is dedicated to articles that speak for the readers than lecture to them. For people advocating for policies, that may be a hard adjustment to make because the article often is written for the purpose of inciting people to take action. Telling them how to do it is the point.

Moore artfully addresses this tenet of effective op-ed writing with the following: “Within Montana’s nonprofit community, our missions are varied, but we speak with one voice when we ask Montana’s congressional delegation to act swiftly and decisively to ensure nonprofits don’t become a repository for an increasing amount of dark money.” It’s all about the “we,” as in speaking for all.

5. Closing with clarity

Op-ed writers don’t have to save the best for last, but a memorable closing line is a tremendous bonus to reward readers for making it to the end. Liz Moore’s is a new classic: “After all, the nonprofit sector is intended to serve communities, not candidates.”

Indeed.